"Old Mortality" with its companion, "The Black Dwarf, " was published in 1816 and is often thought by some to be Sir Walter Scott's masterpiece. Set in 1679 during the Scottish populist rebellion we remember as the Covenanter uprising, this historical romantic novel tells the story of Henry Morton, a moderate Covenanter, torn between his love for Edith, the granddaughter of royalist Lady Margaret Bellenden, and loyalty to his countrymen's cause. Henry Morton is a hero for the people, one willing to stand up for what he believes and challenge the authority of King Charles II. His actions change the course of Scottish history.