Walter Scott denied his authorship of 'Waverly' novels [audio 15min]

One of the most extraordinary literary archives in the world is about to be revealed to the public. The John Murray publishing house saved more than 150,000 documents, manuscripts and letters from writers including Walter Scott, Disraeli, Darwin and Livingstone. Part 4 of 5: Vanessa Collingridge uncovers remarkable material surrounding Walter Scott, whose Waverley novels were originally printed anonymously. When the publisher John Murray guessed the identity of the man behind the blockbusters, Scott denied having anything to do with them. But shortly afterwards, at a dinner in Edinburgh, he was forced to admit he was the writer. Amazingly, Murray's son was a witness to the confession, and wrote home to tell his father his suspicions had been right all along.