Set at the time of the Third Crusade (1189-92), The Betrothed is the first of Scott's Tales of the Crusaders, and although set in the Welsh Marches it is a crusading novel in that it is about those who stayed at home. The betrothed is Eveline, daughter of a Norman warrior, who is a victim of the Crusade in that her intended husband is required by the Church to fulfil his vow to take the Cross. He departs for three years. The full horror of an arranged marriage, and of being a 'prize' as men seek to gain possession of her is vividly realised - the heroine is never free; her fate is always determined by the agency of men.

The Betrothed is a problem novel in that it was deeply disliked by Scott's printer and publisher who forced significant changes. What Scott was required to do to meet their objections has been confronted for the first time in this, the first critical edition of the novel.