Ivanhoe (Great Illustrated Classics)

It took me three separate attempts, over the course of my life, to successfully read Ivanhoe. The first two times, I didn't make it past page 50. This third time, I almost stopped again... but, resolutely, I continued on, because I'd heard so many good things about the novel over the years that I knew there'd be reward waiting, just around the corner. The reason why I had stopped reading the book two-and-a-half times was because the language and syntax seem so very heavy and dense to the modern reader. And, this isn't just a "19th Century British" thing (though that does play a part), but, I believe, a Walter Scott thing. He has a style that seems a little impenetrable, at first. But now, having read the work to completion, I am happy to report the following: that, over time, the reader's "ear" becomes accustomed to Scott's storytelling; and that, the journey, for all of its initial difficulties and obstacles, is absolutely worth it. As advertised, Ivanhoe is a great novel. Set during the reign of Richard the Lion-Hearted, who is absent from an England suffering under the stewardship of the much-maligned Prince John, Ivanhoe is the tale of Saxon partisans chaffing under the yoke of their Norman masters, and of the romances and battles which result. Wilfred of Ivanhoe, son of a Saxon noble, recently returned from service in the Crusades, becomes embroiled against Norman knights during a tournament, and risks the loss of his lands and lady-love when he is gravely injured and she, kidnapped. While this happens, we also get to meet a host of widely-diverse characters, some of which are already familiar, such as Robin Hood, Friar Tuck and Allan-a-Dale, and some of whom are new, but wonderful heroes in their own rights, such as Cedric the Saxon Thane, Wamba the Jester, and Issac, the Jewish money-lender and his daughter, Rebecca. To balance such a scope of heroes, we of course need great villains, and Ivanhoe does not disappoint, rounding up (among others) the infamous Prince John and the Order of the Knights Templar. The plot is a wonderful bit of romantic action, taking us from a tournament, to an attack on a castle, to a trial-by-combat, etc. It's everything you'd expect from a story set in the Robin Hood genre. I've heard some complaint of Scott's shoddy historical details--that there are anachronisms aplenty to be found throughtout the work. As a one-time history major, I suppose that I'm the sort who ought to care about such things? And yet, I believe that the virtues of this novel, including its exciting plot, complicated characterizations (especially that of the Templar, Brian de Bois-Guilbert) and engrossing narrative voice make any substantial attention given to these temporal flaws a little off-point. We admit that Ivanhoe is not a solid history textbook; it was never meant to be one, and if you're looking to learn the history of the time, you should find something a bit further removed from the fiction aisle. What it was meant to be wa

I am an English teacher and recently purchased several copies for my Brit Lit students. You have probably never seen a group of highschool seniors so enthusiastic about what they're reading. Not only are they placing bets as to who the knights in disguise are; they are also interested in learning more about the time period and including information about Ivanhoe and Sir Walter Scott in their journals. The book starts out slow; it's very descriptive and must set up the characters for the plot. However, if you can get through this, the action takes off. I loved reading it in highschool and college, and am enjoying reading it again!

I once read an article saying that it took a reader five and a half months to finish Ivanhoe. Intrigued by the proposition, I bought this book purely to see how long it would take me to lose consciousness in its wake. If sedating the reader was its goal, Ivanhoe failed miserably. Scott's writing is refreshingly witty and it shouldn't take the reader more than three pages to become fully acclimated with the slightly archaic dialogue. Once you do, the story unfolds into a truly majestic tale of gallantry and adventure, intermixed with more than a little tomfoolery. The descriptions, particularly those of raging battles and impassioned vitriol, are vivid, and place you squarely in the middle of thirteenth century Norman-Saxon England. Additionally, the subtle and sometimes startling methods that Scott chooses to introduce his (often incognito) main characters are fantastic. Critics have commented on the historical inaccuracies of the novel (the name Rowena was, apparently, anachronistic), but these minutiae are so completely blind-sided by the plot that they hardly warrant mention. If you don't normally read this kind of thing and are expecting a beleaguered, boring historical romance filled with stuffy and uptight characters, you will be very pleasantly surprised.

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's historical novels) 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 all my favourite childhood misconceptions about the Middle Ages, most of which have now been destroyed, or at least suppressed, by long years of studying the period. But it is still 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.

It was fashionable during my school days (the 60s and 70s) to dismiss "Ivanhoe" as just another medieval romance replete with damsels in distress and their knights in shining armor. In retrospect, I think that was just a lazy excuse (certainly my own) to avoid wading through this rather lengthy, densely written historical novel. Take my advice, fellow reader: wade through. It is well worth your time and energy.The story, of course, is set in Merry Ole England, with Richard the Lion-Hearted on the throne and his malevolent kid brother (the future King John of Magna Carta fame) plotting to take it away from him. From the history we do know of this period, King Richard rarely spent any time in England, much preferring to immerse himself in the Crusades or any other errant knight adventure which struck his fancy. In this setting we find the Saxon-bred Ivanhoe, who against his father's wishes joined Richard in the Middle East to fight the "Infidel." Ultimately, Ivanhoe finds his way back into his father's good graces, and I suppose at one level Sir Walter Scott's Classic is about their estrangement and final rapprochement. But "Ivanhoe" is so much more.Perhaps the over-arching theme to "Ivanhoe" is the nascent reconciliation between the proud, yet vanquished, Saxons and their equally proud, conquering French Norman overlords. The story takes place about a century after the Norman Conquest, and it took a great many more years than that before the antagonists successfully blended together to form the greatest nation on earth. Equally great was the emergence of the language we now call English, which is in large measure a synthesis of the Saxon and Norman tongues. But at the time of "Ivanhoe," two distinct languages exist (and Scott never allows us to forget this essential fact), and the friction between the two races is palpable throughout."Ivanhoe" can be divided into three major scenes: the Passage of Arms at Ashby, the siege of Torquilstone, and the final contest at Templestowe for the life of the Jewish heroine, Rebecca. The entire novel can be viewed as three successive peaks separated by long, undulating transitional valleys. I hesitate to voice any criticism of Scott's greatest work, but maybe a brave editor would have made him shorten his transitions a bit. But no matter. "Ivanhoe" at its worst is still better than most, and the rather lengthy transitional passages slow the pace down for the players to utter Shakespearean-like commentary on the world as it is."Ivanhoe" is an enduring classic for so many reasons. For one thing, Sir Walter Scott is simply incapable of rendering one-dimensional characters. Even the evil triumvirate of Front-de-Boeuf, Maurice de Bracy and Bois-Guilbert is rendered (at times) in a sympathetic light. By the time they are besieged at the Castle of Torquilstone, the reader is salivating over the prospect of them dangling over the battlements, with or without their armor on. And, yet, as the stranglehold tightens, Scott