Rating: 
Summary: The Immortally Disinherited
Review: I have been notoriously shy of Sir Walter Scott's novels these many years - afeared my imagination would fatefully be swallowed in the fog of the misty dawn - the ominous steps pacing stoically and relentlessly toward my doom - a duel with the spirit of "That old War Horse."But I was quite mistaken: ~ This story is alive - or rather, so very lively! Human fallibilities, such as greed, pride, and bigotry are unabashedly exploited and made ridiculous with as ever a brilliant wit that novelists Jane Austen or Charles Dickens have ever displayed! Scott lights a flame that gives his readers a warm, glowing glance into a dark and murky age. Legends - King Richard the Lionheart and even Robin Hood - embodiment of the spirit of the age - are given eloquent voice and movement through vistas and airs that touch my - the reader's - every sense! Nobility in IVANHOE is not written on the charters or conquests of the characters peopling this novel - but within their hearts and in their actions. No, this is not old and out of sync with everything that we, in the 21st century, know. Scott shows us that humans cannot be bound by time or mortality - but only by the restraints of our own imaginations - our own reticent hearts. I tell you this - IVANHOE may very well induce your imaginations to throw far from your mortal boundaries every conceivable stipulation that would endeavor to restrain them!
Rating: 
Summary: 3 Cheers for the Noble Work
Review: Do you like high adventure,jousting tournaments,and castles under siege? Does the mention of a knight in shining armour, a beautiful princess, or a hero in disguise give your heart a little thrill? Than this book is for you. Join Wilfred of Ivanhoe, the noble knight, Rowena the fair Saxon Princess, Rebecca the brave Jewess, King Richard the LionHearted,Cedric the Saxon, a fat and jolly friar, Locksley the outlaw and bowman, and various villians in this excellent read. You've got to be patient to read it, however, because at times it plods along like a tortoise. The action packed spots almost make up for this, however, and maybe you wouldn't think it's slow after all. This is from a 14 year old's viewpoint and we aren't very patient. However I do recomend this book, it's a classic and quite a noble work.
Rating:
Summary: A literary classic
Review: The book deals with Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe returning from the Crusades to claim his inheritance and his love for a Saxon princess, Rowena. Throughout the novel, we are shown the struggle between Richard the Lion-Hearted and his brother John, introduced to Robin Hood, the reasons for the hatred between Saxons and Normans, and discrimination against the Jews. The majority of characters are intelligent and beautifuly written. Even with Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, even though he is one of the major villans, the reader is left with a sense of sorrow because he also loves Rowena. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: This book has been one of the best books that I have ever read it keeps you in it all the way through not wanting you to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Ivanhoe: An Eye Popper
Review: Ivanhoe is a wonderful book. If you like reading about jousting and when Jews and Mormans still fought with each other, you will love reading this book. Some spots you may have to go over to get the full effect of the book, but I am pretty sure you will think the book is an enchantment when you read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Ivanhoe is a must-read classic
Review: I am a high school student. I read this book as an assignment and it quickly became one of my favorites. The plot is highly convoluted, which is what i love about it. It is also not just a simple love story. Many people who are older, or chivalry fanatics (aka Star Wars fans), like it. But I am an average person and also a young one, and if you like the classics, you should definitely read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC
Review: 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): 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 and 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 ought to have. Peopled by many "stock" characters and situations, this tale was fresh in its time and still reads well today -- a testament to Scott's skills as a teller of tales. It's the tale of the "disinherited knight" Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe who, returning from service in the Crusades under his liege lord, Richard the Lionhearted, discovers his father, the Saxon noble Cedric (who had disowned and driven him out), threatened by Richard's enemies, led by Prince John, Richard's infamous brother. A contingent of arrogant Normans, stopping for the night at Cedric's abode, initiate the events which will see Cedric, his household, dependents and even his guests all threatened by the schemings of John and his cohorts. Sir Wifred must do what he can to thwart their plans while not revealing his true identity. In the process he must give battle to his liege's enemies in a knighly tourney, be rescued by a fair maiden and rescue her in his turn, contest with the bluntly greedy Sir Reginald Front de Boeuf and stand against the wily but complex Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert of the Knights Templar, one of the most interesting villains in all literature. There are kidnappings here and castle seiges and duels to the death. Even Robin Hood makes a cameo appearance, as does the noble King 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. (If you like historical adventures, by the way, you might also want to try another, a book I wrote. Though it's certainly not yet of "classic" vintage it has, hopefully, some merits of its own! It's called THE KING OF VINLAND'S SAGA and can be found right here on amazon.com under its title.) -- SWM
Rating:
Summary: A Nineteenth Century Historical Romance Par Excellence
Review: Not to put too fine a point on it, but this nineteenth century novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in the medieval England of the Third Crusade, was the progenitor of what was to become a venerable tradition in English letters (and in other European literatures): 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 and quality of the tale. So, though these people certainly wouldn't really have spoken as he has them speaking here, yet they sound as though they ought to 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. This is the story of the disinherited knight, Sir Wifred of Ivanhoe, newly returned to England from a stint with his liege lord, King Richard the Lionhearted, crusading in the Holy Land. Sir Wilfred arrives incognito because he has been disowned by his father, the wilfull Saxon lord, Sir Cedric, for his obvious attraction to Sir Cedric's beautiful ward, the lovely Rowena, last descendant of the royal house of the Saxons and Sir Cedric's hope for restoring the throne of England to Saxon hands. Too, Sir Wilfred had made common cause with the Norman Richard who rules Saxon England in the wake of the Norman Conquest, which has further enraged the head-strong Sir Cedric against him. But what the young Saxon knight finds upon his return is more than he had bargained for. Cedric and all his household are threatened by the nefarious machinations of the scheming Prince John and his Norman hangers-on who seek to unseat the absent Richard from his throne and place John upon it. But Cedric is too hard-headed to see a difference between the two Norman factions (John and Richard) and goes blithely toward his own downfall as John's minions, the brilliantly evoked Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert and the greedy and blood thirsty dullard, Sir Reginald Front de Boeuf, begin to work their plans on Cedric, his followers and the guests which Sir Wilfred finds upon the eve of his return to his father's house. Soon only the disguised Sir Wilfred can intervene to save them all, yet he is wounded in a tourney and must be hidden and nursed back to health by the lovely Jewess, Rebecca, whose father, the Hebrew merchant Isaac and one of Sir Cedric's guests on the night of Sir Wilfred's return (albeit one who is admitted to the feast hall only grudgingly for the prejudices of the time), is threatened by the greedy workings of Sir Reginald. And Sir Brian is soon smitten by Rebecca himself, though she has eyes only for the recuperating Sir Wilfred. There's lots of action and coincidences galore here, battles and sieges and bloody duels to the death. And Sir Wilfred loves Rowena while Rebecca loves him and Sir Brian, no slacker if aligned with the "dark side", is smitten, to his own detriment, by the lovely Jewess. Robin Hood makes a more than cameo appearance here, 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.
Rating:
Summary: The action was the best out of the plot
Review: Te book was fine and the action was good too. There wasn't much surprises, but it was little romantic because the two girls like him. I recommend for people who likes action, fighting, and romance. The book made Ivanhoe the hero and I've never heard of him till i read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent post-enlightenment recount of the medieval world
Review: Sir Walter Scott convinced me of his masterful storytelling ability with his Ivanhoe, and I encourage anybody interested in great literature to give this book a shot. It's up there with the best stories of the modern era.
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