[2] Scott began the composition of Guy Mannering in the last days of 1814, immediately after completing his last long narrative poem The Lord of the Isles.

At the beginning of 1828 he provided the novel with an introduction and notes, and revised the text, for the Magnum edition in which it appeared as Volumes 3 and 4 in August and September 1829.

It tells the story of Henry "Harry" Bertram, the son of the Laird of Ellangowan, who is kidnapped at the age of five by smugglers after witnessing the murder of a customs officer.

The novel also depicts the lawlessness that existed at the time, when smugglers operated along the coast and thieves frequented the country roads.

As they await news, Mannering meets Dominie Sampson, a learned but socially inept tutor, and Meg Merrilies,[a] a wild-looking, strident Gypsy woman, who has come to tell the child's fortune.

Mannering attempts to buy the estate, but is called back to England to attend to his own daughter who is reported to have a lover, so misses the sale.

The Ellangowan estate is purchased at a reduced rate by the conniving Glossin, whose unscrupulous dealings have been one of the causes of the Bertrams' downfall.

Brown is unsure of his parentage, having been raised in Holland, and told that though born in Scotland, he was rescued at a young age from smugglers.

Brown follows Julia Mannering to Scotland, taking a roundabout route to explore some of the wilder parts of his birth country.

The proprietress of Mump's Hall sends thugs to rob Dinmont on the road, and Brown arrives in time to help fend them off.

In gratitude Dinmont invites Brown to stay at his farm with his large family (and their many terriers, all called Mustard or Pepper) for some days.

Brown watches from a cramped hiding place under some straw as the thugs empty his portmanteau and dispose of all his papers, weapons and money.

In the morning, Meg shows him the road and gives him her well-ladened purse, exacting at the same time a promise that he will come to her immediately whenever she calls him to do so.

Writing to a friend, Julia makes great fun of the Dominie's peculiarities, and mentions Lucy's discouragement of her suitor, young Hazlewood, because she has no fortune and he is wealthy.

There he encounters Glossin, who promptly has him arrested for shooting Hazlewood, and lodges him in the dismal bridewell (small prison) adjoining the custom-house at Portanferry.

With the help of Julia's dowry, he builds a new mansion, which includes a snug chamber called "Mr Sampson's apartment," and a separate bungalow for Colonel Mannering.

3: The gipsy Meg Merrilees arrives for the birth of Ellangowan's heir, and Guy contemplates the stars prior to drawing up a scheme of nativity for the infant (Harry Bertram), though without himself believing in astrology.

14: The sale is suspended for a fortnight, but Guy's written authority to Mac-Morlan to purchase is delayed in transmission and the estate goes to Glossin.

17: In letters to her friend Matilda Marchmont, Julia indicates that her serenader was Brown, whose attentions in India had been directed to her rather than her late mother.

18: In further letters Julia tells of repeated visits by Brown, and of her father's decision that she should move with him to a newly-rented house in Scotland.

17 (38): The lawyer Protocol produces Miss Bertram's final will leaving the estate in trust to him for the eventual benefit of Harry on his return to Scotland.

10 (49): Pleydell arrives at Woodbourne, where Guy tells him he has complied with Meg's instructions to send a carriage to bring people from Portanferry.

13 (52): Although Pleydell sees difficulties in establishing Harry's identity in law, Sir Robert Hazlewood is persuaded to grant him bail.

[10] Dominie Sampson, according to Nuttall, was "a poor, modest, humble scholar, who had won his way through the classics, but fallen to the leeward in the voyage of life".

[11] Tib Mumps was the disreputable landlady of the inn where an important meeting takes place between Meg Merrilies and Bertram.

[13] Positive features mentioned by several reviewers included the energetic and virtuoso writing, the vivid descriptions, the acute knowledge of human nature, and the near-sublime Meg Merrilies with the contrasting Dandie Dinmont.

There were objections to the inappropriate introduction of astrology, the weak plot, the insipid young ladies and the exaggerated Dominie Sampson (though he was generally appreciated), and the unintelligible Scots speeches.

Daniel Terry, an English playwright and friend of Scott, wrote an adaptation of the work for the stage for which Henry Bishop provided the music.

The musical play was premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre in London on 12 March 1816,[14] with Sarah Egerton in the role of Meg Merrilies.

[16][17] This article incorporates text from the revised 1898 edition of Henry Grey's A Key to the Waverley Novels (1880), now in the public domain.