Ivanhoe is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published in late 1819 in three volumes and subtitled A Romance. At the time it was written it represented a shift by Scott away from fairly realistic novels set in Scotland in the comparatively recent past, to a somewhat fanciful depiction of medieval England. It has proved to be one of the best known and most influential of Scott's novels. Ivanhoe is set in 12th-century England with colorful...