Postmortem on Ivanhoe

Last night was great; I was able to WALK to my book club meeting although the gusty, cold wind and raindrops had me wishing that this crazy weather would take a hike. I was determined not to default to the car and made tracks on foot in record time getting there about ten minutes early. The evening was fun; eight of us met to enjoy wine, dinner, dessert and good conversation about books in general and Ivanhoe in particular. I didn't feel too bad that I hadn't finished the book; only three had read it cover to cover but those three gave it a great review. Apparently there is a break point where one gets into the flow of the story and cannot help but finish. That point must be somewhere after page 89. A compelling romance, an adventure tale, a view of medieval 12th century England all in one. Maybe I'll re-tackle those pages and see for myself. The PinkMonkey.com pointers on Ivanhoe (see Ssshhh), paid off. No one else had used this site but had logged on to Wikipedia instead for their overview.

Sir Walter Scott wrote Ivanhoe in 1819 and has been described by some as "the father of historical fiction". He was a prolific writer, penning some thirty books during his lifetime. Ivanhoe is his most famous and remembered book. If literary types (Gillen D'Arcy Wood) state that " [Ivanhoe] had a tremendous impact on the revival of Victorian interest in the Middle Ages, and this fascination with the age of knights and chivalry has lasted into the third millennium", I had best pay attention.

I'm tempted by Ivanhoe, the movie, from 1952 starring Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, and Robert Taylor. The BBC has a more contemporary made-for-television version which sounds interesting too. Maybe I'll soak up Ivanhoe passively and save my reading eyes for this growing pile of books on my nightstand.