Commentary: Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Commentary

Speaking of Sir Walter Scott and Ivanhoe… I’ve been much into Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe over the last six months. I’ve watched three different video adaptations. One was a theatrical version from the 1950s, one was a TV movie from the early 80s and one a TV miniseries from just a few years ago. I am currently re-reading the black and white comic book adaptation by Pocket Classics and I’ve also snagged the audiobook from LibriVox.

LIBRIVOX - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by various
44 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 19 Hours 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 09, 2009
The fortunes of the son of a noble Saxon family in Norman England as he woos his lady, disobeys his father, and is loved by another. Set in late 12C England and in Palestine with Richard Cœur-de-Lion at the Crusades.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/ivanhoe-by-sir-walter-scott.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[Thanks also to Annise and Snemand]

Besides being a rollicking adventure, a heartfelt romance, a rough history lesson and a plea for peace between Christians and Jews, Ivanhoe is also a series of fun etymological English lessons. Consider, the first few sentences of the novel’s dialogue. Ivanhoe begins with a conversation between two Saxon slaves:

“The swine turned Normans to my comfort!” quoth Gurth; “expound that to me, Wamba, for my brain is too dull, and my mind too vexed, to read riddles.”

“Why, how call you those grunting brutes running about on their four legs?” demanded Wamba.

“Swine, fool, swine,” said the herd, “every fool knows that.”

“And swine is good Saxon,” said the Jester; “but how call you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and hung up by the heels, like a traitor?”

“Pork,” answered the swine-herd.

“I am very glad every fool knows that too,” said Wamba, “and pork, I think, is good Norman-French; and so when the brute lives, and is in the charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman, and is called pork, when she is carried to the Castle-hall to feast among the nobles; what dost thou think of this, friend Gurth, ha?”

Above Gurth (the fool) explains to Wamba (the swineherd) the logic behind calling meat that’s still on the hoof and meat that’s on the table by two different English words. “Swine” is the Saxon word for pig and “porc” [pork] is the Norman [French] word for pig. Soon after this scene these two Saxon slaves are confronted by troupe of Norman knights who proceed to turn one of Wamba’s Saxon swine into proper Norman pork.

The novel features plenty of back and forth. Indeed the more I think about it, the more I think classic Doctor Who took it’s pacing from Ivanhoe what with folks: being kidnapped, ransomed, dressing in disguise, falling in love with their enemies, forgiving each other, and fighting in chivalric combat. There are plenty of villains too. With an unforgiving father, a witch-smelling warrior-priest [those pesky Knights Templar], an ignoble Norman nobleman (who redeems himself in the end), a kvetching Jew and his fetching Jewess daughter. Yeah, I love this story!

Here’s a cross section of the different audiobook versions of this influential 19th century novel:

Dove Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by David Warner
4 Cassettes – Approx. 6 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Dove Audio (NewStar Media)
Published: 1997
ISBN: 9780787110635


Naxos Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Jonathan Oliver
2 CDs – Approx. 2 Hours 39 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
Published: 1994
ISBN: 9626340258


Blackstone Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Frederick Davidson
14 Cassettes – Approx. 20.4 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 9780786195718


Ivanhoe [Parts 1 and 2]
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Jim Killavey
14 Cassettes – Approx. 21 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books On Tape / Jimcin Editions
Published: 1986
ISBN: 9780786195718

Brilliance Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Michael Page
CDs or MP3-CD – Approx. Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 9781597370097 (cd), 1597370118 (mp3-cd)


HarperCollons Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Brian Cox
2 Cassettes – Approx. 3 Hours 7 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: HarperCollins Audio
Published: 1992, 1996
ISBN: 0001049283


Ivanhoe And The Lists Of Ashby
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Doughlas Fairbanks Jr.
2 33 1/3 RPM LP Records – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Caedmon
Published: 1977

Highbridge Audio - Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottIvanhoe
By Sir Walter Scott; Read by Ronald Pickup
2 Cassettes – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Published: 1997
ISBN: 1565112113

And here’s a peek at the Pocket Classics edition (ISBN: 0883017393):

POCKET CLASSICS - Ivanhoe Pages 6 and 7

I wonder why there isn’t an audio drama version.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Sir Walter Scott Prize

Scott D.

SFFaudio News

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter ScottA neat story from The Guardian this morning:

He is seen as the father of the historical novel, so it’s perhaps only fitting that a new literary prize honouring the genre is to be launched in the name of Sir Walter Scott.

The £25,000 award is being set up by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, whose ancestors were closely linked to Scott. They hope the award will help to “properly honour” the author’s “immense achievements”, and “place as one of the world’s most influential novelists”.

Find the whole story |HERE|.

I recall an attempted read of Ivanhoe when I was but a wee man. A quick search for some Sir Walter Scott audio shows that Librivox is on the case.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Recent Arrival: Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin

Scott D.

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Science Fiction Audiobook - Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le GuinPlanet of Exile
By Ursula K. Le Guin; Read by Stephen Hoye and Carrington MacDuffie
4 CDs – 4.5 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2010
ISBN: 9781441717368

The planet Werel is entering its fifteen-year-long winter. The Earth colony of Landin has been stranded on Werel for ten years, and this lonely and dwindling human settlement is beginning to feel the strain. The humanoid hilfs are a nomadic people who only settle down for the cruel cold spell. They fear the Earthmen, regard them as witches, and call them the farborns. Although both populations share a common genetic heritage in the Hainish people, the differences are believed to be significant enough to prevent interbreeding. The relationship between the two groups has long been tense and characterized by limited interaction. But hilfs and farborns also share common enemies: the hordes of ravaging barbarians called gaals and the eerie preying snow ghouls. Will they join forces or be annihilated?

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Comics: Robert E. Howard’s Queen Of The Black Coast as adapted by Petri Hiltunen

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

Has your hard drive got room for 19.92 MB of pure awesome? If so be sure to download this AMAZING 46 page comic book adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Queen Of The Black Coast as illustrated by Petri Hiltunen.

It is available in the .CBR format (which is readable using a piece of software called CDisplay).

Queen Of The Black Coast |CBR|

Like the terrific, but quashed, BrokenSea Productions audio drama adaptation before it (which is still available via torrent and on Archive.org |HERE|) this will probably make the Conan Properties/Paradox Entertainment goons lament their ghoulishly spurious claims on all things Robert E. Howard.

Most of Robert E. Howard’s fiction is public domain, including Queen Of The Black Coast. This awesome adaptation shows exactly why it should be. Great art is made by artists building upon the art of the past, not by ghoulishly hoarding licensees.

The Cover:
Queen Of The Black Coast -Adapted by Petri Hiltunen

Page 1:
Queen Of The Black Coast -Adapted by Petri Hiltunen

[Thank CROM!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Asimov’s March 2010: On The Net: THE PRICE OF FREE Pt.1

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

Asimov's Science Fiction - March 2010James Patrick Kelly, SF author, has been a columnist for Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine for “ten plus years.” His “On The Net” column is about Science Fiction on the internet. You know it’s a good column when it mentions SFFaudio (check out the February 2006 issue). His latest column, in the March 2010 issue of Asimov’s, is titled:

On the Net: THE PRICE OF FREE [ Part I ] by James Patrick Kelly

For it Kelly took inspiration for it from an audiobook we told you about back in September (you can get Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson for FREE). Kelly points out, with links, the many of the ways that a radical price, $0.00, is being used on the internet.

Posted by Jesse Willis