Ivanhoe (Signet classics) - Softcover

Scott, Sir Walter

3.76

94,724 ratings by Goodreads

9780451521941: Ivanhoe (Signet classics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451521943 ISBN 13: 9780451521941

Publisher: Penguin, 1991

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Scott's classic historical romance, set in the twelfth-century England of Richard I, depicts the adventures of the heroic Wilfred of Ivanhoe in winning the hand of beautiful Lady Rowena

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Review:

Ivanhoe was the first of Scott's novels to be located wholly in England, and the first to take place in the middle ages. But it is far from being the fantastic, medievalist romance associated (in the critical imagination) with a visionary Britain that never was. This is a serious novel, the first in English to deal carefully with race. And at the same time, it is an incredibly exciting read for contemporary readers. Ivanhoe was the first of Scott's novels to be located wholly in England, and the first to take place in the middle ages. But it is far from being the fantastic, medievalist romance associated (in the critical imagination) with a visionary Britain that never was. This is a serious novel, the first in English to deal carefully with race. And at the same time, it is an incredibly exciting read for contemporary readers.

About the Author:

Sir Walter Scott was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scott created and popularized historical novels in a series called the Waverley Novels. In his novels Scott arranged the plots and characters so the reader enters into the lives of both great and ordinary people caught up in violent, dramatic changes in history. Scott's work shows the influence of the 18th century enlightenment. He believed every human was basically decent regardless of class, religion, politics, or ancestry. Tolerance is a major theme in his historical works. The Waverley Novels express his belief in the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. He was the first novelist to portray peasant characters sympathetically and realistically, and was equally just to merchants, soldiers, and even kings. Central themes of many of Scott's novels are about conflicts between opposing cultures. Ivanhoe (1819) is about war between Normans and Saxons. The Talisman (1825) is about conflict between Christians and Muslims. His novels about Scottish history deal with clashes between the new English culture and the old Scottish. Scott's other great novels include ,i>Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Midlothian (1819), and St Ronan's Well (1824). His Waverley series includes Rob Roy (1817), A Legend of Montrose (1819), and Quentin Durward (1823). Scott's amiability, generosity, and modesty made him popular with his contemporaries. He was also famous for entertaining on a grand scale at his Scottish estate, Abbotsford.

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