Anecdotes

He had four children: Charlotte Sophia Scott, born 1799; Walter Scott, born 1801; Anne Scott, born 1803; and Charles Scott, born 1805.

In 1820 he was created a baronet.

The line "Oh, what a tangled web we weave" is often thought to be from Shakespeare's Macbeth, but it was written by Scott in his poem, Marmion in 1808.

In early childhood, Scott was considered too sickly to attend school. He was taught to read by his aunt Jenny Scott. She narrated to him a number of legends which he later used as inspiration for his literary works.

Walter Scott was the ninth child and namesake son of Walter Scott (1729-1799), a Scottish solicitor. His maternal uncle was the chemist Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819), notable for the successful isolation of nitrogen in 1772.

Scott was described by his contemporaries as having a rather unremarkable appearance, with the exception of his distinctive blue eyes. C. R. Leslie described them as "eyes very blue, shrewd and penetrating".