Andrew Lincoln explores Scott's use of the past to explore key problems in the modern world, offering critical introductions to widely read poems and unique insights into the narrative strategies and ideological interests of Scott's greatest novels. Lincoln considers the impact of the French revolution, the experience of empire, and how ideas of progress were used both to rationalize the violence of empire and to counteract demands for political reform. He shows how contemporary issues, from the conflict between Western and Islamic cultures to the political significance of the private conscience in a liberal society, have their roots in the romantic era.