rather than his executed brother's, and is sentenced to exile. Bridgenorth also leaves England, resigning the lands of Peveril to Julian and Alice. Reception Peveril of the Peak divided critical opinion. Half the reviewers thought highly of it, noting especially the richness of the incidents and the variety of the characters. All of the characters had many admirers, with the exception of Sir Geoffrey Hudson who was almost universally judged an excrescence, even by critics otherwise favourably disposed to the work. Fenella fascinated several reviewers, but rather more thought that she was generally improbable, or at any rate that she became less convincing as the story progressed. Several of the other characters provoked diametrically opposed assessments: thus Bridgenorth was either masterly or hopelessly inconsistent, the lovers were either unusually spirited or vapid, and Buckingham and Christian also divided opinion. The novel was praised for its picture of the age, though some found the period unrewarding or distasteful. The plot was either unusually skilful or typically confused. Those reviewers who were generally hostile objected to the money-making four-volume format, with the repetition and inflation of material from earlier novels in the series. The scene with Ganlesse and Smith in the inn was almost universally praised. Several of the reviewers doubted if their critical labours served much purpose, since readers had by now made their minds up as to the merits of this author, and the novels were read by everyone soon after publication. Allusions and references The character of Fenella, a deaf and dumb fairy-like attendant of the Countess of Derby, was suggested by Goethe's Mignon in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. The hiding of the Countess of Derby in the novel was based on the story of Mrs. Macfarlane which took place around 1716. "Peak-haunting Peveril" is one of many topical references in "The Heavy Dragoon Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience (opera). The "Peveril of the Peak", named after Walter Scott's Novel is also a famous pub in central Manchester. References External links Page on Peveril of the Peak at the Walter Scott Digital Archive 1823 British novels Novels by Walter Scott Historical novels Fiction set in 1678 Novels set in Derbyshire Novels set in the Isle of Man Waverley Novels