Edward Waverley is a young English gentleman, the heir to his uncle, Sir Everard Waverley. After receiving a commission in the English army and being stationed in Scotland, he comes into contact with Jacobites, supporters of the pretender Charles Stuart, who seeks to reclaim the throne of England.

After becoming enamored with the Jacobite cause and subsequently being suspected of treason, Waverley decides to openly join the uprising on the side of the rebels, during which his honorable conduct wins him favor on both sides of the conflict.

Originally published anonymously by Walter Scott , Waverley was well-received by critics and audiences, and is an early example of historical fiction, a genre Scott helped popularize. The novel’s title became the name for the overarching Waverley stories , a series of unrelated historical novels set mainly in the British Isles.