The Lady of the Lake

A royal huntsman, separated from his party in the Scottish Highlands, is guided by moonlight to an island refuge on Loch Katrine, and to Ellen Douglas, daughter of an outlawed lord. Around her, three men's fates entangle: the fierce Highland chieftain Roderick Dhu, who shelters her family and wants her hand; young Malcolm Graeme, whom she loves; and the mysterious huntsman himself, who cannot stay away. When the king's forces move against the clans, the fiery cross goes out to summon Clan Alpine to war.

Scott's 1810 verse romance was a sensation that sent tourists swarming to the Trossachs, and it remains gloriously performable: galloping meter, clan gatherings, a duel of honor between worthy enemies, and songs woven through the tale. Poetry like this was always meant to be recited aloud, and listening restores it to full strength.

At roughly 85,300 words, The Lady of the Lake runs about 9½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The edition linked here is available from Project Gutenberg under its US public-domain listing. Check the edition, translation, completeness and copyright rules where you live. LoudReader lets you browse and download Gutenberg books; they are not all stored on installation. To listen:

1. Install LoudReader on iPhone or iPad, or its iPad app on a compatible Apple Silicon Mac.
2. Search for “The Lady of the Lake” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

Speech is generated locally without uploading the book for narration. Download the book and check your chosen voice before travelling offline. Available voices depend on your device; check the in-app voice list. Try every available voice for your first 8 hours of listening. Afterwards, keep a free English voice selection and unlimited book listening. No LoudReader account or word quota.