The Masterpiece of Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott is known for many masterpieces of literature (e.g, Ivanhoe). There is one book, however - The Bride of Lammermoor - which he never wrote. This book, often acclaimed as one of "most powerful and pure tragedies" was dictated by him during an illness in a somnambulistic state.
Scott had known the basic story - about the parents, the children, the rival lovers, the forced marriage, and the final catastrophe - since childhood. Probably, he might even have contemplated writing a story on the plot. The actual story, with all details, however, came out in 1819, when he fell seriously ill. During his illness, he dictated the whole story from bed to a friend of his, James Ballantyne, who was also his publisher. Often Scott would get up from the bed and enact the scenes in a trance. The book actually got published before Scott recovered.
What is interesting is that when Scott read the published version, he did not recall any incident or conversation in it. It was almost as if his ill body had functioned as a medium for the tale.
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