Ivanhoe

This was the book I read in Scotland finally finishing it the day before we left. Written by one of Scotland's leading sons as evidenced by the memorial in his honor in Edinburgh, I picked the book because it was all of his that I found at my local bookstore. Waverly or Rob Roy might have been a better choice given my surroundings since Ivanhoe takes place only in England, not in Scotland. But on the plus side, having now read Ivanhoe I want to seek out Waverly and Rob Roy and add them to the list of books I've read.

I'm not exactly sure why Scott named this book Ivanhoe as the title character is one of the more minor characters. The book was fascinating though, from it's descriptions of tournaments, to its assault of a castle to its surprise revelation of the identity of a veiled knight. The inclusion of Robin Hood and his merry band greatly surprised me, and I confess I couldn't help but picture them as the Walt Disney animal characters having recently watched that DVD with Sam.

I can see why people still read Ivanhoe. Despite the plethora of prose that often fills the page, the story with its tales of heroism, chivalry, chicanery and mayhem definitely stands up after all these years.