The Abbot & Kenilworth by Walter Scott c.1880s Leather Book
 
The Abbot & Kenilworth: A Romance
By Sir Walter Scott
Edited by Rev. P. Hately Waddell
Published by W. P. Nimmo, Hay & Mitchell, Edinburgh
Printed by Morrison & Gibb Ltd., Edinburgh – c.1880s (late Victorian)
 
Bibliographic Details
 
Full Title: The Abbot and Kenilworth: A Romance – two novels bound together.
Author: Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).
Editor: Rev. P. Hately Waddell (Peter Hately Waddell, 1817–1891) – with notes, glossary, and editorial commentary.
Publisher: W. P. Nimmo, Hay & Mitchell, Edinburgh.
Printer: Morrison & Gibb Ltd., Edinburgh.
Date: Undated, but circa 1880s, during Waddell’s editorial period (pre-1891).
Series: The Waverley Novels.
Illustrations: Each novel with an engraved black and white frontispiece (with tissue guard) and an illustrated title page.
Binding: Half-leather (thick leather over spine, board inner edges, and corners) with marbled paper boards. Marbled all page edges and marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
Pagination: The Abbot – 354 pp.; Kenilworth – 376 pp. All pages present.
Size & Weight: Approx. 19 × 13 × 3.9 cm; weight approx. 690 g.
 
Condition Report
 
Exterior:
Half-bound in rich leather with gilt lettering and tooling on a black spine panel. The panelled spine includes gilt lines and decorations. Marbled boards remain bright and decorative.
Light general wear commensurate with age: mild rubbing and small scuffs at edges and corners, a few light surface marks, faint scratches, and slight fading in places. Binding remains robust and attractive overall.
 
Interior:
Pages are gently tanned with light foxing typical for this age, but overall clean and predominantly uncreased. Marbled endpapers show light age marks. A small binder’s sticker reads: “Bound by A. Brown & Sons, Savile Street, Hull.”
No ownership inscriptions or writing.
Minor flaws: a small rip at the bottom edge of p.164 and verso in Kenilworth (text unaffected), and very occasional light crease or other small mark (besides light foxing). Pages are tight, secure, and complete throughout.
 
Features & Historical Context
 
Attractive late-19th-century Waverley Novels binding - uniform with your Waverley & Guy Mannering and The Pirate & The Fortunes of Nigel volumes.
Edited by Rev. P. Hately Waddell, whose scholarly annotations were used in Nimmo’s luxury editions before his death in 1891.
“The Abbot” (1820) continues the story of The Monastery, set in 16th-century Scotland amid religious and political turmoil.
“Kenilworth” (1821) unfolds in Elizabethan England, exploring the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I’s court.
Together, these novels exemplify Sir Walter Scott’s mastery of historical fiction, blending romance, politics, and vivid historical realism.