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Ivanhoe (Xist Classics) Kindle Edition
If you've heard the stories of Robin Hood and want more, you'll love Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe's adventures in the forests of England.
This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This ebook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.
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About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00UCI9NGC
- Publisher : Xist Classics
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : 6 Mar. 2015
- Edition : Reprint
- Language : English
- File size : 1.4 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 367 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1623958152
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Part of series : Ivanhoé
- Reading age : 18 years and up
- Best Sellers Rank: 735,334 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1,003 in Classic Historical Fiction
- 1,322 in Action & Adventure Literary Fiction
- 1,513 in Classic Romance Fiction
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America.
Scott's novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor.
Although primarily remembered for his extensive literary works and his political engagement, Scott was an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, and throughout his career combined his writing and editing work with his daily occupation as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire.
A prominent member of the Tory establishment in Edinburgh, Scott was an active member of the Highland Society and served a long term as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1820–32).
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Henry Raeburn [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book to be a wonderful classic with a fascinating historical setting during the medieval period. The characters are very believable, and customers appreciate its emotional depth and humor. The language receives mixed reactions, with some finding it well-written while others find it tedious. Customers disagree on the comprehensibility of the text.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable, describing it as a brilliant and wonderful classic that is still one of the best.
"Hadn't read it for years but remembered the film. This is much more interesting and Scott enters enthusiastically into the period, even if some of..." Read more
"...I highly recommend this book though for sheer adventure and entertainment and urge readers not to be afraid to give it a go." Read more
"...The story is quite well written although it is very much in the style of the time; long winded descriptions and use of language that the people of..." Read more
"...There are several layers. It's a popular classic and I recommend it, it's relevant even though it's a long time since it was written." Read more
Customers appreciate the historical setting of the book, particularly its medieval period and classic romance elements, with one customer noting how vividly the Saxon world is portrayed.
"...This is much more interesting and Scott enters enthusiastically into the period, even if some of it is anachronistic..." Read more
"...But it isn't. Instead it is set in medieval England, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Adrian Mole country, during the reign of Richard the Lionheart...." Read more
"...Copious amounts of flowery dialogue also slowed the story down but It was definitely worth persevering...." Read more
"This is a story set during the medieval period, written by one of the best known writers from the 18th century...." Read more
Customers appreciate the characterization in the book, finding the characters very believable, with one customer noting they are full of villainy and bravery.
"...There are some wonderful characters too, notably swineherd Gurth and jester Wamba who show bravery and loyalty beyond the call of duty...." Read more
"...The language is rich and colourful, the characters well rounded, displaying a great diversity of emotion, morality and culture...." Read more
"...a fascinating read an excellent period piece and some rather gruesome characters." Read more
"...it was a delight to get re-aquainted with it once again,full of villainyand bravery at the time of richard the lionheart it keeps you enthralled to..." Read more
Customers appreciate that the book is suitable for readers of all ages, with one customer noting it's a great classic and another mentioning its interesting introductory essay.
"This is a good book to read in the teens as I felt it was well past its time for me being of 'mature' age (and a woman)." Read more
"This invented teen literature, historic novel, etc. So many lovable characters and a bit of English history thrown in...." Read more
"...Interesting introductory essay. Text reads perfectly well on Kindle." Read more
"Every child should read this book. A great story where we meet Robin Hood for the first time." Read more
Customers appreciate the emotional depth of the book, with one noting how well it conveys the emotional import of Ivanhoe.
"...It also manages to convey the emotional import of Ivanhoe rather well. There is more emotional complexity here than you might expect...." Read more
"...is rich and colourful, the characters well rounded, displaying a great diversity of emotion, morality and culture...." Read more
"which is good for the soul but maybe not good for the ......" Read more
Customers enjoy the humor in the book.
"...This book is full of adventure and humour and it is unusual to see a medieval setting in 19th century literature...." Read more
"...There is romance, chivalry, cruelty, greed, power, bigotry and humour in this book...." Read more
"...so long ago can still so joyfully hold, entertain and humour one's attention today. When is Hollywood going to discover this book?" Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the language of the book, with some finding it extremely well written, while others note that the Victorian style can be tedious.
"...His love of strange and archaic language is evident, as in the Waverley novels, and I enjoyed reading this very much - but you do need a measure of..." Read more
"...written although it is very much in the style of the time; long winded descriptions and use of language that the people of the time of writing..." Read more
"...and, from a linguistic point of view, an excellent example of the complex sentence structure often used in 19th century novels and not often today,..." Read more
"...Scott's novels, many of which are set in Scotland using beautiful old Scottish language, so was interested to see how he approached an English based..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's comprehension level, with some finding it easy to read while others describe it as somewhat confusing in places.
"...The process of choosing a book on Kindle is very simple and I have even chosen something to read whilst away in Turkey - the download takes a few..." Read more
"...was only some 350 pages, and it did get a bit dull and somewhat confusing in places...." Read more
"...It's a nice little read with little thought required from the reader. Well written." Read more
"...This version is simply bewildering!" Read more
Reviews with images

Synopsis
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2018Hadn't read it for years but remembered the film. This is much more interesting and Scott enters enthusiastically into the period, even if some of it is anachronistic (the keep of Conisborough castle is not earlier Saxon, it is contemporaneous with the rest of the Norman castle and is, in fact, something of a peak in sophistication (now ruined by English Heritage tastelessness). His love of strange and archaic language is evident, as in the Waverley novels, and I enjoyed reading this very much - but you do need a measure of patience to read Scott!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2012I was somewhat daunted by the prospect of reading Ivanhoe and, when I found it at the top of my reading list, I wondered whether to skip it. When I think of Sir Walter Scott I think of warriors in the highlands of Scotland - I must be thinking of Rob Roy - and I assumed Ivanhoe would be in a similar vein. But it isn't. Instead it is set in medieval England, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Adrian Mole country, during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. Think Robin Hood, knights in shining armour, damsels in distress, jousting, jesters and bad Prince John. Indeed, Robin Hood and his merry men feature strongly in the novel as do Richard and John. The historical setting is fascinating. Set in the 12th century, it is a time when Saxons are not yet reconciled to the Norman invasion and the two sides are deeply suspicious of one another. It is a very unstable time with King Richard away fighting the Crusades in the Middle East and Prince John plotting his own route to the crown. The treatment of Jews features strongly in the novel. The Jewish race is treated with hatred and disgust, partly due to their prosperity through money-lending practices. It reminds us of far more recent history and how heavily Jews have suffered for their beliefs over the centuries.
The hero of the story, Ivanhoe, is a young knight recently returned from the Crusades where he has been fighting alongside King Richard. He has been banished from his family for courting the attention of his father's ward, the beautiful Rowena. Ivanhoe makes his return at a jousting tournament where he is badly wounded. Other notable characters are a Jew, Isaac of York, and his lovely daughter, Rebecca. There follows all sorts of adventures including kidnappings, a castle siege and the trial of Rebecca for witchcraft. There are some wonderful characters too, notably swineherd Gurth and jester Wamba who show bravery and loyalty beyond the call of duty. There is a hint of a love story too. Whilst Ivanhoe hopes to marry Rowena, there is a certain chemistry between himself and Rebecca too. But this isn't really a love story and any romance is implicit in Ivanhoe's actions rather than between the characters.
This book is full of adventure and humour and it is unusual to see a medieval setting in 19th century literature. A couple of aspects make it not quite a 5 star read, most notably the unlikely resurrection from the dead of a minor character - whilst explained, I did have to suspend belief. Also, I felt that Ivanhoe himself was not fully described - he spends much of the novel injured on the sidelines and, as a result, his character was one-dimensional and I would have like to have seen much more of him.
I highly recommend this book though for sheer adventure and entertainment and urge readers not to be afraid to give it a go.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2012This is a story set during the medieval period, written by one of the best known writers from the 18th century. The plot is the basic boy falls in love much to the dismay of his family who then disown him. The story then focuses on his return to favour to win the love of his life.
The story is quite well written although it is very much in the style of the time; long winded descriptions and use of language that the people of the time of writing thought would sound appropriate for the period being written about. But the plot is good if a little romantic; it doesn't really portray what life of the time would have been like.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2014I've read this book before,and also watched the television series many years ago. I always picture Elizabeth Taylor when I read about Rebecca the Jewess, and Roger Moore as Ivanhoe (was a bit surprised to find that in the book he's blond). The oldfashioned language made it a bit slow in the beginning, but I got into it. you canread it on the line of an adventure story or you can go deeper and see the conflicts between Sxons and Normans after the invation and in many years to come, and the cruel way the Jews and the poor were treated, and the bigotry of the upper classes, going to the Jews for money while treating them like dirt. There are several layers. It's a popular classic and I recommend it, it's relevant even though it's a long time since it was written.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2013The book, supplied to my Kindle, did just as it should. The story, which I had not read before, deals with Richard the Lionheart, his treacherous brother John, but more important gives lots of historical information about the dark ages: the serfs and their masters, conflict between Saxons and Normans, knights and jousting, castles and battles. And there is a central character Robin of Loxley, better known as Robin Hood, with other outlaws such as Friar Tuck making important appearances. There is also a little bit of romantic interest. It's not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.
Top reviews from other countries
- The SwanReviewed in the United States on 23 June 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars A Champion Will Rise!
During the recently contested NBA playoffs, one of the television networks advertised their coverage of this seemingly interminable series of games with the catchy phrase: "A Champion Will Rise". It was a brilliant marketing ploy, for both my wife, who is much more of a basketball fan than I, and I used this phrase often to provide prelude to the next game or series. It happened that I was reading Sir Walter Scott's wonderful novel, "Ivanhoe" during all of this. Imagine my surprise to discover that the marketing geniuses of 21st Century television were merely copying the lilting prose of Sir Walter Scott. For it was he who brought this phrase first to the attention of the literary world now nearly two hundred years ago in this highly and rightly esteemed novel.
The novel is set in 12th Century England, a nation still in the process of recovering from the Norman conquest and the dislocation of the Crusades to the Holy Land. The ethnic conflict between Norman and Saxon is a major aspect of the novel, which is not portrayed as clearly in the excellent Hollywood movie that was based on the novel and which starred Robert Taylor as Ivanhoe and a young and stunningly beautiful Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca of York. The historical setting is important. But far more important is Scott's illustrious portrayal of the very human aspects of nobility and integrity that he imputes to his characters. The asinine atheist Samuel Clemens, who used the pen name, Mark Twain, charges Sir Walter Scott with advancing these ideas of nobility and integrity, wrapped up in the concept of chivalry, into some wicked brew that forever tarnished the Old South, caused the Civil War(I kid you not. You can look it up.), and overturned, in the popular mind, the wonderful "blessings" of the French Revolution. Well, Sammy, the French Revolution was really not all it was cracked up to be. And the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children that was the most fundamental characteristic of the revolutionary time you hold so dear would have been disdained by sober observers of later years and prevented, with extreme vigor, by the chivalrous characters who populated Scott's novel.
To these characters, we now must turn. The title character is Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a Knight of Saxon descent, who follows King Richard, the Lion-heart, to Palestine on his mad and glorious Crusade. By so doing, Wilfred alienates himself from his father, Cedric. King Richard, you see, was of Norman descent, and the aforementioned ethnic rivalry between Saxon and Norman caused Ivanhoe's Saxon father, Cedric to dispossess his son, Ivanhoe, for having had the temerity to engage in what Cedric held to be Richard's Norman foolishness. King Richard is also a major character in the novel. He is portrayed as more an adventurer than a sovereign. And this is perhaps an accurate depiction when we examine carefully the historical record. The jester, Wamba, another lowly Saxon, provides excellent comic relief and, when the situation calls for it, amazing courage and integrity. But perhaps the greatest character of the novel is Rebecca of York, the amazingly beautiful Jewish damsel who is as spiritually appealing as she was physically beautiful, if not more. In fact, the heading of this review is taken from a speech Scott imputes to Rebecca. She is to be tried for witchcraft by the sinister and woefully bigoted Grand Master of the Knights Templar, with the implicit idea that she is to be burned at the stake when the show trial finds her guilty. But Rebecca refuses all attempted bribes to renounce her faith, her character, her selfless actions, and her heritage. She holds rather, finally, that a champion will rise to defend her honor in trial by combat. One does. And his name is Ivanhoe. It is truly delicious.
In all of this Rebecca of York emerges as perhaps the most unforgettable character in literature. I would have previously assigned this title to Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean. But the centricity of Rebecca's honor and integrity gives the great lie to the silly pretensions of Samuel Clemens, mentioned above. Scott's novel is first and foremost, I believe, about these wonderful human characteristics. And his characterization of the Jewish damsel, Rebecca of York, best exemplifies these fine principles. As we were watching the movie based on this novel, my wife looked over at me and said, effectively:
"Modern Americans do not behave or even think like these characters any more. Most would not even understand."
Her statement is true. And more's the pity. In this novel, Scott introduced the literary world to the legend of Robin Hood, the Prince of Thieves, to the glory that was Merry England when she was unified under One Faith but still divided by ethnic, and other, prejudices, and to so much more. We all need to read Scott's wonderful and timeless novel, and to reflect seriously on the characteristics so beautifully portrayed therein. God bless.
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Mirella FerrazReviewed in Brazil on 1 April 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars E essencial para jovens
Muito bom
- JDReviewed in India on 1 March 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Author
A very comprehensive book containing the background, history and style of Walter Scott’s writing and the medieval story about Ivanhoe.
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HéctorReviewed in Mexico on 26 April 2025
4.0 out of 5 stars NO COMPRES LA VERSIÓN AZUL
El libro de Ilusbooks de diseño azul con un óvalo veritical grande, que Amazon vende como la "versión en pasta dura" de la novela Ivanhoe es en realidad una versión en COMIC para niños. Lo tuve que devolver.
Las cuatro estrellas son para la novela Ivanhoe en sí. Es un clásico literario sumamente disfrutable y un excelente regalo (que yo ya no pude dar).
- Paul Douglas LovellReviewed in Germany on 17 June 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars A five star read... A great story...
Very telling about how people (the book's characters) in the past regarded Jewish people (not nice and a bit uncomfortable) Still it did teach me something about their persecution and suffering.