On this day in 1814 the novel "Waverley", by Sir Walter Scott, was published.

Waverley was Scott's first novel, and written mainly as a way of proving himself a superior literary talent to Byron. Although it was published anonymously as a safety net against its failure, it was an open secret who the author was. Scott needn't have worried: the book was a runaway success and Scott became regarded as the leading author in Europe.

On 7 July 1307 King Edward I of England died on his last punitive expedition to Scotland at Burgh-on-Sands, near Carlisle. The epitaph to him in Westminster Abbey, London, reads Edwardus Primus Scotorum Malleus hic est. - Edward the First, hammer of the Scots.

His successor, Edward II, was to prove less successful in dealing with Scotland.

Today's recipe: a fuss-free chicken dish to throw on the BBQ.