Walter Scott

The Pirate Walter Scott

The Pirate is set in a remote part of Shetland, where Basil Mertoun lives as a tenant of Magnus Troil. In his youth, Mertoun has been betrayed by a faithless wife, and in a spirit of vengeance, turned to piracy. Filled with remorse for his crimes, he lives as a recluse, along with his wife's son Mordaunt, whose paternity is doubtful. Bewildered by Mertoun's coldness, Mordaunt frequents the Troil household and becomes close to Magnus's daughters Minna and Brenda. Their tranquillity is interrupted by the arrival of the shipwrecked pirate Clement Cleveland, whom Mordaunt rescues from the waves but whose enmity he quickly arouses. Minna and Cleveland fall in love. Magnus Troil, crediting a malicious rumour that Mordaunt has boasted he can marry either of his daughters at will, banishes him from his society, and takes Cleveland into his home. Brenda does not believe the slander, and in Mordaunt's absence, realizes she loves him. Mordaunt is assisted against Cleveland by Ulla Troil, a relative of Magnus, known as Norna of the Fitful-head. Ulla, who lays claims to supernatural powers, believes that Mordaunt is her son by Mertoun who had seduced her during an earlier visit to the island. She wishes to see Mertoun married to Minna and resolves to distance Cleveland at all costs. Minna is horrified when Cleveland open-heartedly confesses to her that he is a pirate. Hearing that his former colleagues are moored at Kirkwall, Cleveland sets out for Orkney with the purpose of disassociating himself from them. He is compelled, though, to rejoin them against his own wishes and subsequently captured by government forces acting on information supplied by Ulla.