Begun in November 1825, when Walter Scott was at the height of his fame, The Journal records the astonishing final chapter of a literary life. Within months, Scott's publisher and printer failed, leaving him liable for debts exceeding one hundred thousand pounds. Rather than accept bankruptcy, the aging author resolved to write his way to solvency, producing novels, histories, and biographies at a furious pace even as illness and grief closed in. The result is a diary of rare honesty — by turns wry, tender, and unflinching — in which one of Europe's most famous men wrestles with money, mortality, and the meaning of his own legacy. This edition presents the complete, unabridged text from the original manuscript at Abbotsford, accompanied by a modern introduction and reader's notes that illuminate the people, places, and events of Scott's world. Part of The Founding Texts Library.