Quentin Durward (1823), Scott's first "European" novel, was an experiment in transferring the historical romance to foreign soil. Fifteenth-century France, the French Revolution, and contemporary Britain all come together in this sharp-eyed novel of political expediency and intrigue.
The young Scottish adventurer Quentin Durward embarks upon a dangerous journey through the forest of the Ardennes seeking a name, a partner, and a position in the world. Meanwhile, the machiavellian King Louis XI of France, maneuvers his realm out of the hands of feudal barons and into centralized control - which Scott believed to characterize the modern state.