Ivanhoe [Import] [Unbound]

Sir Walter Scott (Author), No Illustration (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Unbound
• Publisher: International Collectors Library (2000)
• ISBN-10: 0679641874
• ISBN-13: 978-0679641872
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and well-loved Classic!, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ivanhoe (Signet classics) (Paperback)

I would doubtlessly recommend Ivanhoe to read. History may be often dull but Sir Walter Scott makes history extremely exciting by romanticizing his novel. It directly deals with hatred between the Normans and the Saxons, the discrimination of the Jews, chivalry, and politics--but it is a unforgettable tale of heroism, honor, and love. I felt that the characters were so fascinating and fun to read about. I was enjoying and cheering on the good characters like Ivanhoe, King Richard, and Robin Hood to beat the hated and evil villains. I liked the idea of love added in the story, like how Rowena and Rebecca were both in love with Ivanhoe. I even felt a little sorry for Brian de Bois-Guilbert who would do anything for Rebecca's love but is constantly rejected. I thought how it was appealing how the author questions Ivanhoe and Rebecca's feelings for each other. Suspenseful and action sequences also added entertainment to the story. This book may be a little too detailed for some readers, but I didn't mind. I felt that the details were brilliantly used to decorate the story in an outstanding fashion. The old English wording made me feel like I was actually in the medieval England. I have to admit that it took a great deal of persistence for me to finish this book and it was a challenge for me to read. However, I found Ivanhoe to be a wonderful pleasure. It is no wonder that Ivanhoe is such a well-loved tale!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Walter Scott transcended his time, November 29, 2000

By 

Dennis A. Gura (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ivanhoe (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Each reader brings to a book a set of expectations and experience. Giving my particular background and interests, I was startled at how perceptive and understanding Scott was of his Jewish characters.

Having read Ivanhoe in high school, begrudingly, I was bemused that I got so enraptured with the story, however off to a slow start it was at the beginning.

But by the time I got to Rebecca's prayer, I was utterly taken. An argument could be made that that chapter, a prayer that could be read as a distillation of the medieval Jewish world view, is perhaps the intellectual center of the novel. Scott's awareness of how Jews saw themselves, and how they experienced the world, and his sympathy for a group, who, in early 19th century England were few and despised, is stunning.

One could perhaps even read his treatment of Isaac, Rebeca's father and a money-lender, as a counter-play on The Merchant of Venice, a character who starts off cold and avaricious, and ends loving, caring and humane.

All in all, a highly commendable novel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mother of All Historical Novels!, July 14, 2000

By 

Stuart W. Mirsky "swm" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ivanhoe (Signet classics) (Paperback)

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this book, by Sir Walter Scott, was the progenitor of what was to become a venerable tradition in English letters (and in other European literatures as well): the historical romance. There have been many after IVANHOE, and frequently with a finer eye to the period in which the tale is set (for IVANHOE contains quite a number of anachronisms -- even Scott acknowledged it), but few have done it quite as well as Scott. He uses an archaic English to give voice to his characters, but one which is readily absorbed because of the speed & quality of the tale. So, though these people certainly wouldn't really have spoken as he has them speaking, they yet sound as though they should have. Peopled by many 'stock' characters and situations, this tale was fresh in its time & still reads well today -- a testament to Scott's skills as a teller of tales and a sketcher of marvelously wrought characters. In this tale of the 'disinherited knight' returning home to find the world he left turned upside down, young Ivanhoe, after a stint with King Richard in the Holy Land, must fight the enemies of his king and kinsmen anew. Yet the hero is oddly sidelined for much of the tale as events swirl around him and the brilliantly evoked villain, Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert, in the pay of Prince John, struggles to win treasure and the beautiful Rebeccah, who yet has eyes only for Ivanhoe, a knight she can never hope to win herself. There's lots of action and coincidences galore here and Robin Hood makes more than a cameo appearance, as does the noble Richard. In sum, this one's great fun, a great tale, and the progenitor of a whole genre. All those which came after owe their form to it. Worth the price and the read.