The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott. Leather Bond edition by Easton Press. 100 Greatest Books Ever Written.
Accented in 22kt gold, printed on archival paper with gilded edges, Smyth sown & concealed muslin joints. Bound In full leather with hubbed spines. A Limited Edition.
The Talisman is one of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. Published in 1825 as the second of his Tales of the Crusaders, it is set during the Third Crusade and centers on the relationship between Richard I of England and Saladin.
During a truce in the Third Crusade, Sir Kenneth and a Saracen Emir ride together towards the cave of the hermit Theodoric of Engaddi, where Theodoric gives Sir Kenneth some secret information. The Emir falls asleep and the other two men go to a chapel, where Sir Kenneth meets his old lover, Lady Edith.
Ruins of Ascalon, 1880s
Sir Kenneth travels to Ascalon, where Richard Coeur de Lion lies ill in his tent. Sir Kenneth and the King discuss Sir Kenneth's visit to the chapel and a doctor gives the King some medicine. While King Richard sleeps, Conrade of Montserrat, who wishes to become King of Jerusalem, incites Archduke Leopold of Austria to plant his flag in the center of the camp. The King wakes up and when he discovers what Leopold has done, he tears down the flag.
Philip of France persuades him to refer the matter to the council, and Sir Kenneth is asked to watch the English flag until daybreak. Soon after midnight, Sir Kenneth is lured away under false pretenses. The flag is stolen and Sir Kenneth's dog is deliberately injured.
The camp doctor tells Sir Kenneth that Sultan Saladin wishes to marry Lady Edith. Sir Kenneth tries to warn the King, but the King does not believe him and banishes Sir Kenneth from court. Sir Kenneth spends a few days in Saladin's court, disguised as a Nubian slave. Saladin gives the disguised Sir Kenneth to King Richard as a gift. Shortly afterward, Sir Kenneth, still in disguise, saves the king from an assassination attempt. He promises King Richard he can discover who stole the flag.
At a procession of the Christian armies and their leaders, Sir Kenneth's dog attacks the Marquis Conrade, recognizing the Marquis as the man who injured him. The Marquis betrays his guilt by exclaiming, "I never touched the banner" and challenges the King to a duel. Since the King is not allowed to participate in a duel, he chooses Sir Kenneth as his champion. While preparing for the duel, the King discovers that his court physician was really Saladin in disguise. It is also revealed that Saladin was the Emir whom Sir Kenneth met on the road.
Sir Kenneth wins the duel and it is then revealed that rather than being a lowly knight, he is actually the Earl of Huntingdon and Prince Royal of Scotland. Now that his higher rank is acknowledged, he becomes eligible to marry Lady Edith. King Richard acknowledges the futility of continuing the Crusade, given the lack of support from the other Christian armies, and the superiority of Saladin's forces, and so the Crusade is abandoned.
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