Audiobook · read by volunteers
Talisman
Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832)
Read by Lizzie Driver · 32 chapters · 14 h 26
About the book
The Third Crusade is under way, and King Richard the Lionheart lies gravely ill. Around him, the leaders of the allied armies plot and scheme for personal power, and the future of the whole enterprise is in danger. Into this tangle comes Sir Kenneth of Scotland, a knight of honour whose loyalty is tested in ways he did not expect. Sir Walter Scott’s novel is a tale of courage, intrigue and chivalry, set against the meeting of East and West and enlivened by a famous encounter between the Crusaders and a noble adversary. Thirty-two recordings, over fourteen hours, in a historical romance that has delighted readers for two centuries. Betrayal, loyalty and a hero who must choose between duty and friendship give the story its drive across many hours.
Introduction
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish novelist and poet who did much to establish the historical novel as a major form of literature. The Talisman was published in 1825 as one of the Tales of the Crusaders. It is set near the end of the Third Crusade, a time when Richard I of England, known as the Lionheart, was campaigning in the Holy Land.
The novel takes real figures and places and adds invented characters and plots. Scott is interested in the rivalries among the Christian leaders as much as in the conflict with their opponents. He also gives a sympathetic portrait of the Muslim side, and the story’s moral interest depends on the encounter between two codes of honour. Its pace is leisurely at first, but the complications multiply.
As with all historical fiction of the period, the novel has to be understood as a romance rather than a record. Scott took liberties with chronology and characters in order to tell a good story, and some of the attitudes of his time are visible in the book.
The recording begins with an introduction and continues through thirty-one further parts, with a total length of about fourteen and a half hours. It was read by a LibriVox volunteer. It is a good choice for lovers of adventure, medieval settings and the novels of the early nineteenth century. The mixture of political plotting, personal honour and open adventure makes this a good novel to hear in the evenings, and its set pieces stay in the memory.
Public domain
Sir Walter Scott died in 1832: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text