Walter Scott had a remarkable talent for immersing himself in any project that engaged his imagination and sense of purpose, even – or, perhaps, especially – when he was also heavily committed to a great many other tasks and projects. The period from 1808–10 was a busy and fertile one for Scott. He had behind him the phenomenally successful publication of The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802–3) and The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) but the rate of his output was only increasing. In addition to his usual legal employment, the works for which he was partly or solely responsible during these years included major editions (with biographies) of Jonathan Swift, John Dryden and Anna Seward, the Edinburgh Annual Register (first published in 1810 but underway from 1808), several miscellaneous verse collections, poetry (Marmion in 1808 and The Lady of the Lake in 1810) and fiction (the first attempt at Waverley and the completion of Joseph Strutt's Queenhoo Hall). That these activities coincided with intensive and wide-ranging work on behalf of the fledgling Quarterly Review points to a very great degree of interest in and commitment to the new periodical and, although later Scott was to distance himself somewhat from the venture, his early involvement was crucial for its planning and success. It may be too much to claim that without Scott there would have been no Quarterly. It is certainly the case that his enthusiastic participation in the initial stages was highly significant for the management and content of the review, and may well have prevented the venture from stumbling at the outset. The story of his involvement is important in terms of Scott's own evolving career, literary and social connections, and interests during this period. But it is in respect of the history of the Quarterly that it is particularly telling, illuminating not only the initial planning but also the sensitivities, beliefs and fine distinctions of opinion amongst those who united for a shared cause and enterprise.