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Summary: Ivanhoe sucks
Review: I thought that it was a really boring book. It was hard to read because it was like scriptures. They say thy, thou ,ye, and all that crazy stuff. It sucked
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: If you have never read historical fiction before -- Sir Walter Scott is the author to start with. Ivanhoe is one of his most enjoyable works. Cynics may be too jaded for this noble story, but all others will come away impressed.
Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: im thirteen, and ive read classics because ive had 2. but i wanted 2 read this 1 bcuz i read little women, and they mentioned it in there, so i got it from our library and read it. and i was very surprised. this is the only classic ive read, that were written bfor the 20th century, that actually isnt boring. rebecca the jewess is very cool, but rowena is a little spoiled brat, and 2 tell u the truth, i think ivanhoe should've married rebecca, even tho that wouldn't hav happened back then. my brother read it 2, and he thought it was good, and he usually doesn't like romance, like i do, but he thought it wuz good.
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Summary: A pleasure to read
Review: Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, is set in England during the reign of King Richard , who is away on the Crusades to the Holy Land , leaving the administration of the country to his scheming brother , John , and his corrupt court cronies like Waldemar Fitzurse , Malvoisin and Front-de-Bouef.
Meanwhile a mysterious Disinherited Knight, aided by another anonymous Knight in black amour (Le Noir Fainéant) defeats all of King John's favorite knights at the jousting tournament at Ashby.
The challenger is revealed as Wilfred of Ivanhoe, the disinherited son of the Saxon nobleman, Cedric, who is the beloved of his father's charge, the comely Rowena. The character who was for me, the most interesting, was the beautiful `black eyed' Jewish beauty, Rebecca, the daughter of the merchant Isaac of York. Compassionate and yet fiery, humble yet proud, sensual and yet modest, it is not hard to understand the passion for her felt by the Knight Templar, Brian De-Bois Gilbert. She and her father must try to survive in a violently anti-Semitic society, in which they are rendered defenseless, as members of a humbled nation. Rebecca, faced with a horrific fate, refuses to renounce her faith, right until the end. In a sense she represents the Jewish Nation, or the Nation of Israel, right through the exile (Galut), and also today as the international community unjustly pillories the Jewish State, and plots her destruction. Rebecca thus says during her trial by the order of Knights Templars: " ` To invoke your pity' said the lovely Jewess, with a voice tremulous with emotion `would I am be aware, , be as useless as I should hold it mean...Nor will I even vindicate myself at the expense of the oppressor which seem to convert the tyrant into the victim." So you see how timeless words of wisdom can be. Also thrown into the book are Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and the witty Jester Wamba . A quotable quote from Wamba from Wamba is " To restrain them by their sense of humanity is the same as to stop a runaway horse with a bridle of silk thread. The book is a pleasure to read. As Herbert Strang wrote in an early 20th century edition of Ivanhoe: "In introducing this great story to a new generation of boys and girls, I find myself wishing that I too, where about to read Ivanhoe for the first time" After having read Ivanhoe , I can understand exactly why he wrote that.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: My first 'classical' novel. An excellent book; well written, detailed, interesting chracters, and very good setting. I would reccommend it to anyone who enjoys a good historical novel.
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Summary: The One Who Popularized Historical Fiction
Review: Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe is a pioneering work of historical fiction. Set during the Crusades, in the era after the Norman conquest of England (1066), it is the story of a disinherited knight, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who has been cast aside by his father, Cedric of Rotherwood, because of a forbidden love between young Ivanhoe and Cederic's ward, the lovely Saxon girl Rowena. Cederic want to re-establish Saxon rule in England and to do so, he has plotted to marry off Rowena to Athelstane, a Saxon noble of pure blood, thereby creating a legitimate Saxon ruling line. This intimate story of forbidden love is set against the grand historical backdrop of a political drama that pits Richard the Lionhearted, who has been away on Crusade against his corrupt brother Prince John, who has been plotting to seize power with the help of treacherous nobles Waldemar, Fitzurse, Font-de-Bouef and Malvosin. The pageantry of a medieval tournament at Ashby is the backdrop for the dramatic introduction of the character of the Disinherited Knight, supported by the Black Knight, Le Noir Faineant, who vanquish all of Prince John's favorites in combat. The Disinherited Knight, is of course, revealed to be Ivanhoe, the hero of the Scott's epic tale. An interesting sub plot is the story of the sensual Jewish beauty Rebecca, daughter of the merchant Isaac of York, who came to Ivanhoe's aid. In an era of rampant anti-Semitism, Sir Walter Scott drew his Jewish characters with great sympathy and Rebecca's sad story of her trial by the Knights Templar, enrichens the novel. Ivanhoe is a beautifully written and the story takes many twists and turns to reach it's conclusion. It's dense plot and intrigue are said to have influenced the later writings of Alexandre Dumas. Full of fascinating characters, dark deeds, swordplay, humor, pathos and of course, a rich, romantic story of star-crossed lovers, Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe is mythmaking at its finest. Jeffrey Morseburg
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Summary: Ivanhoe: Templar Chivalry & Mystery Live On
Review: SIR WALTER SCOTT'S IVANHOE is one of the most important literary works of all time. It is at once history and fiction, setting the precedent for all the historical novels that followed it.
Ivanhoe is also of supreme relevance today: who could hope to understand the political & religious tensions of today without knowing something of the ancient tensions between Jews, Christians and Muslims described in Ivanhoe? Who would doubt that the history of the Holy Land is important to every man woman and child on the planet, still feeding the conflicts of our time.
Ivanhoe contains many historical inaccuracies. But in a very real sense it actually adds to the historical record. Many popular perceptions about chivalry, the crusades and other contemporary issues are drawn from this book rather than from the history books. Scott uses his unique imagination and his natural, almost casual deep understanding of history & chivalry to weave a monumental story out of the threads of history, informed speculation and imagination.
Most people's knowledge of the mysterious Knights Templar probably comes from Ivanhoe, perhaps because "historical" information about the order is so scarce. The persecution of the Knights Templar began on Friday the 13th of October 1307 and soon afterwards the Pope disbanded them. But the Order and its principles remained alive. The devoted Knights Templar continued their beloved Order without the Roman Catholic Church, in the cellars and subterranean caves of sympathetic towns in South East England after the Temple's leaders were arrested on Friday the 13th of October 1307. The current, independent Grand Preceptory of the Knights Templar is in Hertford, Hertfordshire.
It is almost seven centuries since the day the Templar order's persecution began but their legacy is alive in the politics and the popular imagination of today. The order recently requested a papal apology for their persecution, timing the request to precede and coincide with the 7th centenary of that fateful day.
Modern popular stories utilise the same powerful Templar mythology, symbolism and timing, to great effect. The Da Vinci Code, now a best-selling book & soon a blockbusting film; the film National Treasure, and other works draw heavily upon the myths and history surrounding the Templars. The influence of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe cannot be ignored as a key source of imaginative and historical inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Dense but well worth the effort.
Review: This is most definately a book you have to wade through but Scott is such a masterful story teller that the difficult passages are worth the effort. Rebekah (I can't remember which way Scott spelled it so please bear with me) is a brilliant character, an intelligent and independant woman who uses her brain. Most modern books don't have as strong a female character. THe introduction to my copy says that the book is not accurate to medieval history and was not meant to be. The Normans and Saxons were symbols for the English and Scots. (Scott was pro independance) I don't know how true this is but it makes a good deal of sense. My point is, the strength of the book was not it's historical accuracy but Scott's brilliant characters. Rebekah and Brian de Bois Gilbert are my favorites hgandds down for their complexities but everyone has at least one good scene. (Except poor Rowena who really is a damsel in distress.)
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Summary: Great Twists and Turns
Review: This review is of Ivanhoe strictly as a fun FICTIONAL book to read. I can not vouch for any historical accuracy nor is that my intent. I turned onto Ivanhoe because I had heard that this story influenced Dumas when he wrote the Three Musketeer saga and I am really glad that I gave it a chance. The story of Ivanhoe is about the return of the Wilfred of Ivanhoe and King Richard from the Crusades. Wilfred is the disinherited son of Cedric of Rotherwood, aka Cedric the Saxon. Cedric dreams of restoring the Saxon monarchy and has been trying to facilitate a union between his ward, Rowena and Athelstane, whose pure bloodline would give credit to a claim for rule. A strong affection between Rowena and his son Wilfred (henceforth called Ivanhoe) has caused him to exile his son - his sacrifice to promote the Saxon cause. The disinherited Ivanhoe went to serve with Richard the Lion Heart in the Crusades. While Richard and Ivanhoe have been gone, Richard's brother, Prince John, has been gathering friends and making schemes for wresting control from Richard before he could get back and squelch his efforts. The conflict between the Normans and Saxons and the absence of King Richard (Lion Heart) has created the perfect conditions for a rebellion of the Saxons and/or a coup by John - both of which seem almost imminent. The twists and turns are great. When Richard and Ivanhoe return incognito and fight in a tournament, besting all of the strongest, the wheels start turning that will see damsels abducted, the storming and sacking of a castle with the aid of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, a witch trial and more swordplay. Great, great, great. It's no wonder that this work is still being read almost two hundred years later and influenced what I consider to be one of the best adventure stories ever - the Three Musketeers. If you like Dumas, you will more than likely like this even though it is not as involved or long as a Dumas novel.
Rating: 
Summary: When was the last time...
Review: When was the last time you heard of a 13 year-old who willingly read a 520 page novel written over 150 years ago? Well, if it has been a long time, you may rest assured that it has happened and I am living proof. This book surprised me, I read it voluntarily but I had half-expected it to be a long, unimaginative knights-in-shining-armor story. But I was wrong. The story grabbed me with its flowery old-english, the brave, young, idealist of a hero, and its many surprising twists. I never expected Robin Hood to be a main character, the struggle of Rebecca and her father against the tides of medieval prejudice stirs the heart, and the surprise ending of the last tournament will tickle you. I and my sister's favorite part would have to be the supposed "funeral" of Athelstane, the in-over-his-head Saxon Lord. We were both in stitches as his "ghost" appears just at the right moment...Hehehe. You have to read the book yourself to fully appreciate it, and I would reccomend it to everyone, but especially to fans of G.A. Henty's medieval novels, Jane Austen and James Fenimore Cooper.
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