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Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe
Newly Adapted for the Modern Reader by David Purdie
Ivanhoe follows Wilfred of Ivanhoe, part of one of the few Saxon families at a time when English nobility was dominated by the Normans, who is out of favour with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart. The gripping storyline beautifully captures the 12th century tensions between Saxons and Normans, Nobility and Commonality and Jews and Gentiles, with a whole host of well-known characters from Robin Hood to Friar Tuck.
Ivanhoe follows Wilfred of Ivanhoe, part of one of the few Saxon families at a time when English nobility was dominated by the Normans, who is out of favour with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart. The gripping storyline beautifully captures the 12th century tensions between Saxons and Normans, Nobility and Commonality and Jews and Gentiles, with a whole host of well-known characters from Robin Hood to Friar Tuck.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2014
24 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
David Purdie
12 booksDavid Purdie is a Professor Emeritus of Hull University and is an Hon. Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities of the University of Edinburgh, where his field is the history and philosophy of the 18th century. He was educated at Ayr Academy and Glasgow University.
Purdie is Editor-in-Chief of The Burns Encyclopedia, which covers the life and work of the poet Robert Burns, and editor of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and The Heart of Midlothian, both adapted for the modern reader. He is a former Chairman of the Sir Walter Scott Club. In non-academic mode, he is the co-author of The Ancyent & Healthfulle Exercyse, a history of golf, and of The Dean’s Diaries, an exposé of the goings-on at the (fictional) St Andrew’s College in Edinburgh.
Purdie is Editor-in-Chief of The Burns Encyclopedia, which covers the life and work of the poet Robert Burns, and editor of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and The Heart of Midlothian, both adapted for the modern reader. He is a former Chairman of the Sir Walter Scott Club. In non-academic mode, he is the co-author of The Ancyent & Healthfulle Exercyse, a history of golf, and of The Dean’s Diaries, an exposé of the goings-on at the (fictional) St Andrew’s College in Edinburgh.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2021
I must confess to some disappointment. Not with the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The problem is this: I am not sure I can honestly say I have read Ivanhoe.
I was frustrated at first when I could not find my edition on Goodreads. Mine is a hardback charity-shop purchase from the 1950s and has no ISBN, so in the end I was obliged to select one of a similar length and make do. However, after a few chapters I grew suspicious at the pace of the story, and on further investigation I found that my copy is an abridged version! I was too far along to stop reading, so I persevered.
I am glad I did, as the story is actually a lot of fun. I enjoy stories like this, from less-covered periods of English history. When one basks too long in the pomp and circumstance of later British Imperialism, it is easy to forget all the centuries the inhabitants of these islands struggled, enslaved under an invaders yoke. I think of Boudicca and her doomed Celtic uprising against the Romans; the tales of King Arthur, from the shadows of the Romano-British resistance to the Anglo-Saxon incursions; the struggles of Alfred the Great (name-dropped here) against the Viking hordes. And Ivanhoe fits this pattern too, featuring themes of a Saxon world dominated and gradually being eroded away by Norman steel. Reading of yeomen and knights and castles and tourneys, I was minded strongly of Robin Hood, so imagine my delight when Locksley himself shows up! I was shocked that I had not known more of this tale before now, and I also found it surprising how small a part Ivanhoe himself played in the story.
I would have loved this one as a child, and I enjoyed it immensely as an adult. It makes me more likely to seek out the full-length version now. Which leaves me with a sticky question: I have certainly read a book, but can I really say I have read Ivanhoe?
I was frustrated at first when I could not find my edition on Goodreads. Mine is a hardback charity-shop purchase from the 1950s and has no ISBN, so in the end I was obliged to select one of a similar length and make do. However, after a few chapters I grew suspicious at the pace of the story, and on further investigation I found that my copy is an abridged version! I was too far along to stop reading, so I persevered.
I am glad I did, as the story is actually a lot of fun. I enjoy stories like this, from less-covered periods of English history. When one basks too long in the pomp and circumstance of later British Imperialism, it is easy to forget all the centuries the inhabitants of these islands struggled, enslaved under an invaders yoke. I think of Boudicca and her doomed Celtic uprising against the Romans; the tales of King Arthur, from the shadows of the Romano-British resistance to the Anglo-Saxon incursions; the struggles of Alfred the Great (name-dropped here) against the Viking hordes. And Ivanhoe fits this pattern too, featuring themes of a Saxon world dominated and gradually being eroded away by Norman steel. Reading of yeomen and knights and castles and tourneys, I was minded strongly of Robin Hood, so imagine my delight when Locksley himself shows up! I was shocked that I had not known more of this tale before now, and I also found it surprising how small a part Ivanhoe himself played in the story.
I would have loved this one as a child, and I enjoyed it immensely as an adult. It makes me more likely to seek out the full-length version now. Which leaves me with a sticky question: I have certainly read a book, but can I really say I have read Ivanhoe?
August 11, 2023
Sometimes it is nice to read about the past. But the story was kind of detailed!
October 3, 2018
Both a time-piece and a masterpiece! I first read Ivanhoe as a teenager, both my first ‘Romance’ novel, and first Historical Fiction novel, set in C12th England. The Norman Conquest is over, but their brutal victory remains fragile.
The Saxon nobility are rendered increasingly subservient to their Norman victors, mutual suspicion runs deep, and wealth and political power provide a rich and pervasive backdrop to what is essentially a love story. The cast of characters is enormous by present-day standards (two centuries since the novel’s 1820 publication), and all of them play a part.
The backdrop is a complex web of Saxon and Norman players, family relationships, and the ambitions of King Richard the Lion Heart and his much despised brother, Prince John. Robin Hood and his Merrie Men also put in a star performance - not invented by Sir Walter Scott, but reaching back to a C14th ballad, and many accretions since.
Scott wrote with a keen eye for period detail, a deep grasp of political ambitions, and an astute use of humour in the dialogue. It is a rollicking story with increasingly complex plot, and tension at every turn.
His sensitive treatment of central Jewish characters is commendable and rejects age-old stereotypes in favor of understanding motives in an age of intense uncertainly.
Scott’s unwitting discovery of an historical fiction romance genre laid the foundation for more recent authors digging deep into the ancient past - Robert Harris’s Cicero trilogy, Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom series, and more.
enjoy!
Rob Mackintosh
The Saxon nobility are rendered increasingly subservient to their Norman victors, mutual suspicion runs deep, and wealth and political power provide a rich and pervasive backdrop to what is essentially a love story. The cast of characters is enormous by present-day standards (two centuries since the novel’s 1820 publication), and all of them play a part.
The backdrop is a complex web of Saxon and Norman players, family relationships, and the ambitions of King Richard the Lion Heart and his much despised brother, Prince John. Robin Hood and his Merrie Men also put in a star performance - not invented by Sir Walter Scott, but reaching back to a C14th ballad, and many accretions since.
Scott wrote with a keen eye for period detail, a deep grasp of political ambitions, and an astute use of humour in the dialogue. It is a rollicking story with increasingly complex plot, and tension at every turn.
His sensitive treatment of central Jewish characters is commendable and rejects age-old stereotypes in favor of understanding motives in an age of intense uncertainly.
Scott’s unwitting discovery of an historical fiction romance genre laid the foundation for more recent authors digging deep into the ancient past - Robert Harris’s Cicero trilogy, Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom series, and more.
enjoy!
Rob Mackintosh
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews