Ivanhoe is a
historical novel by Sir
Walter Scott that details the adventures of the
saxon knight Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe. It is a fairly long book, and it is written in a kind of psuedo-
old English, and therefore it is kind of difficult to read.
In summary, the plot goes as follows: Sir Wilfred goes off to fight in the
crusades with his beloved monarch
Richard the Lion-hearted.
Richard is kidnapped on his way back from the
Crusades, but Wilfred is able to successfully return. When he does, he finds that
Richard's evil brother,
Prince John, has ursurped his thrown in his absence, and, needless to say, he is not a very pleasent king to be around (evil princes rarely are). Sir Wilfred then goes on to restore the true king's thrown, which winds up involving allying with
Robin Hood, fighting
Knights Templar, and the like. In the end (I'm not really giving anything away since this is, after all, a romantic, historical novel),
Richard the Lion-hearted throne is restored,
Prince John is defeated, and Wilfred marries his betrothed.