Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott

Published by Marshall Cavendish Ltd: Old Compton St, 1987.
A facsimile reproduction of an edition published in 1933.
First published 1819.

Ivanhoe is an interesting one... I actually thought I'd read it a number of years ago - it appears on my 2018 list as a completed book - and at the time I enjoyed it. However, when I decided to re-read it, I realised that the book I have previously read was an abridged version of the story, and so I made sure that this time around I hunted out the full text.

It was a much longer, slower process to read than I remember it being last time...

Perhaps an abridgement is actually the right choice for the average reader!

In terms of story, Ivanhoe makes the interesting choice on not mainly focussing on the titular character! Getting more 'screentime' than Ivanhoe are characters including the Saxon 'swineherd' Gurth, the jester Wamba, the Saxon thane Cedric, the mysterious 'Black Knight', the Jewish moneylender Isaac, his daughter Rebecca, Cedric's ward Rowena, the villainous Brian de Bois-Gilbert, and - somewhat of a surprise the first time I read the book - Robin Hood and his band of outlaws! This last group is "hidden" a little by Robin being referred to as "Locksley" for most of the book, something that Scott apparently did intentionally, but the success of the book meant that 'Locksley' is now a common name for Robin, and no longer obscures his identity. 

Ivanhoe as a character does appear throughout the book, but is not formally introduced until almost a quarter of the way in. Very soon after this he is both injured (in a tournament) and captured, and as such remains 'off-screen', with a number of the other characters figuring out how to rescue him, and initiating their plan. After that, we follow some plot-lines concerning other characters, before Ivanhoe is briefly reintroduced in order to fight another joust, though wounded. Then it all wraps up nicely, with Ivanhoe the object of affection for both of the main female characters, but only able to end up with one (of course).

As with other stories from this era, Ivanhoe occasionally feels like the plot is simply being extended on a whim - a footnote regarding one very unexpected plot-point suggests that Scott changed his mind on the outcome of one storyline based on feedback from his editor! It also - admittedly, purposefully - deals a lot with anti-semitism by having all of the main characters (except the Jewish ones) dislike Jews, even the sympathetic characters. Scott informs us that this is era-appropriate, but it is very confronting, and seems petty, which, once again, might be the point!

In the end, Ivanhoe is a mixed bag. A bit long-winded and archaic in style, a rambly plot that doesn't focus on the titular character it promises to, and yet, also an interesting look at chivalry, honour, as well as giving a different take on the Robin Hood tales.

Not one I'll rush back to, though.

Completed 18 February 2026.

Previous Book ~ Next Book

Previously completed 29 November 2018.

(2018 List)

Previous Book ~ Next Book

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