contributing to a coherent and gripping plot. Dwining was found particularly powerful, and several reviewers thought Catherine more interesting than many of Scott's heroines. The original and sensitive handling of Conachar's cowardice was sometimes singled out for praise, and the final combat between the clans was judged outstanding. Departures from historical fact Walter Scott does not specify the year of the events depicted: a deliberate vagueness. The novel begins on 13 February, a day before Valentine's Day, and events continue to Palm Sunday. In the novel, the Battle of the North Inch and the death of David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, take place within those few months. Implied to be followed in short order are first the capture of James, younger son of the king, and then the death of Robert III. Actually, the events depicted took place in different years. The battle took place in September 1396. The murder of Rothesay occurred in March 1402. James was captured by the English in March 1406. Robert III died in April 1406. Scott manipulates the historic record for dramatic effect, concentrating events of a full decade in the span of six weeks. The Earl of Douglas depicted in the novel is Archibald the Grim, who actually died in 1400 and was not involved in the death of Rothesay. Scott assigns to him the role played by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, his son and heir. Adaptations La jolie fille de Perth is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet (1838–1875), from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the novel by Sir Walter Scott. It was first performed in 1867. Two silent films were made, the first a feature film The Fair Maid of Perth made in 1923 adaption by Eliot Stannard, and the second a short film directed by Miles Mander in the Phonofilm process in 1926, and starring Louise Maurel. Other Literary Inspirations Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Fair Maid of Perth is a poetical illustration based on an engraving of a painting of that name by A. Chisholm in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap book, 1839. References External links Page on The Fair Maid of Perth at the Walter Scott Digital Archive 1828 British novels Novels by Walter Scott Historical novels Novels set in Scotland British novels adapted into films Female characters in literature Literary characters introduced in 1828 Waverley Novels