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A review by madfil
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
4.0
(28 May, 2020)
OK, here goes; medieval England, Templar Knights, Saxon heritage, Norman conquerors, strong women, Jewish bankers, a dispossessed noble, Jean Sans Terre, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Richard Coeur De Lion (and) an actual Black knight – all in one novel!
There are a few bumps along the way and a ‘WTF’ moment near the end but it did not prevent me from enjoying ‘Ivanhoe’. Some descriptions are tedious but serve a purpose: to highlight Saxon rusticity versus Norman luxury (as in ‘get with the times Cedric!’). There’s action, intrigue, (some) romance, people to hate, some to love and the language was easy to read, verily.
Lastly, being familiar with that time period helped a bit (like knowing what ‘forest’ actually meant at that time) but was a nuisance at times too. All in all, highly recommended.
OK, here goes; medieval England, Templar Knights, Saxon heritage, Norman conquerors, strong women, Jewish bankers, a dispossessed noble, Jean Sans Terre, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Richard Coeur De Lion (and) an actual Black knight – all in one novel!
There are a few bumps along the way and a ‘WTF’ moment near the end but it did not prevent me from enjoying ‘Ivanhoe’. Some descriptions are tedious but serve a purpose: to highlight Saxon rusticity versus Norman luxury (as in ‘get with the times Cedric!’). There’s action, intrigue, (some) romance, people to hate, some to love and the language was easy to read, verily.
Lastly, being familiar with that time period helped a bit (like knowing what ‘forest’ actually meant at that time) but was a nuisance at times too. All in all, highly recommended.