Ivanhoe is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Ivanhoe is the story of one of the remaining Saxon noble families at a time when the English nobility was overwhelmingly Norman. It follows the Saxon protagonist, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who is out of favor with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard I of England. The story is set in 1194, after the failure of the Third Crusade, when many of the Crusaders were still returning to Europe. King Richard, who had been captured by the Duke of Austria on his way back, was believed to still be in the arms of his captors. The legendary Robin Hood, initially under the name of Locksley, is also a character in the story, as are his "merry men". The character that Scott gave to Robin Hood in Ivanhoe helped shape the modern notion of this figure as a cheery noble outlaw.

Other major characters include Ivanhoe's intractable father, Cedric, one of the few remaining Saxon lords; various Knights Templar, most notable of which is Brian de Bois-Guilbert, primary rival of the protagonist; and a number of churchmen; the loyal serfs Gurth the swineherd and the jester Wamba, whose observations punctuate much of the action; and the Jewish moneylender, Isaac of York, who is equally passionate about his people and his daughter, Rebecca. The book was written and published during a period of increasing struggle for emancipation of the Jews in England, and there are frequent references to injustice against them.

Hailed by Victor Hugo as 'the real epic of our age,' Ivanhoe was an immensely popular bestseller when first published in 1819. The book inspired literary imitations as well as paintings, dramatizations, and even operas. Now Sir Walter Scott's sweeping romance of medieval England has prompted a lavish new television production.

In the twelfth century, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe returns home to England from the Third Crusade to claim his inheritance and the love of the lady Rowena. The heroic adventures of this noble Saxon knight involve him in the struggle between Richard the Lion-Hearted and his malignant brother John: a conflict that brings Ivanhoe into alliance with the mysterious outlaw Robin Hood and his legendary fight for the forces of good.

'Scott's characters, like Shakespeare's and Jane Austen's, have the seed of life in them,' observed Virginia Woolf. 'The emotions in which Scott excels are not those of human beings pitted against other human beings, but of man pitted against Nature, of man in relation to fate. His romance is the romance of hunted men hiding in woods at night; of brigs standing out to sea; of waves breaking in the moonlight; of solitary sands and distant horsemen; of violence and suspense.' For Henry James, 'Scott was a born storyteller. . . . Since Shakespeare, no writer has created so immense a gallery of portraits.'

Ivanhoe is the story of one of the remaining Saxon noble families at a time when the English nobility was overwhelmingly Norman. It follows the Saxon protagonist, Wilfrid of Ivanhoe, who is out of favour with his father owing to his courting the Lady Rowena and for his allegiance to the Norman king Richard I of England. The story is set in 1194, after the end of the Third Crusade, when many of the Crusaders were still returning to Europe. King Richard, having been captured by the Duke of Saxony, on his way back, was still supposed to be in the arms of his captors. The legendary Robin Hood, initially under the name of Locksley, is also a character in the story, as are his 'merry men,' including Friar Tuck and, less so, Alan-a-Dale. (Little John is merely mentioned.) The character that Scott gave to Robin Hood in Ivanhoe helped shape the modern notion of this figure as a cheery noble outlaw.
Other major characters include Ivanhoe's intractable Saxon father Cedric, a descendant of the Saxon King Harold Godwinson; various Knights Templar and churchmen; the loyal serfs Gurth the swineherd and the jester Wamba, whose observations punctuate much of the action; and the Jewish moneylender, Isaac of York, equally passionate of money and his daughter, Rebecca. The book was written and published during a period of increasing struggle for Emancipation of the Jews in England, and there are frequent references to injustice against them.

Published in 1819, this classic historical romance unfolds in a 12th-century kingdom torn asunder by the hatred between Saxons and Normans. Its dispossessed heroes, Ivanhoe and Richard the Lion-Hearted, face an uphill battle against firmly entrenched adversaries, and their success rests upon a& cast of unlikely characters, including the legendary Robin Hood.

Rob Roy is a historical novel by Walter Scott. It is narrated by Frank Osbaldistone, the son of an English merchant who travels first to the North of England, and subsequently to the Scottish Highlands, to collect a debt stolen from his father. On the way he encounters the larger-than-life title character, Rob Roy MacGregor.

The story takes place just before the 1715 Jacobite Rising, with much of Scotland in turmoil. Frank Osbaldistone, the narrator, quarrels with his father and is sent to stay with an uncle, Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone, in Northumberland. Frank falls in love with Diana Vernon, Sir Hildebrand's niece, whose father has been forced to go into hiding because of his Jacobite sympathies. Frank's cousin, Rashleigh, steals important documents vital to the honour and economic solvency of Frank's father, William, and Frank pursues Rashleigh to Scotland. Several times his path crosses the mysterious and powerful figure Rob Roy MacGregor, known as Rob Roy, an associate of Sir Hildebrand. There is much confusion as the action shifts to the beautiful mountains and valleys around Loch Lomond. A British army detachment is ambushed and there is bloodshed. The eponymous Rob Roy is badly wounded at the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719, in which a British army of Scots and English defeat a Jacobite and Spanish expedition that aimed to restore the Stuart monarchy. All of Sir Hildebrand's sons but Rashleigh are killed in the Jacobite Rising, and Rashleigh, too meets a bloody end. Following this, Frank inherits Sir Hildebrand's property and marries Diana. The novel is a brutally realistic depiction of the social conditions in Highland and Lowland Scotland in the early 18th century.

Robert Louis Stevenson loved the novel from childhood, regarding it as the best novel of the greatest of all novelists.

Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish novelist, poet, historian and biographer, is often regarded as the inventor of the historical novel, who produced a wide body of literary works, having a profound impact on world literature. This comprehensive eBook presents Scott’s complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 7)

* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Scott’s life and works
* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts
* ALL 26 novels, with individual contents tables
* Rare novels and shorter fiction often missed out of collections
* Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Famous works such as WAVERLEY, ROB ROY and IVANHOE are fully illustrated with their original artwork
* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry
* Easily locate the poems you want to read
* Includes Scott’s rare poetry collections and plays – available in no other collection
* Includes a wide selection of Scott’s non-fiction – spend hours exploring the author’s varied works
* Special criticism section with essays by writers such as Henry James, Leslie Stephen and Charles Dickens examining Scott's literary achievements
* Features two biographies – discover Scott’s literary life
* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres
* UPDATED with entirely revised texts, new formatting, rare plays and new introductions

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CONTENTS:

The Novels
WAVERLEY
GUY MANNERING
THE ANTIQUARY
BLACK DWARF
OLD MORTALITY
ROB ROY
THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN
THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR
A LEGEND OF MONTROSE
IVANHOE
THE MONASTERY
THE ABBOT
KENILWORTH
THE PIRATE
THE FORTUNES OF NIGEL
PEVERIL OF THE PEAK
QUENTIN DURWARD
ST. RONAN’S WELL
REDGAUNTLET
THE BETROTHED
THE TALISMAN
WOODSTOCK
THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH
ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN
COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS
CASTLE DANGEROUS

The Shorter Fiction
CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE
MY AUNT MARGARET’S MIRROR
THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER
DEATH OF THE LAIRD’S JOCK.
MISCELLANEOUS SHORT PIECES

The Plays
GOETZ VON BERLICHINGEN
HALIDON HILL
MACDUFF’S CROSS
THE DOOM OF DEVORGOIL
AUCHINDRANE
THE HOUSE OF ASPEN

The Poetry Collections
TRANSLATIONS AND IMITATIONS FROM GERMAN BALLADS
THE MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER
THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL
BALLADS AND LYRICAL PIECES
MARMION
THE LADY OF THE LAKE
THE VISION OF DON RODERICK
THE BRIDAL OF TRIERMAIN
ROKEBY
THE FIELD OF WATERLOO
THE LORD OF THE ISLES
HAROLD THE DAUNTLESS
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS

The Poems
LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

The Non-Fiction
THE LIFE OF JOHN DRYDEN
PAUL’S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK
THE JOURNAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT
THE LETTERS OF MALACHI MALAGROWTHER
THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE
TALES OF A GRANDFATHER
LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT
TRIAL OF DUNCAN TERIG, ALIAS CLERK, AND ALEXANDER BANE MACDONALD
MISCELLANEOUS PROSE WORKS

The Criticism
SIR WALTER SCOTT by William Hazlitt
SIR WALTER SCOTT by Leslie Stephen
THE POEMS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT by Andrew Lang
LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS by Andrew Lang
SIR WALTER SCOTT AND THE BORDER MINSTRELSY by Andrew Lang
SIR WALTER SCOTT AS A CRITIC OF LITERATURE by Margaret Ball
SIR WALTER SCOTT: A LECTURE by William Ker
SIR WALTER SCOTT by Henry James
MEMORIES AND PORTRAITS by Robert Louis Stevenson
SCOTT AND HIS PUBLISHERS by Charles Dickens
SIR WALTER SCOTT AND LADY MORGAN by Victor Hugo

The Biographies
SIR WALTER SCOTT by Richard H. Hutton
SIR WALTER SCOTT by George Saintsbury

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Often regarded as the first historical novel, Waverley was Scott's first attempt at prose fiction. The novel was a huge success with the first edition selling 1,000 copies within the first two days of publication. The book follows the story of Edward Waverley, an English man whose family has strong political ties. After being enlisted in the Hanoverian Army and posted to Dundee in Scotland, Waverley visits Baron Bradwardine and meets Rose Bradwardine, the Baron's daughter. After staying with the Baron and Rose for several days, Waverley is arrested for desertion and treason. He is later rescued by a group of Highlanders he had befriended during his time with the Baron, meets Bonnie Prince Charlie, and marries Rose after taking part in the Battle of Prestonpans and saving the life of a prominent colonel. Inspired by the 18th-century Enlightenment ideas that all humans deserve equal respect and justice, regardless of class, religion, family or politics, Scott was the first novelist to depict peasant characters as moral equals to merchants, soldiers and kings. These philosophies are thought to contribute largely to the novel's success. Due to the great popularity of the work and although not entirely connected with plot elements or characters, the books following Waverley have become collectively known as The Waverley Novels.

The last novel to be published in his lifetime, Castle Dangerous was the last book to make up Scott's Tales of My Landlord series. Published in 1831, the novel tells the story of Lady Augusta, her arranged marriage and her attempt to escape her new husband.