Ivanhoe – Walter Scott

"Chivalry is not dead."

Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a Saxon knight, returns from the Crusades to find England under the corrupt rule of Prince John. He must fight for his honor, his King (Richard the Lionheart), and the beautiful Rowena.

Walter Scott practically invented the historical novel with this book. It gave us our modern image of the Middle Ages: knights, tournaments, and Robin Hood.