''Queenhoo Hall'' is a historical novel largely written by Joseph Strutt but left unfinished at his death in 1802. It was completed by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

at the behest of his friend

James Ballantyne James Ballantyne (15 January 1772 – 26 January 1833) was a Scottish solicitor, editor and publisher who worked for his friend Sir Walter Scott. His brother John Ballantyne (1774–1821) was also with the publishing firm, which is noted for ...

and publisher John Murray, and released in 1808. Scott added two chapters to the existing manuscript. It is set during the reign of

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...

. Joseph Strutt was a noted

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

who had a particular interest in the

Medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

and the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. He began writing the novel under the title ''Emma Darcy'', but died before he could complete it. It used many themes of

Gothic literature Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean m ...

which had emerged in the eighteenth century. It takes its title from an eponymous

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Tewin Tewin is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England between the towns of Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Welwyn (village) and the county town Hertford. It is within commuting distance of London with trains taking under 30 minutes from W ...

in Hertfordshire. Scott described it as part of his own "advance towards romantic composition". Scott was known at this time as a poet but later launched into a celebrated series of novels with his 1814 work '' Waverley''. With ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'' in 1819 he wrote the first of his bestsellers set in the same medieval era that Strutt's earlier work had been set in, drawing his research on antiquarians including Strutt for the historical setting.Hill p.78

References

Bibliography

* Hill, Rosemary. ''Time's Witness''. Penguin, 2021. * Townshend, Dale. ''Gothic Antiquity: History, Romance, and the Architectural Imagination, 1760–1840''. Oxford University Press, 2019. 1808 British novels Novels by Walter Scott Novels set in Hertfordshire British historical novels Novels set in the 15th century {{1800s-novel-stub