This chapbook was originally published between 1840 and 1850, in Glasgow Scotland.  Walter Scott’s classic Rob Roy was shortened into a chapbook for the story to be made more accessible from a more educated readership to the increasingly literate lower classes.  This story brings readers on an adventure with main character Frank Osbaldistone, a gentryman, as he encounters the well-known Scottish figure, Rob Roy. This short story sees Frank contest his father’s wishes of him entering the mercantile profession, as Frank had a stronger passion for literature.  Frank’s decision led him to be sent to his uncle’s residence at the Osbaldistone Hall found in Yorkshire.  From here the story blossoms and readers experience Frank’s introduction to various characters, relatives, and a love interest.  One of these characters Frank encounters in Yorkshire was Rob Roy, and through this friendship Frank becomes entranced with the lifestyle and becomes a member of the first Jacobite rising.  The literary period of romanticism saw a profound influx of literary works, with themes of imagination, emotion, and freedom, all which are prevalent in this document.  Through commemorative literary works such as this chapbook, the events of the Jacobites were both popularized and romanticized.

Rob Roy, the Celebrated Highland Freebooter; or, Memoirs of the Osbaldistone Family. Glasgow: Printed for the Booksellers, 1840-1850. 24 p. : ill. (woodcut) ; 16 cm. Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library (S0181b20)

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