previous            A–Z            next        Sir Walter Scott Pseudonyms:        anonymously        Captain Cuthbert Clutterbuck        Chrystal Croftangry        Jedediah Cleishbotham        Malachi Malagrowther        Paul Laurence Templeton        Peter Pattieson        the Author of ‘Waverly’        The Rev. Dr. Dryasdust After a writing career that had already been under way for some twenty years Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) decided to change from verse romances (in which he was largely overshadowed by Lord Byron) to novels. In 1814 there duly appears anonymously, in his now famous historical novel ‘Waverley’. Would it be a success? Scott was apprehensive: he was known as a poet, not a novelist. The book was indeed a success, but Scott was still cautious, as a result all his following novels, up to 1827, were published as ‘by the Author of ‘Waverly’’. After this, confident that his reputation as a writer of historical fiction was assured, Scott signed his real name.         Jedediah Cleishbotham, was one of the many humorous names adopted by Sir Walter Scott. He used it for the name of the imaginary editor of the four series of his ‘Tales of My Landlord’ (1816), a supposed schoolmaster and parish clerk. The pen name is composed of a typical Puritan Christian name and a surname consisting of the Scots dialect ‘cleish’ [to whip], and ‘bottom’. See also James Kirke Paulding. Sources: Room, A. (1981), ‘Names for a Living’, Naming Names, p.22 Room, A. (1981), ‘Name Lists’, Naming Names, p.176 'The Ragged Lion', Rowan Tree Theatre Company, retrieved 30 September 2013 previous            A–Z            next