Editing Rob Roy (novel) (section)

==Composition and sources==
[[John Ballantyne (publisher)|John Ballantyne]], Scott's literary agent, drew up a contract for ''Rob Roy'' on 5 May 1817 with [[Archibald Constable]] and [[Longman]] who had published the first three [[Waverley novels]], the author having lost confidence in the publishers of his most recent fictional work ''[[Tales of my Landlord]]'', [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] and [[William Blackwood]], who had turned out to be insufficiently committed to that project. Scott seems to have begun writing the novel immediately, but it was not completed until late December, partly because of illness.<ref>''Rob Roy'', ed. Hewitt, 345–46, 353–56.</ref>

The Rob Roy of Scott's novel is largely fictitious, with an input from stories he had heard, handed down over the generations. As is his wont, he adjusts historical chronology freely for his narrative purposes. A number of printed sources were valuable for different components of the work. Thus, for business matters he used ''The Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce'' by Malachy Postlethwayt, of which he owned the third edition published in 1766. The depiction of Justice Inglewood and his clerk draws directly on ''The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer'' by Richard Burn, the 13th edition of 1776 being in Scott's library. Bailie Jarvie was suggested by another book he owned: ''The Highland Rogue: or, the Memorable Actions Of the Celebrated Robert Mac-gregor, Commonly called Rob-Roy'' [by Elias Brockett] (1723).<ref>''Ibid.'', 475–79.</ref>