Ivanhoe

The prose of this classic novel can be a little sticky to our 21st-century sensibilities, but in all other ways, Scott is a modern writer, addressing the issues of anti-Semitism and the corruption of the Church at a time when those things weren’t cool. Plus, we have another awesome warrior-hero in Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe and jousting to boot. Who doesn’t love a good tourney? My daughter and I hit the Renaissance Faires every year just to see men pretend to stab each other from horseback with long sticks. The plotting of this book is simply perfection—they just… show more.

Speaking of the Middle Ages, I can’t not mention the book that launched the whole historical fiction genre. Scott’s rousing tale boasts knights and damsels, Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart, tournaments and besieged castles, and even a good old-fashioned burning at the stake. What’s not to love? No one reads this book anymore because it doesn’t begin with a fistfight or an explosion, which is such a shame because it’s an out-and-out winner. #TeamBriandeBoisGuilbert

This knight in white armor had already enchanted several generations of readers before being interpreted by Roger Moore in a 50’s TV serial. More precisely, since 1819, when the Walter Scott novel was first published. In this British saga using as a background the 13th-century historical quagmire, the handsome and immaculate Ivanhoé, a Saxon knight back from the crusades, gets stuck between love and chastity and spends most of his time overcoming disloyal Normans bearing French names. Morality had to prevail in the kingdom of England. This immensely popular novel, along with giving rebirth to the ancient chivalry romances, mostly… show more.