Product Description

IVANHOE (1819) was the first of Scott's novels to adopt a purely English subject and was also his first attempt to combine history and romance, which later influenced Victorian medievalism. Set at the time of the Norman Conquest, Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to claim his inheritance and the love of Rowena and becomes involved in the struggle between Richard Coeur de Lion and his Norman brother John. The gripping narrative is structured by a series of conflicts: Saxon versus Norman, Christian versus Jew, men versus women, played out against Scott's unflinching moral realism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144319 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

About the Author
Walter Scott (1771-1832) was born and educated in Edinburgh. He trained as a lawyer and later entered the printing business. He published several volumes of poetry and turned down the offer of the laureateship before concentrating on fiction. He is credited with establishing the form of the historical novel and the short story. Graham Tulloch is a Reader in English at Flinders University, South Australia. He has published several books on Scott.

Customer Reviews

Suspend the Historian, Embrace the 19th Century Romanticist
Being a mediaevalist by trade I expected "Ivanhoe" to press all the wrong buttons - ludicrous inaccuracies, two-dimensional stock characters and a Disney-esque storyline. So I was pleasantly suprised when I found myself physically incapable of putting it down.

This sudden love affair with "Ivanhoe" (and, as a result, all Walter Scott) is even more surprising given the fact that it is indeed inaccurate, somewhat two-dimensional and very predictable. Yet, it is partly these "faults" that inspired me to enjoy it so much. "Ivanhoe" embodies every child's ideas about the Middle Ages, most of which have now been destroyed, or at least suppressed, by long years of studying it. It is impossible to resist the inherent charm invested in such veritable floods of buckling swash - knights, tournaments, ladies, dark forests, honest outlaws, sieges, hermits, swine-herders, jesters, evil Kings and crusades.

The story arc is incredibly simple: Ivanhoe, banished by his father, Cedric, for falling in love with Cedric's ward Rowena, wins the patronage and friendship of Richard the Lion-Heart on Crusade in the Holy Land. On his return to England, eager to reclaim both his birthright and his fair lady, he is drawn into the struggle between honourable ole' Richard I and his scheming, moustache-twiddling brother John (*boo!*). Then follows tournaments, sieges, intrigues, kidnaps, a mysterious Black Knight in disgiuse, an alliance with Robin Hood (and his merry men, of course), a witch trial and some evil villains (all moustache-twiddling). Add to this a not-so-ascetic hermit with an incredible appetite for pies, a beautiful and sincere Jewess, Rebecca, her rich father Issac and a bundle of memorable Saxon "yeoman" and the stage is set.

Scott eagerly caricatures the mediaeval period, with a self-reflexive understanding of his sources and historical reality. The framing "Dedicatory Epistle" to one Dr. Dry-as-dust alerts the reader to his purpose, which is not to relate historical fact but to create historical myth. This he does with a good helping of satircal humour and deprecation, evoking a parody of both of the mediaeval period and the Romantic period.

Yet, the parody is sincere. Scott understands the main attractions of mediaeval life and yokes them to his purpose, writing a romance which is both exciting and self-critical. Every character and actions is memorable in its ability to overwrite, and reinvoke, ideals already blooming in our minds.

When Scott's London publisher first received the proofs for the first Volume of the novel, he apparently took them to read on his journey from Edinburgh to York. He wrote to his Scottish associate the next day exlaiming: "I read it so anxiously that I did not take any exercise or physical relief at the stages. It is a most extroadinary book." I cannot recommend it higher than that.

A Fascinating Romance Novel
During the early 19th century in Great Britain, the Scottish historian Walter Scott wrote this fascinating romance novel of his time. Scott's intention for the novel was in response to the recurring events and activities in Great Britain and to preserve his Scottish heritage and culture. Scott's "Ivanhoe" revealed a story of a Saxon knight, Ivanhoe, who showed courage and heroism, and he became very loyal to the Norman king, Richard the Lionhearted, during the high civil unrest and hatred between the Saxon and Norman people in England. The significant question that is interesting and essential to one's mind from the novel is what purpose does the author Walter Scott had for his readers.

One thing that got me curious is why would Scott entitle his book after one of the minor characters. Ivanhoe was a knight who been tending to his injures throughout the main part of the book but it is not the character himself that is the main focus. Rather, it is what the character Ivanhoe represented in the story, such as his role and his actions as a knight that is significant. Since Ivanhoe became loyal to the Norman King, he portrayed a way for the Saxon people to live in the Norman community without being conquered or harassed by the Norman knights or people and to ease or to get rid of the hatred between the Saxon and the Norman people. The impression that comes to one's mind is that the character Ivanhoe was the only good knight in the novel since other knights seem to be very arrogant, rude, and vile. And he is represented as a best example of chivalry, which Ivanhoe had shown to be the vital spirit of an ideal knight. The reason that the author uses the character of Ivanhoe as a title for his romance novel instead of "The Return of King Richard" or "The Black Night" was to have a character that represented the pure spirit of a loyal knight or to have a character who become a link between the two worlds of the Middle Ages. It seems the author wished to re-establish the link between his native country of Scotland and the Country of England without a complete English domination of Scotland. An idea of "a link of two worlds" that Scott had was to preserve both cultures and to re-confirm the mutual respect of both cultures and their traditions.

During the Romantic period in which Sir Walter Scott had lived, "Ivanhoe" expressed the emotions and the moods of the Middle Ages that brings the readers into the world of unknown and unique. As a historian, Scott possessed a passionate fascination for the past, so he gives a detailed description of the medieval tradition and life in the Middle Ages. The author brings the readers to feel the believable narrative of hatred and tension between the Saxon and the Norman people. The emotions and the moods of the Middle Ages helped the readers of Ivanhoe to "see" the world of knights and thieves and corruption and injustice in which the novel revealed as unpredictable and satisfying to the readers. As a historian, Scott expressed the feeling of life in the Middle Age by using history, chivalry, and the traditions of ancient times.

One of themes in the novel was the civil unrest and the massive tension that were caused by the Norman arrogance, superior feelings, and injustice. Since the Norman people's influence of dominance and superiority spread throughout the land, Saxon people grew angry and felt resentment toward the Norman nobles. While the theme of high tension occurred in the novel, the character Ivanhoe is shown as a solution to end the tension.

As part of the Romantic Movement, Sir Scott used his historical knowledge to create his own fictional novel in which he wished to warn and to entertain his readers. Despite his use of historical inaccuracy in his "Ivanhoe," the author desired to use the famous historical individuals in his story to point out his indirect warning and to entertain his readers. In order to warn his readers about the situation and issues with the government, Scott portrayed the knights and unjust royalty in this book as the English government in Great Britain. He pointed out that they are corrupted and arrogant about preserving their nation and its history. Scott himself knew that learning from history can help the people of 19th century not to make the same mistakes or to have the repeated history of their nation. The impression that one can understand from the novel is that comprehending the history aspect of the book can help the readers to make a judgment or to make a change in the English government in such a way that they will not become corrupted or be power hungry.

The author's use of historical knowledge and wisdom with the indirect applied of warning and entertainment has turned his own fictional novel entitled Ivanhoe into a popular romance book of his time. As a historical romance author and a preserver of his Scottish culture, Sir Walter Scott can be considered admirably and honorably defender of his native country of Scotland during the Romantic period. And, "Ivanhoe" is such a fascinating read.

Put on your best yeomanly manner and stick with this one
I recently made my third and final attempt to read this book, which I bought about five years ago. I had got just about as far as I had the last time I tried when I took it to work, where no fewer than three colleagues told me they'd tried to read it but got bored and given up. Out of spite I decided I was going to finish it this time! Once I'd got about a fifth of the way through I was hooked. As long as you can suspend disbelief (you have to do it at the cinema and with any modern thriller and it's much more worth it for the language in this book) it's a faultless story. Heartless but chivalrous villains, beautiful maidens, honest outlaws and downtrodden heroes getting mixed up in robberies, a tournament, kidnap, siege and battle, and with a liberal spreading of the words yeomanly, damsel and sooth. What more could you want from a novel? The greatest characteristic is the way that the story is told in small sections, each leading up to a point, where some characters appear, and then the narrative goes back to join those characters and see how they got there. It's surprisingly effective and yet it isn't repetitive as you might expect. Can't recommend it enough, if you can get past the first few chapters and start to be interested in the characters.