The name of
Ivanhoestill carries a whiff of the magic it had for nineteenth century readers for whom it was perhaps the most celebrated of all Walter Scott's novels. In terms of composition, it immediately followed Scott's
Tales of My Landlord, Third Series(1819). All of Scott's novels were published anonymously, or, rather pseudonymously with authorship being variously assigned to 'the Author of Waverley' and fictional editors. Before
Ivanhoe,they had also all treated of Scottish history and Scottish locales. For
Ivanhoe, Scott and his publishers decided on a major change: the novel would be about English history and would be introduced by a new fictional editor, Lawrence Templeton. Moreover, the setting was earlier than any Scott had yet written, being about the time of the Crusades…
1663 words
Citation: Ragaz, Sharon Anne. "Ivanhoe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 March 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4430, accessed 23 November 2024.]
