&quot;The Talisman&quot; is one of Scott&#39;s most popular novels, filled with colour, mystery, plot and counter-plot. He wrote it in 1824-25 when his personal finances were in peril. The novel is the second, and his best, in the <i>Tales of the Crusaders series</i>.<br /><br />&quot;The Talisman&quot; is a tale of the Crusades, set in 1190 and beginning when there was a truce between the Saracens and King Richard the Lionheart. &nbsp;As with many another historical novel, Scott takes liberties with the historical record, and probably with his depictions of Arab culture too.