The Talisman (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Scott, Walter Green

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1440091331 ISBN 13: 9781440091339

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2024

Synopsis

Introduction to The Talisman. THEB etrothed did not greatly please one or two friends, who thought that it did not well correspond to the general title of The Crusaders. They urged, therefore, that, without direct allusion to the manners of the Eastern tribes, and to the romantic conflicts of the period, the title of a Tale of the Crusaders would resemble the playbill which is said to have announced the tragedy of Hamlet, the character of the Prince of Denmark being left out. On the other hand, I felt the difficulty of giving a vivid picture of a part of the world with which I was almost totally unacquainted, unless by early recollections of the Arabian Nights Entertainments ;and not only did I labour under the incapacity of ignorance, in which, as far as regards Eastern manners, I was as thickly wrapped as an Egyptian in his fog; but my contemporaries were, many of them, as much enlightened upon the subject as if they had been inhabitants of the favoured land of Goshen. The love of travelling had pervaded all ranks, and carried the subject of Britain into all quarters of the world. Greece, so attractive by its remains of art, by its struggles for freedom against a Mohammedan tyrant, by its very name, where every fountain had its classical legend Palestine, endeared to the imagination by yet more sacred remembrances, had been of late surveyed by British eyes, and described by recent travellers. Had I, therefore, attempted the difficult task of substituting manners of my own invention, instead of the genuine costume of the East, almost every traveller I met, who had extended his route beyond what was anciently called the grand tour, had acquired a right, by ocular inspection, to chastise me for my presumption.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Scienc

About this title

About the Author

SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771 1832), Scottish novelist and poet, is known as the father of both the regional and historical novel. His early works were successful verse romances, but he achieved lasting fame with his prose. A law clerk, sheriff, and baronet, he was also part owner of a financially troubled publishing house. This and the expense of building and furnishing his country house at Abbotsford nearly ruined him. Everything he wrote from 1813 on was done in part to repay the debts he had incurred debts he was determined to pay off by his own labor.

From AudioFile

Many legends have accumulated about Saladin, the twelfth-century sultan whose capture of Jerusalem led to the Third Crusade. The Saracen (Arab) leader is said to have performed prodigious feats of valor, to have possessed uncommon wisdom and cunning, and even to have "out-chivalled" the chivalrous Christian knights who opposed him. In THE TALISMAN (1825), Sir Walter Scott, the most popular novelist of his day, contrasts him with a poor but noble Scottish knight in service to Richard Lionheart. Entering the Crusaders' camp in disguise, Saladin saves said knight from the dishonor brought about by various intrigues. In narrating the romance, Robert Whitfield excels at phrasing, which, accompanied by his pleasant voice and British accent, makes this tape pleasant listening. His pace, however, is a bit too brisk for perfect intelligibility, and he seams deaf to the book's rhythms and lyricism. Y.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2024
• ISBN 10: 1440091331
• ISBN 13: 9781440091339
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 378