Not only do you have Ivanhoe the white night, The black knight, Robin Hood and His Merry men an a surprise visit from King Richard the Lion Hearted What more do you need. ( )

This was a pleasant surprise! I knew Ivanhoe from my youth from the boys' books and from the black-and-white films, but the original version really has much more to offer. And while reading you gradually notice more and more aspects and themes that rightly make this novel world literature. It starts off quite Chaucerian (including the mottos at the beginning of the chapters), with the clearly medieval setting, the strong anti-clerical accents, and the antagonism between Norman and Anglo-Saxon nobles. At a certain point I thought this predominantly was a nationalistic novel because of the pronounced anti-French slant (it is no coincidence that the book was written shortly after of the struggle against Napoleon). A bit further on, the very emphasized rejection of anti-Semitism became apparent. Of course, the knightly ideal is also fully addressed, although with a sting: Scott clearly emphasizes how outdated this obsessive adherence to the exalted values of knighthood is, how flawed and counterproductive. He even lets his characters reflect on this. And so it turns out that almost all the characters are people with shortcomings: the lust for power and the cynicism of the Normans, the nostalgic clinging to the past of the Anglo-Saxons, even the so sympathetically portrayed Jew Isaac, as avarice itself, and also the �good’ knights Ivanhoe and Richard the Lionheart do not escape it; Scott regularly puts them on display with cunning irony. Two exceptions: the ladies Rowena and Rebecca; Rowena is portrayed a bit too angelically for my taste, she hardly weighs on the story; but Rebecca, on the other hand, is a woman who stands firmly; she even seems – more than Ivanhoe – to be the most important character, and therefore gets the last word.
Of course there are the �Romantics’-aspects: the extensive descriptions of castles, forests and tournaments.; the sometimes very pathetically escalating emotions of the characters, and a number of very improbable twists, including the predictable and quickly reeled off happy ending. But Ivanhoe is more than a simple novel, and certainly much more than a boy's story. I enjoyed this very much. ( )

okay -- i have made in past Âľ of the way through this book three separate times...i still own the book. maybe one day i will finish it?? also: so. much, greenery!

The book has some flaws, but the modern style of romantic adventure novels was in its infancy. The minor characters are well treated, and the love story more complicated than some. ( )

A tale as the Saxons and Normans were beginning to compete for control of England. Yet, if aware a more profound and controversial secondary commentary also clearly comes through.

Scott’s used Ivanhoe to make a not-so-subtle criticism of the medieval church. Bois-Guilbert, aTemplar Knight, kidnaps Rebecca and threatens to defile her. A clergyman, Prior Aymer, who's reputation of worldly acts such as cavorting with women, and drinks excessively. The church, highly political and hostile to the Jewish race. Anti-Semitism plays into Bois-Guilbert’s decision to put Rebecca on trial. Rebecca, a Jew, proves to be the most genuinely faithful and God-fearing character in the book. ( )