Product Description
In Ivanhoe Scott fashioned an imperial myth of national cultural identity that has shaped the popular imagination ever since its first appearance at the end of 1819. With the secret return of King Richard and the disinherited Saxon knight Ivanhoe, Scott confronts his splendid and tumultuous romance, featuring the tournament at Ashby-de- la-Zouche, the siege of Torquilstone, and the clash of wills between the wicked Templar Bois-Guilbert and the sublime Rebecca. Based on the 1830 text of Ivanhoe, this is the first edition to make corrections against Scott's working materials and incorporates readings from Scott's own manuscript. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

ignore the two previous reviews
It is painfully evident that the other two reviews which appear under this heading actually refer to some book by someone else that has absolutely nothing to do with the book at hand.The reader should ignore them and go ahead and read a good treatment of the literary career of a great man.

Avoid this boring book!
How an interesting subject such as Operation Diadem can be rendered into a thundering bore is beyond me.Jackson has written this book in the style of the excruciatingly boring textbooks students dread.It's not worth the effort to buy or read. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
From its first publication in 1816 Rob Roy has been recognised as containing some of Scott s finest writing and most engaging, fully realised characters. The outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor was already a legendary, disputed figure by the time Scott wrote a heroic Scottish Robin Hood to some, an over-glamorised, unprincipled predator to others. Scott approaches Rob Roy indirectly, through the adventures of his fictional hero, Frank Osbaldistone, amid the political turmoil of England and Scotland in 1715. With characteristic care Scott reconstructs the period and settings so as to place Rob Roy and the Scotland he inhabits amid conflicting moral, economic and historical forces. This edition features, besides a new critical introduction and extensive explanatory notes, an essay outlining clearly the novels historical context and a glossary of Scottish words and phrases used by Scotts colourful, vernacular characters.Amazon.com Review
This novel, first published in 1817, achieved a huge success and helped establish the historicalnovel as a literary form.In rich prose and vivid description, RobRoy follows the adventures of a businessman's son, FrankOsbaldistone, who is sent to Scotland and finds himself drawn to thepowerful, enigmatic figure of Rob Roy MacGregor, the romantic outlawwho fights for justice and dignity for the Scots.This is anincomparable portrait of the haunted Highlands and Scotland's glorious past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Classic tale of the Jacobite rebellion, Highland ruffians, and old-fashioned historical romance
I picked up the Everyman edition of this for 3 quid when I was browsing at a bookshop in Edinburgh; the Scottish scenery had inspired me to explore the classic literature a bit.It turned out to be my big summer read for the year.Dense and absorbing, it took up a number of my hours and it certainly satisfied my desire for some 19th century literature.It required me to try to develop some understanding of British politics circa 1730 or so (the exact year it takes place is not clear, and the book contains a number of anachronisms), particulary the Jacobite rebellion and the circumstances attending it.I still am not clear on exactly what part the characters played in this situation - an uprising of Catholics, possibly assisted by some Highlanders, against the Protestant king - but at least I got a bit of a history lesson.

This is Scott's most popular book.He was a very popular and celebrated novelist during his life.He was crippled by an early childhood disease, but lived a full life, working as an attorney as well as a writer, and raising a family and living very wel.I am not totally sure what his place is in literary history, i.e. in what ways his work was unique or influential or what movement he may have been a part of.I do know that he was very popular and influential, and wrote literary adventure stories (which may have been called romances at the time) which were mostly set in Scotland during the 1700s.To what degree he was the first or the best among writers of such works I do not know.He began as a poet, and had some success at that, before turning to fiction.The love of the English language and the written word is apparent in "Rob Roy".It makes one wonder whether most literate people of that time placed a greater value on eloquent verbal expression than people do today - probably.

This is primarily a very well-written, if not always convincing, work of historical fiction.The language is frequently magnificent.As one of the supplementary essays pointed out, it has a number of fascinating characters that have captivated many readers over the centuries.There is a bonus too - a very interesting essay by Scott on the real Rob Roy and his life and times.The narrative focuses on Francis (Frank) Osbaldistone, a young, wealthy Londoner whose father sends him to the north of England to visit his uncle and cousins.His first cousin Rashleigh turns out to be a remarkably shrewd, cold, and nasty individual, and he quickly becomes Francis's nemesis and the villain of the story.There is a love interest too - Diana Vernon, who also despises Rashleigh.Frank gets the word that he has to go to Edinburgh, and on the way there he encounters not the hero, but the fulcrum of the story, Rob Roy, a Highland ruffian and clan leader, who is both wise and warlike, compassionate and hard, fundamentally decent but on the outside of the law.The story than moves to the Highlands, where there are encounters with mountain roughnecks, and battles between Rob Roy's forces and the English military.One of the Jacobite rebellions breaks out and the characters get embroiled in it.

It was interesting to read this, to dip into literature that has meant so much to so many, and that opens a window onto a very different time and place.I very much enjoyed many of the descriptive passages, discussions of natural scenes or clothing or everyday things.Of course, there is not very much of this - Scott, like most good authors, assumes that his readers are already familiar with the world that they live in.This reader, however, is not, and therein lies one of the great pleasures of reading a writer like Scott.

Rob Roy the Robin Hood of Scotland is chronicled in this novel in th Waverly Series by Sir Walter Scott
Roy Roy was published to wide sales in 1817. Sir Walter Scott (117-1832)had already won fame through his novel "Waverly" amd ballad poems such as "The Lady and The Lake" and "Marmion." Scott turned to fiction when his poetry took a backseat to the new works being produced by such Romantics as Lord Byron and Shelly.
Roy Roy is a 500 page novel set in the 1715 time when the young Stuart Pretender ivaded England in a futile attempt to cast aside Hanoverian dynatsy monarch George I restoring Catholic rule to Great Britain. Scotalnd and England had been united as Great Britain in 1707 but hostilities on both sides of the Tweed were still manifest.
The story deals with young Francis Olbaldistone scion of a wealthy merchant. Frank finds this work dull and sest northward for adventure and fortune. He stays at the oome of his Catholic uncle meeting several dissolute, hunting and boozing cousins. While at the estate he falls in love with the Roman Catholic Diana Vernon.
The book deals with Francis becoming aquainted withRob Roy McGregor, his formidable wife Margaret and their family who engage in cattle rustling and harassing the Protestant and Lowland Scotch. The intricate plot features a greedy and evil cousin Lashleigh who seeks to trick Frank's father out of his business money and win Diana as a lover. The book is resolved when Lasheligh is defeated and Diana weds Frank. Rob Roy does not appear until page 247 halfway though the novel. Frank and Diane are stick figures.Comic characters such as Andrew Fairchild provide humor. Rob Roy is based on thge real life exploits of a Scottish historical figure.
Rob Roy has realtively little action, contains hard to understand Scottish dialect and is slow moving in resolving the complicated plot. Parts of the story read like a Scottish tour guide.
The book is memorable for Scott's introduction of the proud Highland culture to their neighbors to the south and in interesting male readers in adventure stories. Scott is the pioneer of the historical novel for which he will always hold a place in literary history.
This Penguin Edition has no footnotes at the back of the volume or an introduction by a modern literary scholar. It must have been published prior to Penguin's fine new series of Scott reprints based on the distinguished Edinburgh Scholary Edition. Also, the volume lacks a chronology of Scott's career.
Sir Walter Scott is a tough go for modern eyes but is worth the read for his insight into Scottish life and ability to weave a story.

Historical introduction sheds light on Clan Gregor
I read the introduction to the second edition of this book with fascination, as it shares secrets about Clan Gregor that are not found in any modern book.The fact that the Clan descends from the third son of Scotland's first king, King MacAlpine, for instance!What happened to Clan Gregor is a microcosm of what happened when the Scottish and English crowns sought to enforce control over native inhabitants [the Highlanders: MacDonalds, MacGregors and other clans] having a claim of many hundreds of years of longevity on the land, by imposing an artificial feudal structure (crown-derived 'Earls' or 'Lords') that dispossessed the natives through "royal" or "legal" land grants. That the inhabitants were not included in the councils that converted their status from freeholders into tenants illustrates the arrogance and foolhardiness of power and produced the only possible result for a pastoral people:they resorted to the sword for justice. Surely, this was not the way to treat the descendants of a king:would Attila the Hun have graciously accepted his subjugation?! Then the crown becomes even more surprised that the Highlanders later rebel, steal and kill--as it attempted even further measures of expropriation & annihilation!No wonder it was spoken of these imposed 'Lords' and the evil system that supported them, "Woe to those who laugh now, for you shall mourn".

Difficult but worth it in the end
The first Scott book I've read so far is Ivanhoe. Now at first I found Rob Roy very slow and almost put it down half way through, the Scottish dialect is very heavy and you got tired of constantly looking in glossary to look up what they mean. Add to that many Scotch proverbs thrown in the text, which make absolutely no sense even after you decipher them with the glossary, but of course there is a separate glossary of familiar Scotch proverbs and sayings in the back if you are reading the Modern Library Classics edition. What I found helpful since there were many Scotch words not included in the book's glossary was a site dictionary.com. It has almost all the Scotch words, including Gaelic and Latin, making reading this book possible.

Scott's style is also very slow, written in a time 200 years ago when readers had more patience. I still have a 100 more pages to go as of writing this review, and it took me a month to get through what I have so far. The good about this book: Scott's depth of knowledge about the English culture and customs from the main character, Francis's point of view intrigued me. Scott's description of the landscape is beautifully done, including the Highlands, towns, characters and insides of places like inns and churchs. I've also gained a new appreciation just how different the culture of the Highlanders was from the Lowlanders at that time, and from the English too. If you can get over the initial hurdle of the books slow pace at first when Scott establishes the setting and have patience with the Scotch dialogue I think it is rewarding and fufilling.

An historical novel with meaning for our times
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott is a grand adventure story by the master of the historical novel. The reader is well advised to do two things before starting this book. The first is to spend some time learning about the history of England and Scotland at the time of the novel, specifically the period around the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. An hour or so on Google should do the trick.The second is to get a dictionary of Scottish words from that period since much of the dialogue is in that language. For example, "I wasna likely to gi'e up that for a guinea, I trow." And " He's no a'thegether sae void o' sense neither; he has a gloaming sight o' what's reasonable."Or try this one "Mattie had ill-will to see me set awa on this ride, and grat awee, the sillie tawpie; but it's nae mair ferlie to see a woman greet than to see a goose gang barefit." At least learn the meaning of such words as "bailie" and "muckle." Here again the Internet is a valuable aid.

The book gives a clear and sympathetic view of life in England and Scotland in the period around 1715. It illustrates the anger and bitterness caused by religious and political differences and the difficulty people from different cultural backgrounds have in getting along with each other.

The title of the book is something of a misnomer since the title character is not the main protagonist. The story centers around Francis (Frank) Osbaldistone, a young Englishman. Francis' father, William, is a wealthy London merchant who wants his son to follow him in the business. But Francis has other thoughts and his hard-nosed father sends him away to the North of England to his former residence where his brother now lives with his six sons. The idea is that one of these worthies will take Francis' place in the business.

On the journey there he meets two characters that figure heavily in the story. The first is Morris, an agent of some sort who is carrying a mysterious bag. The second is a mysterious stranger who later turns out to be Rob Roy. Morris claims he was robbed and accuses Francis of the crime, but he is vindicated, largely on the say so of Rob Roy who shows up at the right moment throughout the book.


When Francis first arrives at his uncle's manor he meets a beautiful and spirited young woman, Diana Vernon. Of course he falls in love with her in spite of the many obstacles that such a match would entail. It soon becomes clear that five of the six sons are neer-do-wells more given to carousing than business. The sixth son, the youngest, is well educated and the choice for the job, but is the villain of the piece. Rashleigh Osbaldistone is a Machiavellian character with designs on both Diana and fame and fortune. He goes to London to work in the firm but quickly absconds with important documents that would be the ruin of the firm if they are not returned. Becoming appraised of the situation Francis sets out for Scotland to find Rashleigh and recover the documents.

The story really takes off when Francis, accompanied by a Scottish gardener from the Osbaldistone homestead Andrew Fairservice, reach Glasgow. Francis soon learns that the firm his father has been dealing with is corrupt and makes the acquaintance of another business associate of this father, Baile Jarvie who agrees to help Frank recover the stolen documents.The trio, Francis, Jarvie and Fairservice (whom Francis has now hired as his servant) set out for the highlands. When they get there they have a variety of adventures including involvement in skirmishes between the British military and the locals. Fairservice is a character who provides much humor with his greed, arrogance, cowardice and other negative qualities. Francis puts up with him despite these machinations.

All of these adventures portray Rob Roy and his cause in a favorable light. Scott writes beautifully of the land and the devotion of the people to live in their own fashion apart from the values of England. In this sense the book has significant meaning for our own times where people want to live free from what they see as oppressive governments. The situation in Tibet as I write this review is an example.

I give it a rating of five stars because of the quality of the writing, the insights it provides into life in those times and its meaning for the present.

... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good classical story
Overall, I liked this classical tale, which included knights, damsels in distress, chivalry, and adventure!There were a few surprise characters in the story that I never realized were part of Ivanhoe.You'll have to read the book to figure out who I'm talking about, but you'll immediately recognize them.

I will admit the book was a little hard to read at times as the author would go into elaborate descriptions of what people were wearing, and there were a lot of old English words and Latin phrases that I didn't know.

Adventure, romance, and fascinating character studies.
This was the first Sir Walter Scott novel I'd ever read, and I was hooked!The plot is epic, the characters are iconic and vibrant, and the details are lush and engrossing. Scott is so entertaining that the book often veers into a sort of sensationalist "pulp fiction" kind of vibe, but that's part of the charm.The real genius of this story is the characters--they are all intelligently constructed and very likeable. The romantic heroes have foibles and the villans have dignity, and best of all, there are two major female leads with lots of personality and volition.A must-read!

The classic novel-format medieval romance
This the first,the classic, novelized medieval Romance. Written the same year as Queen Victoria's birth, it gave us much of our modern conception of medieval tournaments, King John, Robin Hood,Richard Coeur de Lion, etc. (I realize I stretch things a bit by calling Sir Walter Scott "modern," but I speak only by comparison with medieval ballads, King Arthur, Robin Hood legends, etc.)

If you've ever thought "ok, that was cool" as Robin Hood split an arrow with another arrow at the Great Archery Tournament, or wondered where the idea of Robin Hood as the defender of Saxon yeomanry against the Villainous John of Anjou, Regent for the absent Richard, got its start -- it started here.

The book isn't all about Robin Hood, though; mostly, it's about Knights and Tournaments and foul Norman oppressors. There's a tournament, a trial by combat, a castle seige, a little bit of anti-racist message (in the person of a beautiful and noble-in-spirit Jewish beauty unjustly maligned and accused of witchcraft),multiple anonymous knights (including a Black Knight!), and in short all the important highlights of medieval ballads, conveniently arranged in the format of a historical novel.

Scott's historiography isa little off (for example, at one point a character pretends to be a Franciscan monk, when the order wasn't founded until about twenty years after the novel's action takes place), but Scott does make a real effort to avoid most anachronisms (moreso than many writers of "historical novels"). This kindle edition also includes Scott's introduction and notes, which show that he put real effort into basing many of the events in his book on excerpts from period ballads and tales (rearranging them, of course, as per his authorial prerogative).

This one's a classic for a reason. Entertaining, archetypal, and with massive influence on everything since, from Howard Pyle to Errol Flynn to video games like "Defender of the Crown." The prose style might be a little offputting to more sensitive modern readers -- it was, after all, written the same year that Queen Victoria was born, and is a little dry in some places and a little overblown in others -- but if you can get past that, you'll find a classic. Enjoy.

[If the reader wishes more in this vein, I'd point him, as mentioned above, to Howard Pyle's _The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood_, also available for free online; make sure to find the version with Pyle's original illustrations]. ... Read more

Product Description
Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is only half the text of the book!
Incredibly, this book ends midway through the story. Somebody was obviously not paying attention. It appears to be photocopied from a collection of Sir Walter Scott's works and the volume must have ended in the middle of the story, to be continued in the next volume. Somehow, they neglected to notice this. If you wish to read the entire enthralling tale, get a used book from years past. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; History / General; History / Europe / Great Britain; History / Medieval; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Religion / Monasticism; ... Read more

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When and How A Rose Softened A Destructive Spirit of Madness
Sir Walter Scott's short novel of 1816, THE BLACK DWARF, begins by presenting the back side of a tapestry: colors dull, patterns obscure. Mysterious, too, but not without clues leading from one isolated insight to another. Only at novel's end is the tapestry turned and all piercingly revealed.

Let's look at the mysteries as they appear to the principal female of the BLACK DWARF, beautiful teen-age Miss Isabella Vere of Ellieslaw Castle. What does she know of herself and her family? Her long dead mother is buried in the castle's chapel in a tomb of Italianate beauty (Ch. 17). Her wealthy, stern father is a political schemer, aiming to become more powerful to restore the male line of the Stuarts. To that end he is pressuring Isabella to wed the odious Jacobite, Sir Frederick Langley. Yet Isabella herself is fonder of a young nobleman named Earnscliff. She is being visited by two cousins, Nancy and Lucy Ilderton. Lucy in particular knows that Isabella hates the one and loves the other. There is also some dark but hushed up ancient stain on Isabella's father's honor; he was almost killed in a brawl when his best friend, Sir Edward Mauley, saved his life by slaying his opponent. After a year's imprisonment for manslaughter, Sir Edward disappeared. Meanwhile Isabella's father had married Isabella's mother, a kinswoman of Sir Edward.

Isabella unknowingly meets her destiny one day in 1707 riding in the wilds of Scotland near the English border with her two cousins. They come upon a tiny hut recently constructed on Mucklestane Moor. They had heard that it was built by a strong but hideous misanthropic dwarf who calls himself Elshender the Recluse. In the few months he has been there, despite his constantly invoking the deserved doom of the entire human race, he has done much grudgingly offered good to the local people by way of healing and advice. From them he has earned from the names Canny Elshie and the Wise Wight of Mucklestane Moor (Ch. 5).

The dwarf dismisses with sarcasm the cousins after Lucy offers to pay to have her fortune told.But Elshender detains Miss Vere, whom he calls Isabel. He has known her parents.

Does he also know her, Isabella asks. "Yes; this is the first time you have crossed my waking eyes, but I have seen you in my dreams." He added that he was no common fortune-teller but knew that her life was beset with real and potential evils. These included "unsuccessful love, crossed affections, the gloom of a convent, or an odious alliance." Her sad situation combined with her kind words to him made the ugly little man shed a rare tear. Those tears had been a good deed done to him by her. The dwarf rewarded her with a rose from his garden and the promise that if ever she needed him, she should deliver to him in person that rose or one of its petals.

Who is this Wise Wight of Mucklestane Moor? Why does he except Isabella Vere from his general self-pitying loathing of the human race. It would spoil the ending to provide more clues. Suffice it to say that THE BLACK DWARF is a masterly study of what happens when a deformed but sensitive, generous young nobleman is betrayed by fiancee and best friend, loses his mind, partially recovers it and is caught up in a planned rebellion of Scots against Queen Anne and the recently created United Kingdom. -OOO- ... Read more

Product Description
1904. Sir Walter Scott was a master of diverse talents. He was a man of letters, a dedicated historian and historiographer, a well-read translator of foreign texts, and a talented poet. Deriving most of his material from his native Scotland, its history and its legends, Scott invented and mastered what we know today as the historical novel. An adventurous story centering upon the escape of Charles II from England after the battle of Worcester written in three months. See the many other works by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Lady Has No Poem
This download was incomplete, no poem included! I went to project Gutenburg and found the comeplete text with active links to the notes, plus illustrations. This ebook should be removed until remedied

Oops?
This version of one of my favorite poems seems to have one small problem - the poem itself seems to be missing!The notes are great, however. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft by Sir Walter Scott

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Customer Reviews (3)

An excellent book for Scully OR Tabitha
This is a reprint of a book published in the 1830's by Sir Walter Scott as a favor to his son-in-law. Scott researches folklore, superstition, and witchcraft (through folklore, trial records, and previous scholars) in depth to give the reader a comprehensive body of knowledge. The modern reader will find more here than she ever knew. Countless court cases from all of Europe and especially Scotland (where the author resided) and England are presented. Scott writes from the point of view that he lives in a scientific age and that the possibility of these occurances is absurd, but, because he gives you all of the information from which he derives his opinion, you can make your own. Personally, I'm a fanciful person and would like to believe in ghosts and such, but in most of the cases he has plausible explanations for their being impossible (especially pertaining to witchcraft). Interesting to note, in not one of the cases of witchcraft did any of the accused, or the accusers mention goddess worship. Neither did they in any of the 'accepted' mystical hobbies of the era either. He talks of things of which I have never heard. For example, seers claimed to have captured fairies or slyphs in their crystal balls andthey were not "seeing something" as in the movies, but getting the information from the agent inside the ball. It takes a while to read, as the editors of the period didn't know what to do with commas and run on sentences. Some of the words are outdated, and are used differently in our time than in his. This is an excellent book for both the sceptic and believer, as well as Christian or pagan.

A masterful work from 1900
Oddly enough, this book talks more about Faeries and defends many accused of witchcraft of influence by the fair folk upon the glens and moors.

It is a remarkable work that has Scott's own articulate hand bringing a very interesting world of Celtic myths and fables to life while the rigors of a new age dawn upon them.

Strangeness from the Age of Reason
I had always thought of Sir Walter as a rather rational, stodgy, Brit - then I came cross a copy of this book - now I'm not sure what to think. Sir Walter actually seemed to believe many local superstitions (the Banshee,for example). The odd thing is that he seems to have"scientificly" weighed all the evidence. But I guess that if youwere sitting around the fire on a cold Scotish night being told ghoststories, your objectivity could be expected to drop at least somewhat. ... Read more

Product Description
The father of the historical novel, Sir Walter Scott invented a literary form that has remained popular for over one hundred and fifty years. Infusing his works with romance, action, and suspense, he brought long-gone eras back to life with splendor and spectacle.Set in England just after the Third Crusade, Ivanhoe is the tale of Wilfrid, a young Saxon knight, and his love for the royal princess Rowena. With his father against their union, Wilfrid embarks on a series of adventures to prove his worth, finding himself in conflict against the Normans and the Templars, and allied with such larger-than-life figures as Robin Hood and Richard the Lion Hearted. A timeless story of courage, chivalry, and courtly love, Ivanhoe is a grand epic, and its place in classical literature is assured. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

IVANHOE by Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe is an 1820 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. In 1194, in the time of King Richard the Lionheart, Prince John and Robin Hood, disinherited Saxon knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades and seeks revenge against his Norman nemesis Brian de Bois-Guilbert.

But the story is so much more than that. Ivanhoe features an ensemble cast with perhaps a dozen noteworthy characters, and of these, Ivanhoe himself plays a supporting role at best, as he's absent from massive portions of the novel. Yet it is he who ties all the characters together.

The modern reader may be put off by a number of things, particularly Scott's tendency to devote entire pages to the descriptions of his characters' garb, and the unnaturally expository dialogue he puts in their mouths. But Ivanhoe is nearly two hundred years old, and some of these things we just have to get over. More just criticisms might target the book's sometimes too leisurely pace, the somewhat anticlimactic conclusion, and the unquestionably contrived and hackneyed, silly and pointless return of Athelstane, which is so literarily amateurish that Scott felt compelled to insert a footnote to acknowledge this fact, but that he was doing it anyway.

Ivanhoe is a three-act quest/reward adventure, and in spite of the book's more plodding characteristics, Scott usually keeps the pages turning in an impressive manner. His writing is clever as well as verbose, and quite frankly, there are a lot of exciting things going on here.

As far as the narrative, Scott sometimes has difficulty juggling all his characters, as he has to jump around chronologically, impeding the novel's flow. Neither does Scott feel compelled to wrap up all his many plot threads; some prominent characters, notably Prince John, are dropped by the wayside as the novel progresses and then only mentioned in passing later on.

Ivanhoe features an astounding degree of anti-Semitism from virtually every character, whether hero or villain (in addition to a historically accurate depiction of medieval persecution, this is also a political commentary contemporary to Scott's day, as England was moving toward the emancipation of its Jews). Yet for the point Scott is trying to make, Isaac of York fits very well the stereotype of the miserly Jew. But his daughter Rebecca is the noblest character in the novel.

Of similar historicity is the frustrating level of ignorance and superstition displayed by so many characters - it makes something like Monty Python and the Holy Grail's witch/duck scene seem hardly a bit farcical. And saddest of all is the time's horrendous misunderstanding of Christianity - the finding of virtue in unvirtuous acts, particularly the slaughter of any and all unbelievers.

While Scott took a number of liberties with other historical matters in Ivanhoe, no offense is egregious, and because of the degree of detail Scott provides, most everything is believable enough to the uninitiated. Ivanhoe is also noteworthy for its lasting influence. It sparked a renewed interest in the Middle Ages. And every single Robin Hood tale or film I've ever seen has used it in some way as source material, as have a large number of other medieval and fantasy stories.

In spite of its flaws, Ivanhoe remains a pillar of medieval historical fiction, and is a must for fans of that period.

historical romance
Adventure, romance, action, and history are all contained in the pages of this lengthy but well written novel. The language is archaic, which may make the story feel unapproachable. The characters have great depth, especially the Jewish heroine of the novel who portrays the harsh treatment of Jewish people during this time period. There is a great deal of social commentary in this story, and Scott is sympathetic to the plight of Jews. The history is focused on the Crusades and the atmosphere it created in British society. Scott uses this setting to appeal to the humanity of the reader. Exciting and moving. Very well done.

Gift for a friend
First THANKS for the speed and accuracy of Amazon.To use the new word - awesome.A friend of mine was looking for a copy of Ivanhoe, she is not INTO computers so --I ordered the book from Amazon and in days it was in her mail box.My friend and I are seniors+ - she is not having an 'easy read' but having the book 'at hand' she can delve into it whenever she likes.Thanks again Amazon ! ! ! !J. Bickham

The original historical romance

The book that defined the genre.Set in late 12th century England, its cast includes Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Prince John, Richad Coeur de Lion and the Knights Templar.A novel of chivalry and robber barons, battles and court intrigue, fights for justice and the love of beautiful ladies.What's not to like?

Scott's archaic and flowery language leads many to describe the book as 'dry' or 'boring', but as pointed out by other reviewers it rewards those with the brains and persistence to appreciate it.It makes for a heavy read, but captures the authenticity sought by every period novel.

If you think a 19th century romance must be sanitised or have idealised characters, rest assured.There's no lack of violence or human flaws in Ivanhoe, though modern readers may still find it a tad contrived; but that's part of the period charm.Mandatory reading for those who claim to be history buffs or connoisseurs of English literature.

This Signet edition contains Scott's original footnotes and dedicatory epistle.

If you are dumb, stay away, if you are smart, dive in
I have heard that this is "very dry reading" and that the first chapter is "the most boring chapter in Western Civilization." It is obvious to this author that the one who claimed these very drastic condemnations of the brilliant and beautiful writing of the Great Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) is, unfortunately of very little intelligence when it comes to criticizing classic literature.

How sad it is when you are in school and the redneck ignoramous reads to the class trash like Where the Red Fern Grows or the Summer of the Monkeys when they should be reading masterpieces like the incredible novel you see before you. It would produce much more enlightened children with it's vivid descriptions and historical characters such as Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard I or Richard the Lionhearted, whom as I was told by history teachers was bisexual. All part of the Gay conspiracy trying to rewrite history and say that their perversions have been all through history and make it acceptable to be gay. They say people like that were gay when there is absolutely no proof and no way of finding any proof. I question Alexander the Great's homosexuality also. Who were his conquored people? THE GREEKS. What peoples still are bitterly prejudice to the Macedonians? THE GREEKS. Who were the first queers? THE GREEKS.

Getting to the point, this novel is one of the greatest and most influential to Western Literature (and Russian Lit for that matter, for it was Scott who influenced the likes of Pushkin and Lermontov). It also tells an archetype romantic story with the stereotypical definition of a "romance" in it. The main character Wilfred wants to marry a princess named Rowena. When her father refuses, Wilfred sets out on adventures to prove his worth. He meets many of the warring tribes of the Middle Ages such as the Normans and the Templars. This novel is probably the most action packed adventure story unmatched until the likes of Alexandre Dumas, pere with novels such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo about twenty years after the publication of Scott's great novel.

So don't let people of very little brain convince you to turn away from magnificent works such as this when they criticize it like a reader of 4th grade level just because of a "dry and boring 1ST CHAPTER when this great novel has so much more in its 400+ pages to offer. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:CHAPTER I-They too, retiredTo the wilderness, but 'twas with arma.Paradise Regained.The burning sun of Syria had not yet attained its highest point in the horizon, when a knight of the Red Cross, who had left his distant northern home, and joined the host of the Crusaders in Palestine, was pacing slowly along the sandy deserts which lie in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, or, as it is called, the Lake Asphaltites, where the waves of the Jordan pour themselves into an inland sea, from which there is no discharge of waters.The warlike pilgrim had toiled among cliffs and precipices during the earlier part of the morning ; more lately, issuing from those rocky and dangerous defiles, he had entered upon that great plain, where the accursed cities provoked, in ancient days, the direct and dreadful vengeance of the Omnipotent.The toil, the thirst, the dangers of the way, were forgotten, as the traveller recalled the fearful catastrophe, which had converted into an arid and dismal wilderness the fair and fertile valley of Siddim, once well watered, even as the Garden of the Lord, now a parched and blighted waste, condemned to eternal sterility.Crossing himself, as he viewed the dark mass of rolling waters, in colour as in quality unlike those of every other lake, the traveller shuddered as he remembered that beneath these sluggish waves lay the once proud cities of the plain, whose grave was dug by the thunder of the heavens or the eruption of subterraneous fire, and whose remains were hid, even by that sea which holds no living fish in its bosom,TALISMAN Jjbears no skiff on its surface, and, as if its own dreadful bed were the only fit receptacle for its sullen waters, sends not, like other lak'iS, a tribute to the ocean. The whole land around, as in the ... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A fun novel, full of action and excitement!
This is one of Scott's best novels, (my favorite being "The Antiquary").Set in the 12th century, two men meet in the desert, an armored crusader and a brilliant arabian-mounted bow-weilding horseman.They do battle, only to become friends.The Catholic and the Moslem come to respect each other.Sir Kenneth, the crusader goes on to join the camp of Richard the Lionhearted, and his mysterious desert friend comes, time after time to his aid.In the end, well, I don't want to give away all the surpises.Usually I read the end first, but this was so good I didn't take the time to, and was quite surprised in the end.Scott's novels don't all have a happy ending, so this one gets an extra gold star. ;)

Don't judge a book by it's cover.
Heroes and cowards, loyalty and deceit, Europeans and Arabs, knights and dwarfs; Sir Walter Scott covers it all in The Talisman. If you're looking for an intricate plot with strange twists and turns; this isn't the book for you. The story starts with the classic duel of mortal combat between two extremely different foes that, of course, ends with each opponent realizing that he cannot destroy the other. In the end, the outcome of this battle turns out to be more significant than the reader knows. Centered around an unknown Scottish knight during the 3rd crusade and his hunt for glory, the plot is simple and predictible. It isn't until the end when every identity is revealed that you realize the depth of the plot. Somehow, Scott uses the unique setting, odd small events, poetic dialog, and conflicting cultures to keep the readers attention. Most of the characters in the book turn out not to be as they seem and the plot follows suit. The moral of the story is not to judge a book by its cover and the point is driven home by the sappy, flowery picture on the front that has nothing to do with the book.

Towering Characters in Exquisite Prose
Reading Walter Scott is a bittersweet experience, as we admire his adroit and nimble use of our English language, even as we mourn our modern-day loss of appreciation for such skill.His characters, as always, are credible and rich.His vivid depiction of the stormy King Richard stands among his best. Richard's Muslim healing sage ever speaks with quiet, fiery wisdom.Predictably, Kenneth the Scot is the true hero -- humble, strong, and bravehearted. Considering that the story is burdened with battles that almost happen, love affairs that never quite consummate, and mystical scenes that never truly resolve, this classic book nevertheless holds the reader captive throughout, and delivers a satisfying ending.

Sir Walter Scott's Most Philosophical Novel
In novel and poem after novel and poem, Sir Walter Scott argues that the past never completely dies. He suggests that what is better (e.g. Reformation and Protestantism, rationalism and peaceful behavior) generally replace what is less good e.g. European Catholicism, superstition, cattle raiding and clan wars). But even "the bad old days" had good things not so apparent today: intense personal loyalties, unquestioning courage, chivalry and unselfish idealism. There are elements deep inside human nature in never ending war with their opposites.

This philosophy of history is nowhere more apparent than in Scott's 1825 historical novel, THE TALISMAN, which can be regarded as the second in a trilogy of King Richard I novels, of which the first is THE BETROTHED and the third is IVANHOE. Richard is not the designated hero in any of the three, but this most popular of England's kings dominates any scene in which he appears.

Because he is their best warrior, other European Kings and Princes on the Third Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the great Muslim leader Saladin grudgingly acknowledge Richard the Lion Heart first among equals. But they know that he generally regards them as self-seeking, cowardly and always ready to cut a deal with Saladin and run back home to Austria, France, Italy and elsewhere. Richard's haughty personality inevitably undermines his best intentions to hold a shaky coalition together.

The King is accompanied by his recent bride, the young, beautiful, frivolous Berengaria of Navarre. Richard's cousin, Edith Plantagenet, heads the ladies attending the Queen. Edith cannot disguise her growing love for an ostensibly poor Scottish knight, Sir Kenneth of the Couchant Leopard. The Queen teases her for this and succeeds in luring Kenneth away from a post of high honor personally assigned by the Lion Heart.

Before this, Kenneth, on a mission from the High Council of the Crusade (Richard lying ill of a devastating fever) rides to the wilds near the Dead Sea to consult with a mysterious Carmelite Priest. En route he meets the disguised Saladin and, after an indecisive combat, the two become friends. Saladin is later introduced in another disguise as El Hakim (the healer) to Richard whose fever he cures with a mysterious talisman. Only the disguised Sultan's intercession prevents the enraged but grateful Richard from executing Sir Kenneth after the latter allows the standard of England to be stolen by the Head of the Knights Templar and the almost equally evil Conrade of Montserrat. Returned in disguise as a black mute, a gift from Saladin, Sir Kenneth saves Richard from assassination and, with the help of his great Scottish deer hound, unravels the plot of the Templar and Conrade.

Sir Kenneth is revealed as Prince David of Scotland and thus high enough in rank to marry the King's cousin. Saladin, who had wanted to marry Edith Plantagenet himelf as part of an overall peace treaty, graciously yields to his friend Kenneth/David and gives the young couple the talisman as a wedding present.

Where is the philosophy? In his first encounter with Kenneth, Saladin, a Kurd, reveals his traditional belief that Kurds descend from a mixture of demons and beautiful mortal women, from evil and good, that these qualities war in Kurds forever and that even conversion to Islam does not make Kurds honor their demon ancestors the less. Islam allows Kurds to hope the demons will be converted to light in the end. There is much of the dualism of Iranian Zoroastrianism in the novel, a variant of Scott's often repeated view that in every turning point of history, good wars with and defeats evil, but never utterly, never completely-- and rightly so. -OOO-

The Talisman
I had looked for this title for years before ordering it through Amazon; I'm so glad that it's back in print.This is historical fiction at its best: the action is fast-paced, the authorial voice is constantly garnishing the narrative with little observations and commentaries, and one can sense that Scott has a profound respect for Saladin, despite the execration in which Infidels were held, both at the time of the Crusades, and even in the early Nineteenth Century when the book was written.I recommend this book, especially for connoisseurs of Sir Walter Scott.I'm sorry to say that his only other novel I've read is *Ivanhoe*, but this one certainly stands with *Ivanhoe* as a true classic. ... Read more

Product Description
This riveting true-crime focuses on the motivating factors of lust, greed, and cheating, which triggered the murder of Walter Scott, the singer of the national hit song "The Cheater." The pages recreate Scott's struggle to attain stardom, sexual passion, the gruesome discovery of Scott's body in a cistern, and years of legal maneuvers in a faltering justice system. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Unintentionally Hilarious
"The Cheaters" is a well-paced, well-structured telling of an interesting story. It is everything the positive reviewers say it is.

It is also an endlessly amusing collection of malapropisms and writing errors. Every page contains surprisingly elementary mistakes. That this book was written by a college-level writing teacher adds to the surprise and amusement.

The self-published authoress claims that the text was proofread before printing. Napoleon Dynamite must have been the proofreader.

It is not my intent to pan this book. I have read it through several times and I often pick it up and read a page or two for a quick laugh.

I got my personally autographed copy of the book free when the author submitted it to a newspaper I edited in 2004. At that time I lived about a mile from where the murder took place. I had just recently met Bob Kuban, who figures prominently in the story. And as a youth I was in a band with a cousin of Mike Krenski, the man who wrote the song the book is named after.

I suspect that Ms. Priesmeyer did not appreciate my review of her book at that time. Let me emphasize that this is a very enjoyable book and that the author is a pretty good writer, as popular writers go. All this book really lacks is the services of a literate and neutral proofreader. But if this book had been carefully proofread and corrected I would not enjoy it half as much.

TRUE CRIME AT IT'S BEST IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD
True crime reading is usually not my favorite gendre but I could not put this book down till I finished it. It not only kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, but brought back memories of the "Walter Scott" days of my youth (late 60's-70's)in St. Louis County, Jackson Park in Berkley, and St. Charles. The author documented and interviewed those that made themselves available to her with the utmost care. Her exactness for detail is astounding. Great going Scottie, we want more!

Murder, Literally in my Back yard
This book was as truthful as one could get without all parties together in one room being interviewed.It shows that a crime of passion does not always go the way the villians wants it to.I wonder if JoAnn Williams, even though shes not in jail anymore, has a good life knowing she was involved in the murder.
I read this book when it first came out in the mid 1990s.Since it happened in my own neighborhood, while I was living there in the subdivision, I have read it again in 2007.

Review of the Cheater
I enjoyed this book very much.It combines celebrity biography with murder mystery.It was very well written and captured the characters well.Walter Scott as lead singer with the band Bob Kuban and the In Men had a big hit in the 1960's with a song called "The Cheater".It is ironic that his hit was about a no good cheating man who ends up alone and broken hearted, because in real life Walter Scott had affairs that not only ruined his marriages but cost him his life.Its a good read for most baby boomers.

Very balanced - shows everyone's "warts"
I liked this book for the fact that the author didn't try to portray the victim as perfect, as so many true crime authors tend to do.

I can't understand why a prior poster called the book "one sided."Just the opposite!

Even Walter Scott's parents didn't come off as completely blameless.His mother, after all, did spoil her son shamelessly.No wonder he thought he could do anything he wanted to any woman he wanted whenever he wanted.

JoAnn Williams helped to break up a marriage.She got a man who cheated on his first wife.Did she expect him to magically change?And why didn't she just go ahead and get a divorce from Walter?This is still America - a wife doesn't need permission from her husband to divorce him, particularly if he is committing adultery.Jim Williams should have done the same: gone the divorce route instead of murdering his wife, Sharon.

All in all, Scottie Priesmeyer does a good job of story-telling. ... Read more

Product Description
...When I first saw Mr. Osgood's beautiful illustrated edition of The Lady of the Lake, I asked him to let me use some of the cuts in a cheaper annotated edition for school and household use; and the present volume is the result... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Illustrated by Christy
his is a handsome 1910 First Thus from Bobbs-Merrill featuring extraordinary illustrations by Howard Chandler Christy. Bertha Steward designed the binding.

An elegant hardback binding of stamped green cloth in gold, pale yellow, and light green details. Glossy stock typical of early 20th century American illustrated books.

Christy's illustrations appear on every page: interstitial illustrations in black and blue on the margins and 12 full color, full page painted illustrations.

Chandler's work here is authoritative. It serves the poem's narrative ends (being less lush -- and much less sensuous -- than his sometimes bosomy commercial work.) The rendering on the marginal illustrations is quite free. It is refreshing to see a realistic artist finding his way so confidently in a graphic medium. Contrasting this, the full color works are carefully finished with much attention paid to texture. Christy gives Scott's heroic characters great weight within exquisitely detailed environments.

All in all, Christy accomplishes quite more than providing pretty pictures (and they are pretty indeed!) He's fully at home here in the great tradition of illustrators such as Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth.

Romance, adventure, and the obligatory history
Though I have ancestors from Scottland, I sadly do not know much about the country's history. Perhaps a more thorough knowledge would lead to even greater apprecation of this poem, but the introduction gave me enough background to not feel completely stupid as I became sucked into the passionate story of chivalry, adventure, and revenge. The story explores characters in the vicinity of King James V's administration's attack on the wild men of the Highlands. However, they have their own version of the story, being people who don't much care for being mowed down without so much as a trial. In the center of it all is Ellen, a Douglas daughter who lives a nearly-enchanted life in a peaceful, hidden lake. Though I understand Scott's novels are superior to his poems, this is not bad poetry by any means. The verse takes us through widely-scoping, descriptive scenes as well as deeply personal emotions. There is danger, romance, blood, intrigue, everything needed for a great story.

"And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King."
INTRODUCTORY SYNOPSIS: The hero of THE LADY OF THE LAKE is James Stewart. To Ellen Douglas, the Lady of the Lake, he calls himself James Fitz-James and The Knight of Snowdoun. When, on a second visit, she declines his invitation to come with him to Stirling and become either James's wife (her interpretation) or his mistress (James's intent), the kind-hearted amourist proves a good loser and gives Ellen a ring to admit her instantly to his chum King James V should she ever need help. At poem's end, Ellen comes to Stirling to plead for both her imprisoned father, Lord James Douglas, onetime mentor of the youthful monarch, and for her lover Malcolm Graeme, a ward of the king. James Fitz-James keeps Ellen in suspense as he leads her in to present her to the King. But where is the King, Ellen wonders, as she looks about? Why is everyone focused on her escort?

"To him each lady's look was lent,
On him each courtier's eye was bent;
'Midst furs and silks and jewels sheen,
He stood, in simple Lincoln green,
The centre of the glittering ring, --
And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King." (Canto VI, Stanza xxvi)

The playful king soon reveals that her father and he have made peace. His ward, Malcolm Graeme, had offered the Douglas shelter despite the King's general loathing of the clan which had held him virtual captive during his boyhood. Will Ellen not plead for him? No? Then he must be chained.

"His chain of gold the King unstrung,
The links o'er Malcolm's neck he flung,
Then gently drew the glittering band,
And laid the clasp on Ellen's hand." (Canto VI, Stanza xxix)
END INTRODUCTORY SYNOPSIS

KIng James V (1512 - 1542) was the father of Mary Queen of Scots. There are similarities in character both to England's Henry V and Baghdad's Haroun al Raschid. James V was a good, strong king, protector of the poor, often going out among them in disguise, either to detect and correct their woes or to woo their daughters. He died young,forecasting correctly that the Stewart dynasty would end in less than two centuries "with a lass" (Queen Anne) as it had begun with a lass, the daughter of Robert the Bruce.

Scott's poem THE LADY OF THE LAKE sketches six days in the life of a good-hearted, randy, grudge-bearing, high tempered young monarch. The title of the six cantos sketch the tale's progress:

The Lake.
The Island.
The Gathering.
The Prophecy.
The Combat.
The Guard-Room.

-- I. The Lake. James Fitz-James, lost hunting a stag in the Trossachs of Scotland, is given a night's hospitality by Ellen, the lady of the lake, and by the mother of the castle's owner, on an island in Loch Katrine belonging to Roderick Dhu (Black Roderick). Roderick, with his aged mother Margaret, shelters Ellen and her banished father, the once mighty Lord James Douglas. Fitz-James is smitten by Ellen. But leaves at dawn.

-- II. The Island. The island's owner, Roderick Dhu, is rowed to his island fortress while his hardy followers sing "Hail to the Chief," which has become the American Presidential processional hymn. Ellen's father also returns, with her young admirer Malcolm Graeme in tow. Roderick asks Ellen's hand but this is denied by her father. Ellen's two admirers quarrel and Malcolm then swims the length of Loch Katrine rather than be indebted to Roderick for a boat.

-- III. The Gathering. Believing that King James means to march into the Trossachs to subdue Clan Alpine, clan chief Roderick Dhu has the wild Brian the Hermit peform semi-pagan rites, then sends out the burning cross to assemble his liege men for war at Lanrick mead. Duncan, Ellen and the minstrel Allan hide from the King in the Goblin Cave.


-- IV. The Prophecy. The hermit Brian prophesies that whichever chief "spills the foremost foeman's life, that party conquers in the strife" (Stanza vi). James Fitz-James arrives on foot planning to take Ellen to safety behind royal lines. But he is being led into a trap by a man of Roderick. Ellen will not leave. James gives Ellen a ring to gain instant admission to King James should she ever need him. Fleeing pursuit. James meets Blanche of Devan, a mad woman whose brand new bridegroom had been murdered by Roderick during a raid into the Scottish lowlands. She asks for vengeance. The guide shoots off an arrow at James but kills Blanche instead. James pursues and kills the traitor guide. He later comes upon Roderick. Neither recognizes the other though they exchange frank views. They spend a hospitable evening together before departing at dawn for a proper dueling place.


-- V. The Combat. Once just beyond Roderick's mountain fiefdom, they duel. Terribly wounded, Roderick grapples James and would have killed him but his strength fails. James bugles for help and has the wounded man carried to Stirling castle. En route James recognizes Lord James of Douglas, who is coming to Stirling to give himself up for the cause of peace between King and Clan Alpine. James allows Douglas entry to the castle grounds, where a popular athletic contest is about to take place. The aging but still incomparably powerful and gifted Douglas enters the contests and wins at archery, wrestling and hurling. The king gives awards but otherwise ignores him. At last, Douglas identifies himself and his reason for surrendering and is led to prison.

-- VI. The Guard-Room. Ellen and the minstrel Allan pass through the guard-room occupied by foreign mercenaries. She awaits audience with the King. Allan asks to be admitted to his imprisoned master. The warder thinks Roderick Dhu is meant. The dying Roderick asks Allan to sing of the battle just ended by the King's truce. Meanwhile, the King has made peace with the imprisoned Douglas. Still in his assumed role, James leads Ellen in to an audience with the king. He cannot grant her mercy to the newlydead Roderick. And her reconciled father needs no mercy. He teases Ellen to intercede for Malcolm. When she does not, the King places a golden chain on Malcolm's neck and places its clasp in Ellen's hand. She may now marry the Graeme.

THE LADY OF THE LAKE is made up of hundreds of gorgeous lines, mostly iambic tetrameters, of descriptions of nature, hunting, mobilization of a highland army, politics, character and love. You can read this poem aloud in two hours. Its music will ring with you forever. -OOO-

Scott's Lady of the Lake
I purchased this for my husband, and just as a "to read" model.It is NOT a collector but is an excellent SOURCE for reading. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (65)

not so classic
I'll start out by saying I love classics but Ivanhoe fell below my standards.

My main problem with this book is that it is supposed to be an adventure/romance with Wilfred of Ivanhoe and his true love Rowena. But after the beginning tournament were most of the main characters are introduced Ivanhoe is injured and completely disapears, exept for a few short scenes, until the end of the book.

The book, spends an inordinate amount of time on Ivanhoe's father Cedric, Isaac the Jew and his daughter Rebbecca (who also loves Ivanhoe), and the three villains, Font-de-Bouef, De Bracy, and the Knight Templar Brian de Bois Gilbert.

All of the "good guys" are well rounded, realistic characters but because of their historically accurate hatred of Jews I found it hard to identify with them.

My second annoyance with the book is that the "bad guys" don't have a quarrel with Ivanhoe and ignore him for most of the book.

Ivanhoe doesn't have any goals beside trying to get his father to let him marry Rowena and fight in any battle that happens to be near him because he likes fighting.

The book builds up to a climax that falls flat. I was hoping for a good old fashioned sword fight between the wounded hero and his arch enemy, but Ivanhoe easily defeats the Knight Templar whom he hasn't said a word to during the whole story.

Usually if you take out the main character in a story there isn't much left but in Ivanhoe the plot can do just fine without him.

So if you want to read this book get it from your local library. Don't waste your money on it.

Knighthood
I read this all in one setting. King Richard was The Black Knight that Ivanhoe championed. The Knights Templar fought Ivanhoe. A classic tale of knighthood condensed with wonderful illustrations. I liked it.

Each One Must Follow His Own Path
One wonders whether Scott's intentions were more closely related to his personal experiences of having argued with someone of the faith of Judaism, (thinking perhaps he might save them from Hell's fire) or whether he meant to expose certain underlying factors which have caused historians to label the submersion of the European states into feudalism as the "Dark Ages."

The role of Jewish merchants in financing the military campaigns of European monarchy is no small foot note of the times called Dark Ages. So at the risk of betraying too many intrigues which influence the plot of Ivanhoe, I would suggest that while a few branches of argument in this work are based on religion, the over all cast of characters are better or worse as human beings largely despite their religious observance. And the overwhelmingly corrosive influence of Medieval Catholicism on society at large is no small crisis point of the story of Ivanhoe either.

Even from the lips of one of the most hypocritical villains in the drama, Scott has issued forth such a scathing indictment as follows,

"...will future ages believe that such stupid fanaticism ever existed?"

A more subtle and underpinning romantic idealism is conveyed through Scott's illustration of how very few, and by extension how much the more privileged are those characters in the story who demonstrate some (however fragile) possession of literacy. Ivanhoe is some 500 years after Arthur the King had established a rule of law in the absence of the collapsed Roman authority, architecture, and a written form of Latin characters, which some of the tribal peoples availed themselves of to record their stories and supply written commentary to their works of art and religious observance. Again, the story is some 500 years before England felt any influence from the printing press.

Scott's birth in Edinburgh (Scotland) around the time of the American Revolution is some ways preserving an illustration of many of the illiterate attitudes which still afflicted Europe in his day and which would have condoned the practice of deportation to the colonies as punishment for political, religious and civil criminals.

To view this `romance' only through the racist prejudices engendered by the crusades is to make one's self apathetic to the historical commentary which extols the greater virtue of Christian monarchs who remained constant in their own domains, upholding a rule of law for their subjects. Even while the characters of the story of Ivanhoe express their disdain for the ("errant") law of the Jews, it wasn't too many centuries earlier that Saxon invaders had practiced genocide, before their Kings were converted to Christianity with it's rudimentary tailings of the Torah. So that even a Saxon King like Alfred is called 'The Great' not because he, like also King Aethelbert was a Christian convert, but because he upheld a rule of law for his subjects.

My Scottish family ties probably endear me to some of the stereotypical humor employed by Scott. At the first introduction of Isaac of York, Cedric orders his court fool (Wamba son of Witless) a favored servant to make room for the Jew, Wamba seizes a side of bacon and exclaims, "[I'll] erect a bulwark against the [unbeliever]." Or when Ivanhoe's servant Gurth, is sent to render payment to Isaac's home following a tournament. The picture of Isaac counting out each piece of gold, fingering the size and weight of each like Dicken's Ebeneezer Scrooge, or Disney's Uncle Scrooge Mc Duck, is as much a Scottish miser stereotype as any reflection made upon `poor' Isaac.

It would be viscerally difficult for me to be offended by someone who recognizes the value of money like that. Notwithstanding bizarre Christian ideals about vows of poverty, or divesting one's self of possessions to give to the poor, even Christian epistles stress the priority of providing for one's family. The author of Ivanhoe spares little contempt for the religious excesses of medieval Europe. But at the same time he doles out respect for those who lived their devotion.

Even the best movie depiction would struggle to accurately display the incredibly violent sport of tourney jousting, or the battle scenes around Coeur De Leon Richard Plantagenet. But Amazon market place advertises at least four different videos. The language is not dissimilar to Shakespeare or the King James version of the Bible, but accurate to the King's English during the American Civil war. As for the usage of French terminology throughout the text, well some of it is old Latin. So if you've ever studied a Latin based language like Spanish, Italian or French, you can probably guess at much of it if the root words mean anything to your vocabulary. Otherwise, it can't hurt to browse the internet wherever you're really curious about an obscure term. The entire text may be found at a number of web sites, but I'd endorse this Oxford edition specifically for the English notes included. It also includes Scott's notes and introductions.

Informative at times, Interesting at times and well, too slow at times
I'm glad that I read this book and I think that it had many exciting and enjoyable moments. The characters were interesting, for the most part, although I thought it slightly odd that Ivanhoe was hardly the main character of the book. It did have some very slow moments, but like all romantic novels, the character's feelings are talked about for pages and pages. If you know all of this beforehand, it is quite a fun read. I agree with the reviewer that the anti-semitism was brutal throughout the novel but at the end, you felt that there was an enlightenment with Ivanhoe and other characters about the fact that Jewish people are, in fact, PEOPLE! I liked that part of the book very much.

a classic of honor and relationships
Ivanhoe shows up on just about every list of the 100 greatest books ever written.There is good reason for this.It's descriptions of time, place and character are vivid and engrossing.Perhaps most interestingly, the book describes an almost dizzying array of complicated relationships.Strict father to independent son, lover to lover, lover to unrequited lover, father to daughter, conquerers to the oppressed, jew to gentile, servant to master, king to subjects (loyal and disloyal), it's all in Ivanhoe.Personally, I was most taken with the treatment the Jews received, with Scott being very modern in his treatment given the time and place in which he was living.Rebecca comes through as one of the most interesting characters in the novel, the Jewish woman who seems to understand Christianity better than any of the Christians.Beyond the engaging relationships, we are given action that draws in characters that have become mythic:Richard the Lion-hearted, Robin Hood, the Knights Templar and of course Ivanhoe himself.This is a novel that is worthy of the intensive study it has received, a staggering achievement. ... Read more

Product Description
Lively and immensely readable, this masterful account is a work of major biographical scholarship. John Sutherland examines the darker areas of Scott's life in a skeptical, yet sympathetic, manner creating an illuminating chronicle of his life. Sutherland justifies Scott as a writer to be read and understood today as much as in his heyday in the nineteenth century. ... Read more

Product Description
The book may have numerous typos or missing text. It is not illustrated or indexed. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website. You can also preview the book there.Purchasers are also entitled to a trial membership in the publisher's book club where they can select from more than a million books for free.Original Publisher: A. and C. Black Publication date: 1898Subjects: Porteous Riots, 1736; Scots; Women travelers; Women prisoners; Trials (Murder); Sisters; Pardon; Great Britain; Scotland; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Legal; History / Europe / Great Britain; Juvenile Fiction / Family / Siblings; Law / Legal History; Social Science / Criminology; Social Science / Penology; True Crime / Murder / General; Travel / Essays ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The Heart of Mid-Lothian will tear at your heartstrings and enlighten your mind about a sister's love in18th century Scotland
The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) is the best novel in the distinguished series by this author called "The Waverly Novels. (The series title derives from the name of the title hero in the first of these novels: the young English soldier Edward Waverly.)
The plot is simple. Jeanie Deans is a young Calvinist lass who is engaged to be married to a poor schoolmaster named Reuben Butler. During the 1736 riots in Edinburgh, in which Captain Porteous a tax agent was murdered by hanging, Jeanie's younger sister Effie is accused of murdering her newborn child. Effie is imprisoned and condemned to death. Jeanie seeks to save her life by appealing to Queen Caroline in London who is the wife of King George II of Great Britain.As Jeanie travels on her long jaunt from Edinburgh to London the reader meets a broad crosssection of Scottish and English persons who assist the young girl on her quest for justice. Jeanie is one of the most appealing heroines in all of British fiction.
The book is not only fascinating for this heartwarming story but also lluminates:
a. The relationship between poor Scotland and wealthy England in the immediate years following the union of the two nations in 1707.
b. A look at the religious differences between episocapcy supported by the English and the stern
Calvinist Presbyterianism in Scotland
c. A nostalgic look at Scottish life as it moves from an agricultural to an industrialized age.
d. Like Charles Dickens, Scott was good at drawing eccentric minor characters which add richness and humor to this long novel.
And now for a caveat. Scott's novels are always difficult reading! He relishes in making authorial comments on the characters behavior and retards the action with long digressions on politics, religion and other aspects of Scottish life which may not have been familiar to his English readers. This material is often interesting but adds too many pages to his tale. The last quarter of the book needs editing as the decision regarding the fate of Effie Deans has already been decided by that point.
Scott's books require a glossary of Scottish words, customs and phrases which are necessary to aid the 21st century reader's understanding of the novel. Scott was the first major historical novelists in the English language. His novels broke new ground by interesting male and young readers in exciting epic fictions. He was widely popular in his own day. A resurgence of interest in this important author is long overdue. Scott is an excellent writer but it takes concentration and study to enjoy his books. The Heart of Mid-Lothian was published in 1818 and has never been out of print.

Needs patience but worth it
The Heart of Midlothian (Oxford World's Classics)In high school I read The Talisman and Ivanhoe and loved them both. This book is not that type of adventure story and is not always so accessible because of the dialect dialog. That, however, does not detract from the plot and characterizations. Scott does a marvelous job of bringing the major events of the novel to life. The picture of the riot is fantastic. What sets this novel apart for me is how the author is able do bring vividly and realistically to life so many aspects of society from the common folk to the nobility. To read this book in terms of women's rights and the strength that women display in times of trial makes this novel a valuable part of the history of women's place in society.

Bestselling from Philadelphia to St.Petersburg
The fact that this monster of a novel was a bestseller at its time (1818) possibly tells us that 'progress' has reduced the time that we are willing to spend on reading. So for me. I was looking for the usual half dozen pocket books to take on a trip of a few days. This one was the last Scott that was still in my shelf. For lack of space I relegate books that I have read and that are not top favorites to either box storage in the garage or to 2nd hand book sales at school charities. This one I had not read yet. I will probably never have the stamina for it, unless I am marooned on the proverbial island and it happens to be in my hand luggage.
I did read the introductions and browsed through some chapters. Maybe another time. Possibly never, though I do remember that Scott's mansion Abbotsford near Edinburgh is one of only four writer's houses turned museum that I visited. The other three are Goethe's birth house in Frankfurt, the Joyce museum in Dublin (of which I can't remember for certain right now whether he ever lived there), and Nabokov's childhood appartment in St.Petersburg.
I think my Scott time is over, so if you wait for the next instalment of my Melville excursions, don't worry, I am not sidetracked. Redburn will be next, but I am travelling a lot these days, and I don't take hardcovers on trips.
Why then do I post a review on the 'Heart'? I was impressed by the editor's story of his trouble with identifying the right text for this publication. The writer, Scott, was a highly literate man in a modern society of his time, who even owned the publishing house himself, indirectly. The book was an international bestseller despite its folksiness and the excessive use of 'dialect' English. Finding out 200 years later which text is 'authoritative' can be damned hard.
You see what I am driving at. Text reconstruction is hard and often impossible. How then can a text that was transmitted orally for decades, if not centuries, before it was committed to paper, have an 'authoritative' version that has any plausible relation to its 'author'?
The 'Heart' is in a box in the garage now, in case you wondered.

A Tedious Classic
Written in 1818, "The Heart Of Midlothian" is one of the most famous works of the great Scottish Writer, Sir Walter Scott. It is set largely in Scotland in the time between the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745 and revolves around the Edinburgh riots of 1736 that saw the lynching of John Porteous, Captain of the City Guard, and the subsequent retaliation by the English Crown. Intimately connected with this is the story of Effie Deans, condemned to death on the assumption of having had her child killed, despite a total lack of evidence and the efforts of her sister Jeanie to see her freed. Incidentally the "Heart of Midlothian" was the Edinburgh Tollhouse or Jail, which was later pulled down and removed.

It is a longish read at 507 pages, but by no means long compared to many of the bloated works of recent years. It took me a very long time to read, not because of its length but because its style was so dry and tedious and so full of unnecessary detail as to prevent me reading more than a chapter or two at a time, and there are 52 chapters. A random example:
"There was not a window in all the lofty tenements around it, or in the steep and crooked street called the Bow, by which the fatal procession was to descend, that was not absolutely filled with spectators. The uncommon height and antique appearance of these houses, some of which were formerly the property of the Knights Templars, and the Knights of St John, and still exhibit on their fronts and gables the iron cross of these orders, gave additional effect to the scene in itself so striking."
There's nothing wrong with this language, and the excessive detail may be interesting to some, but for me it makes dreary read.

Scott was a lawyer by trade, and he carries his work with him in this novel. Not only does it read as though declaimed by a barrister at the Assizes, but it is full of lawyers, would be lawyers, lawyer's humour and lawyer's Latin. For example:
"He has been a candidate for our remedium miserabile" said Mr Hardie, "commonly called a cessio bonorum. As there are divines who have doubted the eternity of future punishments, so the Scotch lawyers seem to have thought that the crime of poverty might be atoned for by something short of perpetual imprisonment. After a month's confinement, you must know, a prisoner for debt is entitled, on a sufficient statement to our Supreme Court, settingforth the amount of his funds, and the nature of his misfortunes, and surrendering all his effects to his creditors, to claim to be discharged from prison".
"I had heard", I replied, "of such a humane regulation".
"Yes", said Halkit, "and the beauty of it is, as the foreign fellow said, you may get the cessio when the bonorums are all spent. ..."
The characters Halkit and Hardie and all their legal carry-on in the first chapter are entirely unnecessary as is the character Bartoline Saddletree, who's utterances throughout the book are tedious in the extreme, not only to the reader, but also to the other characters who are forced to listen to him. Obviously Scott had not the art of self editing, being entirely unable to cull his own dross, and the book is much the weaker for it.

And now we come to the matter of religion. There is a great deal of religion in this book, and in my opinion at least, a great deal too much. I know that many folk in those days took the cult of Jehovah far more seriously than they do today, but it makes for boring reading. There can surely be few indeed who care a fig about the Cameronian Covenanters and their nit picking issues with the Protestant Church. For example:
"There remained a third stumbling block - the oaths to government exacted from the established clergymen, in which they acknowledge an Erastian king and parliament, and homologate the incorporating union between England and Scotland, through which the latter kingdom had become part and parcel of the former, wherein Prelacy, the sister of Popery, had made fast her throne, and elevated the horns of her mitre. These were the symptoms of defection which had often made David cry out. "My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at the very heart!" ...
These oaths were, therefore, a deep compliance and a dire abomination - a sin and a snare, and a danger and a defection. But this shibboleth was not always exacted."...
There may well have been people like the tiresome David Deans, and modern students of Christian history may be fascinated with the intricacies of Protestant doctrine but for the rest of us it just gets in the way of the story.

Scott may, perhaps, have excuses for the above flaws, but what he can not excuse himself from is the books greatest flaw: the one dimensionality of the main characters. Jeanie the heroine is, to put it baldly, a drip. A courageous, do it herself woman, willing and able to risk her life and honour to save her sister. A steadfast Protestant willing to let her sister be sentenced to death rather than tell a lie before God. A loyal lover, prepared to wait years for her boring boyfriend to get a decent job before marrying him, meanwhile denying the suit of the local Laird. A fine cheesemaker and exemplary housekeeper. Wise confidant, providential saver, loving mother, dedicated Christian and dutiful wife. She never puts a foot out of line, never learns anything and never has any fun in the entire book! What a drip!

Much the same can be same of her eventual husband Reuben Butler. A struggling school teacher and cleric. He has a smaller part but is similarly a paragon of virtue and dull as dishwater!

The characters of people like David Deans and Bartoline Saddletree are "enlivened" by making them tiresome. The Duke of Argyle and the Queen of England are paragons of nobility: generosity, judgement and grace. Too pat and one dimensional Scott!

It is the people of arbitrary morality that have the most rounded characters, such as Jem Ratcliffe, George Staunton, Duncan Knockdunder and Effie Deans herself, yet in the whole book it is only Duncan that has any real zest for life.

Inexcusable Mr Scott, to fill a book full of dull characters. Surely 18th century Scotland can't have been THAT dreary!!!

The other inexcusable flaw in this work is the way it all turns out. Not only is it predictably pat, but it is RELIGIOUSLY pat. Any character that has done wrong comes to a bad end. (With the exception of Ratcliffe). Obvious villains like Meg Murdockson and George Staunton are executed or die in battle. Misled unfortunates like Staunton's heir and Madge Wildfire die in misadventure. Even Effie Deans, guilty of nothing more than sex before marriage, cannot escape the misery of her sins and ends up in a convent. Meanwhile the religious zealots are elevated and live long and rewarding? lives. It's enough to make one want to vomit. Considering Scott came from a legal background and was a deputy sheriff I fail to see why he should exhibit such a narrow minded fundamentalist Christianity. Alas for this book.

OK, enough knocking, is there anything good about this famous novel? Well yes of course, fortunately there is.

Firstly, although dry and boring, it is very well written. Scott was an intelligent, educated man, and although his view of the world is narrow, it is, at least historically accurate and detailed.

Secondly, for those of us who love Scotland it is wonderful to hear the Scottish dialect, that permeates almost every page. For example the worthy Duncan:
"Fat ta deil, Mr Archibald," answered the Captain of Knockdunder, "wad ye hae them ring the bell before I am ready to gang to kirk? I wad gar the bedral eat the bell-rope, if he took ony sic freedom. But if ye want to hear the bell, I will just show mysell on the knowe-head, and it will begin jowing forthwith."
Or the loyal Jeanie:
"But when the hour of trouble comes to the mind or to the body - and seldom may it visit your Leddyship - and when the hour of death comes, that comes to high and low - lang and late may it be yours - O, my Leddy, then it isna what we hae dune for oursells, but what we hae dune for others, that we think on maist pleasantly. And the thoughts that ye hae intervened to spare the puir thing's life will be sweeter in that hour, come when it may, than if a word of your mouth could hang the haill Porteous mob at the tail of ae tow."

Thirdly, although Scott has done his best to obscure them, the events themselves are quite interesting. In better hands this book could have been a ripping yarn.

And that's it folks.

To conclude: I am giving this book 4 stars because it is a classic that has stood the test of time. Scott pioneered the historical novel. His work must be taken in context with its time, it cannot be judged as though it were written last year. Had it been written last year, it would not have been published and I would not be bothering to write this review.

This book is indispensable if one is interested in Scottish literature. It would be a fascinating read if one were interested in old Presbyterian dogma or 18th century Scottish law. If you want a ripping historical page-turner I suggest you look elsewhere.

The flaws exhibited in this novel are very serious, including the fatal crime of boring the reader, but the erudite may find them counterbalanced by Scott's learned prose and punctilious historical detail. In the end however it is the weight of history and this book's place in it that makes this book worthwhile.

580 page shaggy dog story. Borrow it for the first 90 pages.
I've read some long novels in my time, but this one I couldn't bring myself to more than skip through, aside from the first 90 pages, which excitingly detail the porteous riots. Scott might have had an interesting idelogical point to make about religion, but the story he found to tell it through was not worth 580-odd pages. Jeanie Deans story is more like a poor attempt at Jane Austen, who will she marry, how does her marriage go. Scott's interest is clearly in the supporting players, Douce Davie Deans and Dumbiedikes, who are aligned with whatever religious movement Scott didn't like. Honestly, if you don't care much for religious differences, you'll be skipping as I was. Too much character description and not enough character in action; the story doesn't fit the concept, and tells a story in 580 words what probably deserved 220 or less, for economic reasons, to sell the full three volumes (according to the introduction).

Scott is famous for being immensely popular: but unlike Dickens, I'm struggling to see why. I will give him another chance some day. I've got Waverley, Old Mortality and Ivanhoe sitting on my shelf - I haven't given up on him yet. ... Read more