Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe,a novel by Sir W. Scott , published 1819 . The first of Scott's novels to deal with an English, rather than Scottish subject, Ivanhoe is also one of his best constructed. In Rebecca, the beautiful Jewess, he produced a heroine as virtuous and strong-minded as Jeanie Deans ( Heart of Midlothian ), but with all the graces which Jeanie lacked, and had the resolution to deprive her of the conventional happy ending. The story deals, somewhat anachronistically, with the antagonism in England between Saxon and Norman during the reign of Richard I. The hero, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, has been disowned by his father Cedric the Saxon because of his love for Cedric's ward, the lady Rowena, and has joined King Richard on crusade; Prince John, taking advantage of the king's absence, is endeavouring to seize the throne himself. The story hinges on two main episodes: the famous tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche where Ivanhoe, returned in...
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