For this novel, Scott moved far away from the setting of his own turbulent time. He went back to the late 12th century, and to England rather than the Scottish settings of all his previous novels. He connected his writing Ivanhoe with his concerns about contemporary events.
Scott drew together the apparently opposing themes of historical reality and chivalric romance, social realism and high adventure, past and present.
Scott drew together the apparently opposing themes of historical reality and chivalric romance, social realism and high adventure, past and present.