Books

First edition of Scott's great historical novel, one of the most popular and influential Waverley novels. It sparked a marked revival of interest in the Middle Ages and the legends of Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart. "Ivanhoe is essentially a moral work. It is an intense consideration of misogyny and racial oppression, in which the attempted rape of Rebecca the Jewess by the dominant figure of the Norman master race, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, is a powerful symbol of the themes of the novel. Ivanhoe may be set in a distant period, but it has a political modernity which makes it one of the most remarkable novels of the nineteenth century" (ODNB). The print run was increased based on advance orders and the early sheets were reset - this copy has the reset sheets. Three volumes, octavo (195 x 117 mm). Early 20th-century green morocco for Hatchards, spines lettered in gilt, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. Spines lightly sunned, restoration to tips, contents with a few neat repairs to closed tears. A very good copy. Waddington 8; Todd & Bowden 140Ab.

Ivanhoe is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott set in medieval England. It is one of Scott's best-known works and is credited for increasing interest in the Middle Ages.