The Talisman

by
Walter Scott

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The Talisman

by Walter Scott

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 589 ratings · 55 reviews

The second of Tales of the Crusaders, The Talisman is set in Palestine during the Third Crusade (1189 - 92). Scott constructs a story of chivalric action, apparently adopting a medieval romance view of the similarities in the values of both sides. But disguise is the leading theme of the tale: it is not just that characters frequently wear clothing that conceals their iden

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Paperback, 336 pages

Published by Penguin Books (first published 1825)

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Oct 28, 2011 Bill Kerwin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-c-brit, historical-fiction

"The Talisman" wins my respect for its sympathetic portrayal of a Muslim--rare for 1825--and it wins my affection not only for its memorable characterizations of Lionheart and Saladin, but also for its vivid descriptions of Crusader and Saracen dress and pageantry. The style is verbose, the dialogue is infuriating in its deliberate stiltedness (as if anyone ever talked in this pseudo-Medieval fashion!), and its plot--a far cry from the carefully structured "Ivanhoe"--is thin and melodramatic (wi...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, britain, kindle

Sir Walter Scott was a much-loved author of the 19th century: he wrote great tales of adventure, as appealing now as they were then, but today we read them with a keen awareness of the British sense of entitlement which guides Scott’s characters’ actions.

The Talisman is a tale of the Crusades, set in 1190 and beginning when there was a truce between the Saracens and King Richard the Lionheart. As with many another historical novel, Scott takes liberties with the historical record, and probably w...more Sir Walter Scott was a much-loved author of the 19th century: he wrote great tales of adventure, as appealing now as they were then, but today we read them with a keen awareness of the British sense of entitlement which guides Scott’s characters’ actions.

The Talisman is a tale of the Crusades, set in 1190 and beginning when there was a truce between the Saracens and King Richard the Lionheart. As with many another historical novel, Scott takes liberties with the historical record, and probably with his depictions of Arab culture too, but rather than analyse its deficiencies with a post-colonial eye, I chose to surrender to the adventure instead.

BEWARE: SPOILERS (Nothing but, really)

It begins, as does The Faerie Queen with the image of the lone knight plodding through an eerie landscape, in this case the arid wastes of the desert. He’s weighed down by all the chain mail paraphernalia of the knight and Scott notes that many crusaders died from the effects of the torpid heat. However this knight (and his horse) have adapted easily. Clearly he has exceptional qualities of endurance, and he’s also honorable. After two years on the campaign he’s run out of money to support the usual followers (who we presume would cook his meals, wash his socks and help him repel the enemy) but the reason for his impecunious state is that (a) he wasn’t well off to start with, though clearly better off than a luckless peasant and (b) (unlike other crusaders) he’s chosen not to rob those he’s defeated nor demand ransom for their return. His squire, who by rights should be loyal and therefore not in need of any such sordid inducement as regular payment, is absent because he is ill, not because he’s shot through. Is our hero cast down by his circumstances? Certainly not. He ‘was accustomed to consider his good sword as his safest escort, and devout thoughts as his best companion’.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...(less)

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Jun 09, 2008 booklady rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2005, adventure, historical-fiction, classic, 2006

Sir Walter Scott writes wonderfully enjoyable historical fiction. He first ventured into this realm in 1814 with the novel, Waverley which was published anonymously as Scott's first venture into prose fiction and possibly the first-ever historical novel. His subsequent novels came to be called Waverley novels, including this story. The Talisman is the middle in the trilogy about one of England's most popular kings ~~ King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted), which begins with The Betrothed and conclude...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Alger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People Who like Historical Fiction or the movie "Kingdom of Heaven"

As with 'Ivanhoe','The Talisman' is a humorous, exciting, romantic adventure that deals with the Crusades, the Church, ambitious Europeans lords of Christendom, and Richard the Lionheart. This book, however, takes place in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade and contrary to expectations contains little Christian/Mohammadan hostilities, but rather is driven entirely on the conflict of in-fighting and conspiring within the Christian camp.
There are so many intriguing facets to the novel. The por...more

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Jan 17, 2008 Pam Ames rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is not an easy book to read as it was written in 1825, but it is well worth the effort. However only one person in my book club agreed, but we were the only two who finished. Sir Walter Scott's insight into the location and people of the crusades is incredible given that he never traveled to the Holy Land.

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Dec 30, 2012 Richard Stueber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A novel of King Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade. It was not meant to be history. What was true in it was that Richard was taken deathly ill, perhaps from scurvy, late in Jun 1191, so this probably starts in July 1191.
The romance between the Scottish knight Sir Kenneth and Lady Edith Plantagenet is totally fictional, as is Richard's cure from a Saracen physician by means of the Talisman (an amulet). Some of the characters turn out to be somebody else later on.
Richard did have a lot of...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Bruce Mcfarland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh. I like this stuff. I get the overblown language and the time period mistakes in culture. But, the plot twists and the heraldry. The chivalry and secret hideouts. The disguises and mysteries of mixing cultures. It all reinforces may favorite conspiracy, to wit: The Europeans returned from the Crusades with the knowledge gained from Saladin and the Saracens to improve the life of the people and leave the Dark Ages. The twist is, it did not come from Christ, it came from their adversary. Since...more

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May 15, 2012 Libby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my May selection in my challenge to myself. I plan to read a classic novel each month this year. So---how does May stack up?

I chose The Talisman because, long ago, when the dinosaurs ruled the earth, I read and loved Ivanhoe. The Talisman is set in roughly the same time frame and is in the period of history that I just love to read about. Our hero is a Scots knight on crusade with Richard the Lionheart. How could this be better? Well---several ways. Ivanhoe was acutely plotted. Every tu...more This is my May selection in my challenge to myself. I plan to read a classic novel each month this year. So---how does May stack up?

I chose The Talisman because, long ago, when the dinosaurs ruled the earth, I read and loved Ivanhoe. The Talisman is set in roughly the same time frame and is in the period of history that I just love to read about. Our hero is a Scots knight on crusade with Richard the Lionheart. How could this be better? Well---several ways. Ivanhoe was acutely plotted. Every turn of the plot was carefully set up and foreshadowed. The Talisman reads as though he was writing for a deadline and without an outline, never editing and throwing in new elements off the top of his head. Scott's sentences are convoluted and hung about with dependent clauses like an overloaded washline. That is early Victorian style and I expected it, but the dialog is just so forsooth and prithee that I could hardly stand it. I am absolutely positive that NOBODY ever talked like that! FORSOOTH! Our hero is incredibly noble and chivalrous. Our heroine is untouchably pure and totally blond. Richard is clearly manic depressive with impulse control issues. Berengaria is spoiled and silly.
Saladin is the best character in the book, wise, noble and clever. I have to give Scott credit for his sympathetic portrait of a truly great leader. On the whole, although he clearly writes from a Eurocentric viewpoint, he is more kindly toward Middle Eastern culture than most writers of his day. He does take liberties with history, but this is the prerogative of historical fiction. It is, for example, extremely unlikely that Saladin and Richard ever met, but it is great fun to place them together in the setting of a trial of chivalry. THAT is history as it should have been! Scott is very good at extracting all the romantic juice from any situation. It is a long strong suit in all his writing. The bottom line about this one is that if you are prepared to tolerate the writing style, the story is as exciting and romantic as any reader could require. But don't go here if you fall asleep between subject and verb.(less)

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Apr 10, 2012 Even rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Tailsman gets some points for originality, being the first of the Waverley Novels set outside of Europe, and only the second outside of the British Isles. It also deserves some credit for presenting a flattering image of the Muslim Saladin, as many of Scott's previous portrayls of non-Christians were decidedley less so. Scott's presentation of Saladin was so favorable that it almost single-handedly resurrected Saladin from obscurity to a modern day icon of Arab nationalism.

The story starts...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Craig rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-british

This epic takes place in the land of Isaral during the third Crusade. King Richard the Lion Heart is in charge of the Christian armies, though many of the various factions are divided in purpose. He and his forces are arrayed against the Saracens under Saladin, though during the narrative the warring armies are at truce. The book opens with a Scottish knight confronting a Saracen warrior in the deseret near the Dead Sea. They fight to a draw then make peace and become respected friends. A carefu...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Perry Whitford rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have recently bought a full 19th century set of the Waverley novels and as there are over twenty of them I thought I better get started, and although this is far from being amongst the first that was written it is just about the first chronologically, so I decided to take The Talisman on holiday to Barcelona with me for some bedtime reading.
The tale is set during the 3rd Crusade, with the towering historical figures of Saladin and Richard the Lion Heart figuring prominently. The hero though is...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction

In the beginning this book was very slow. But it was interesting. Not that everyone would find it so. But its strength was in its slowness. We so rarely let our minds become quiet, and slip into another time, or rather a reconstruction of another time. The handkerchief falling from the hand of Edith Plantagenet had the meditative quality of the images in medieval literature. While reading it I was taken back to Chrétien de Troyes, to the blood spots in the snow that Perceval stared at, transfixe...more

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Mar 03, 2010 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of the classics

Recommended to Natalie by: Julie Jones

Shelves: recently-read

Sir Walter Scott is a master of historical fiction. I enjoyed The Talisman, not only because of its well drawn characters and plot intrigues, but for all that I learned about the Crusades. I had never understood just how and why they were begun, why the kings had to lead them (leaving their distant homelands vulnerable), why the crusaders abandoned their task, and the fact that there were Christians in Jerusalem at the time. I knew a little about Suleiman, the Ottoman Sultan, whose sense of hono...more Sir Walter Scott is a master of historical fiction. I enjoyed The Talisman, not only because of its well drawn characters and plot intrigues, but for all that I learned about the Crusades. I had never understood just how and why they were begun, why the kings had to lead them (leaving their distant homelands vulnerable), why the crusaders abandoned their task, and the fact that there were Christians in Jerusalem at the time. I knew a little about Suleiman, the Ottoman Sultan, whose sense of honor, civility, and enlightened wisdom stand in contrast to the invading Christians, whose chivalric code seemed almost barbaric in comparison. My understanding of the legendary Richard Lionheart was next to nothing, gleaned from the Robin Hood legends. Scott's portrayal of the characters of these two opposing leaders is delightful – especially the idea that men of honor delight in the wisdom, successes, and company of other men of honor, even if they are sworn enemies on the battlefield.

But this story is about Kenneth of Scotland, and his exploits, his honor, his character flaws, and his ultimate personal triumph. His character is honorable, noble, and good to the core, and thus he is beset by forces that try to destroy him, while others who see his strength of character find ways to come to his aid. He is an Everyman, of sorts, or could be, if we – in our modern society – still had the courage to believe that honor, personal integrity, and our good name were more important than anything, that even death is not to be feared as much as selling ourselves for momentary power, wealth, or pleasure. He is an Everyman, too, beset by hunger, fatigue, loneliness, by being misunderstood by his boss and deceived by ladder-climbers posing as friends. He is an Everyman, representing those who still seek for the most beautiful, the most lovely, the most desirable things that lie beyond our ability to obtain them on our own – symbolic of our quest for true happiness, lasting joy, and eternal life, for which we need an intercessor or Savior to speak for us, after we have proven ourselves worthy. We would do well to re-examine ourselves and our lives in the symbolic light of this classic.

My question for the author would be, Why is this book entitled, The Talisman? Why not The Crusader or Kenneth of Scotland? Did the talisman really play such a pivotal role? (less)

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Oct 20, 2009 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

‘The Talisman’ is set during the Second Crusade, and skilfully interweaves historical facts and personalities with the fictional narrative. Scott single-handedly invented the ‘historical novel’ as we now think of it, and this is one of his finest.

The story follows the fortunes of Sir Kenneth, a Scottish knight who is in the Holy Land - occupied by an army of Christian allies (France, England and Austria) - to restore his family fortunes. At the opening of the novel he has a chance encounter with...more ‘The Talisman’ is set during the Second Crusade, and skilfully interweaves historical facts and personalities with the fictional narrative. Scott single-handedly invented the ‘historical novel’ as we now think of it, and this is one of his finest.

The story follows the fortunes of Sir Kenneth, a Scottish knight who is in the Holy Land - occupied by an army of Christian allies (France, England and Austria) - to restore his family fortunes. At the opening of the novel he has a chance encounter with an Arab doctor in the desert (who is actually Saladin in disguise), and takes him to the Crusader camp to tend the sick King Richard with his ‘amulet’. He soon becomes a firm favourite with the King, but due to the machinations of Leopold of Austria, Conrade of Montserrat and the Grand Master of the Templars, he is tricked into a treasonous act and exiled from the camp. He is taken in by the ‘physician’, and disguised as a messenger from Saladin re-enters the Crusader camp shortly afterwards, with a proposal from Saladin for ending the conflict, and whilst there saves the King’s life from a assassin.

The fanatical Grand Master has been in cahoots with Richard’s enemies in the camp, and in an exciting finale he is beheaded by Saladin and the story resolves itself. Sir Kenneth is rehabilitated and united with Lady Edith, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Berengaria, whom he’d loved in the chivalric manner but because of their difference in rank had been unable to take further; he finally reveals that he is the son of the King of Scotland, travelling incognito, and that therefore there is now no bar to their union.

As well as the exciting narrative, the novel draws remarkably vivid portraits of the Royal protagonists – Richard of England, Philip of France and Leopold of Austria. Richard’s queen, Berengaria, is portrayed as a spoilt adolescent, and Saladin as a model of wisdom and tolerance when compared with the brutish Crusaders.

This is the book on which all popular conceptions about Richard, Saladin and the Crusades have tended to be based, and despite being published in the early 19th century it has lost none of its appeal. Witness to this is a major BBC drama adaptation in 1999, and the Ridley Scott movie ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ contains many of its elements.
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Mar 23, 2013 Erik Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A good window into the romantic portrayal of the Crusades. It is a fun and engaging tale. Sir Walter Scott's introduction is an important context setter, as it unfolds much about the literary situation and level of critical discourse in which he wrote. When I was a small child I went to the top of the Sir Walter Scott Memorial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Mo... Reading it brought back much of the feeling of romance and intrigue I felt climbing that tower.

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May 08, 2011 Jean Gill rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great research material if you're interested (as I am) in the 3rd Crusade and the characters of Saladin and Richard the Lionheart, as seen through the eyes of Sir Walter Scott. History is turned upside down with throw-away remarks along the lines that the Saracens must have 'caught chivalry from contact with their Christian foes' but despite Scott's intentions, Saladin is by far the most admirable character in the book (apart from a very noble hound, who plays an important role). The details suc...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Admittedly written many moons ago, but harvesting the inner thoughts that each and everyone of us should at least practice what Scott preaches. A tale of knowledge, heroism, honesty, chivalry, bravery, with a twist of competition. After reading this it will make you a better person, or at least make you want to be a better person.

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Dec 14, 2012 Paul Parsons rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A tale of the crusades as told by a nineteenth century author. Muslim verses Christian. Wordy, but that’s typical for the times. Also puts a rational face on Islam, something hard to do or even imagine these days. Good read, but not as good as Ivanhoe.

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Apr 19, 2013 Ana Ramos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, adventure

I'm suspicious to talk about this book because it talk about the crusades in an romantic aspect. It is a dense story but an amazing tale :)

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Dec 01, 2011 Rick Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The Talisman is a first-rate adventure novel by Sir Walter Scott, though not quite on par with his more famous Ivanhoe. The events center on the end of the Third Crusade, and the historical figures of the Crusaders are rendered wonderfully. As in many accounts from the medieval time onward, Saladin’s character is romanticized to a great degree, but the story wouldn’t work otherwise. One aspect of the ending, which is will not name in order to avoid spoilers, fell a bit flat with me, but overall...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Amy Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a big Crusades buff, so I love this book. Scott again proves he is the master of historical fiction, & there's a nice love story to boot!

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Aug 03, 2012 Pippa222 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very disappointing. I used to love Scott as a teenager, but I've changed and maybe this isn't one of the best?

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Aug 10, 2012 Trish Graboske rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Says more about the Victorians/late Georgians than about the 12th century crusaders, I think.

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Mar 09, 2013 Kathy Weitz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audible, kindle

Enjoyable, but not my favorite from Scott. Portrayal of Saladin a bit too gushing.

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Jan 28, 2013 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Has some weird spiritual stuff toward the beginning. Otherwise interesting and fun.

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Dec 08, 2012 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you like stories of chivalry and justice and honor and adventure, based on historical figures, this book rocks.

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Jan 13, 2011 J.E. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While the writing is powerfully articulate, it has no heart--at least that's my view through 70 pages, where I've stopped.

The characters are drawn with extraordinary psychological profiles and physical descriptions, but their actions and emotions--in short, the story--revolves so heavily around crusade-era statecraft that I start to think I'm not old enough to enjoy it. I don't mind dispassionate political history, and I can tolerate a degree of prosaic detail, but in a novel, I want to see more...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Betty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-all-time-favorites

Loved it!!! A great one!

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Feb 18, 2013 Ranita Terroe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an awesome book this is!

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Feb 15, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Donna by: ARRT historical fiction genre study

Shelves: historical-fiction

Story of Richard the Lionhearted during his conflict with Saladin in the Crusade of 1191 and written by Sir Walter Scott in 1829.

Many of the key characters in the book adopt a number of disguises; sometimes you know who they are, other times not so much. Nice mix of historical and fictional characters.

The writing is sometimes overwrought, but again probably typical for mid-19th century.

Read partly on Kindle.

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About Walter Scott

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Sir Walter Scott was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scott created and popularized historical novels in a series called the Waverley Novels. In his novels Scott arranged the plots and characters so the reader enters into the lives of both great and ordinary...more

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