Possibly the most pervasive influence on Walpole was Walter Scott , whose romanticism is reflected in much of the later writer 's fiction . Such was Walpole 's love of Scott that he liked to think of himself as the latter 's reincarnation . He amassed the largest collection in Britain of Scott manuscripts and early editions , and constantly reread the novels . With the Herries stories Walpole restored the popularity of the historical novel , a form for which Scott was famous but which had been out of fashion for decades . The Herries series begin in the 18th century and follow a Lakeland family through the generations up to modern times .