The Fortunes of Nigel

Fortunes of Nigel, The,
a novel by Sir W. Scott , published 1822 .

The novel is set in 17th-cent. London and tells the story of a young Scots nobleman, Nigel Olifaunt , who comes to claim repayment of a debt owed to his father by the king, James VI and I . The king's portrait is one of the book's highlights, as are those of the other historical characters and the vivid descriptions of Alsatia drawn by Scott from his reading of the Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists.