'Guy Mannering, or, The Astrologer' Summary

Guy Mannering is a young astrologer who, while traveling in Scotland, loses his way and unexpectedly comes to stay at Ellangowan, just as the son of Godfrey Bertram is born. Guy consults the stars to tell the fortune of the new-born but decides not to alarm the new parents when he discovers that the boy is destined to face much danger in his life. He seals his predictions in a letter and instructs Bertram to open it when the boy is five. Even a learned astrologer could not have foreseen how the fates of Guy Mannering and the Bertram family are intertwined. As the boy, Harry Bertram, grows, he begins to experience strange and dangerous events. Guy Mannering is drawn back into the lives of the Bertrams and must use all of his skills to protect Harry from the forces that are arrayed against him. The story is set against the backdrop of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. The Bertrams are staunch supporters of the Hanoverian government, while Guy Mannering has Jacobite sympathies. This political divide adds another layer of tension to the story as Guy and the Bertrams must find a way to work together to protect Harry.