Status
Available
Call number
Original publication date
1992-9
Publication
Kensington (2000), 608 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:A beautiful synthesis of Robin Hood legends. --Marion Zimmer Bradley With her king a captive and her coffers drained, England is left in turmoil during the Crusades. After the death of her father in the Holy Land, Lady Marian of Ravenskeep finds herself alone--and at the mercy of men vying for her lands and her beauty. Thrust into games of political intrigue, the sheltered knight's daughter soon learns to trust no one. . . Afforded a hero's homecoming, Sir Robert of Locksley returns from the Crusades a shattered man. In a country he barely recognizes, one torn apart by treachery and betrayal, he finds in Marian a kindred soul. Their quest for justice will take them into the depths of Sherwood Forest, where the dream of a new England will be born. . . "An imaginative and riveting novel, impossible to put down." --Booklist "Robinson expertly evokes the sensations and frustrations of medieval life." --Kirkus "A diverting, delightful book." --Publishers Weekly.… (more)
Subjects
Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1994)
Original language
English
Language
ISBN
1575667495 / 9781575667492
Similar in this library
Media reviews
Publisher Weekly
A beautiful girl waits, angry and afraid, surrounded by imprisoning walls and men who desire her both to satisfy themselves and to further their ambitions. A powerful man with dreams of preferment callously manipulates those around him to gain his ends and finally stoops even to treason. A young
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lord, scarred by war in body and mind, attempts to deal with the waking nightmares that wall him off from others and from himself. A group of once-upstanding men become outlaws in a corrupt world where their very nationality can be seen as a crime. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member VintageReader
Well, I finished it--and I don't have any qualms about not finishing a book I'm not enjoying reading. I liked the setting a lot, and I really liked the characterization of Robin as a PTSD-haunted veteran. I thought Marian developed nicely, although I do have issues with the way every single man she
I also liked the history. I have no idea how accurate it is--many reviews I've read suggest that Jennifer Roberson is very good with her history, but I personally don't have enough knowledge of English history to be able to judge. I will say that this is the first book I've read about Robin Hood that I think adequately explains his motivation to rob the rich. Novels usually have a sentence or two about how Richard is being held in some other land and the sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John are conspiring to keep him there, but I can't recall another book that actually gives Robin more motivation for wanting to raise the ransom money than "but he's the KIIIINNNNGGG!" [NOTE: I will grant that much of my knowledge of the Robin Hood legend comes from my first exposure to it: the Disney movie that features Robin and Marian as foxes and Prince John as a lion, and he's such an annoying character that I've never questioned why Robin wants to get rid of him.]
I do think authors should have a firm limit on how often they can use words like "balefully" and "lank" (I would suggest once per book, but certainly no more than once every few chapters). I think the book was too long, but unlike other reviewers, I liked the little subplots that kept popping up with the minor characters.
So I didn't hate the book, but I doubt I'll ever read it again.
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meets (except Robin's father) falls hopelessly, crazedly, willing-to-kill-people in love with her. I have known a few women like that; I had a roommate in college whose ex-boyfriend went into the priesthood when she dumped him, and another one who sold his car to buy her an apartment full of presents. But it works better in real life than in fiction, because you can see that men who do that kind of thing are typically pretty weird or not very bright. William deLacey and Guy of Gisbourne, especially, don't fit either of those descriptions (although Robin kind of does, with his blackouts and gory flashbacks to the Crusade). I also liked the history. I have no idea how accurate it is--many reviews I've read suggest that Jennifer Roberson is very good with her history, but I personally don't have enough knowledge of English history to be able to judge. I will say that this is the first book I've read about Robin Hood that I think adequately explains his motivation to rob the rich. Novels usually have a sentence or two about how Richard is being held in some other land and the sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John are conspiring to keep him there, but I can't recall another book that actually gives Robin more motivation for wanting to raise the ransom money than "but he's the KIIIINNNNGGG!" [NOTE: I will grant that much of my knowledge of the Robin Hood legend comes from my first exposure to it: the Disney movie that features Robin and Marian as foxes and Prince John as a lion, and he's such an annoying character that I've never questioned why Robin wants to get rid of him.]
I do think authors should have a firm limit on how often they can use words like "balefully" and "lank" (I would suggest once per book, but certainly no more than once every few chapters). I think the book was too long, but unlike other reviewers, I liked the little subplots that kept popping up with the minor characters.
So I didn't hate the book, but I doubt I'll ever read it again.
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LibraryThing member Black_samvara
A Robin Hood story by the lady who wrote the somewhat grim and misogynistic Cheysuli series.
It's a tad grim and misogynistic but otherwise inventive and enjoyable. I love retellings of myths and fairy stories.
It's a tad grim and misogynistic but otherwise inventive and enjoyable. I love retellings of myths and fairy stories.
LibraryThing member storytime930
Best Robin Hood story I've ever read. Author goes into great detail. The entire story takes place in less than a month. A theory about how Robin Hood came to be.
LibraryThing member amaraduende
This book was a great historical novel. Lots of interesting additions to the Robin Hood myth. The character of Marian, you may guess from the title, is the main focus, although Robin gets quite a bit of character development as well.
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
I think I read this as a tween and didn't like it, but Angie's review was so heartmeltingly sincere that I have to give it another shot.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Roberson's retelling of the legend of Robin Hood will please all fans
of the classic tale. It doesn't re-imagine or mess with the characters
or their motivations - the people here are familiar friends and
enemies - but their story is fleshed out to a grandly epic 600 pages
of enjoyment. (And there's a
the book was influenced by the original BBC Robin Hood series (from
the 80's) as well as older version of the stories. The books strikes
an excellent balance between realistic and idealized depictions of the
people and their times, and between romance and action - it's
definitely a romantic novel, largely from Marian's point of view (as
one might guess from the title), but it never gets too bogged down in
romance (ignore the horrible edition of the book with the embarrassing
romance-novel cover art!)
of the classic tale. It doesn't re-imagine or mess with the characters
or their motivations - the people here are familiar friends and
enemies - but their story is fleshed out to a grandly epic 600 pages
of enjoyment. (And there's a
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sequel, too! (Lady of Sherwood)). I feltthe book was influenced by the original BBC Robin Hood series (from
the 80's) as well as older version of the stories. The books strikes
an excellent balance between realistic and idealized depictions of the
people and their times, and between romance and action - it's
definitely a romantic novel, largely from Marian's point of view (as
one might guess from the title), but it never gets too bogged down in
romance (ignore the horrible edition of the book with the embarrassing
romance-novel cover art!)
Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
Robert of Locksley (later Robin of Locksley, then Robin Hood) has been fighting with King Richard (the Lionheart) in the Crusades. Richard has been imprisoned, but Robert makes his way home. There, he comes across Marian, who he knew when they were younger. Marian is the King’s ward since her
It’s a long book. It took 200 of the 800 pages for me to get interested, and even then, that was only when they started bringing in characters I already recognized from the Robin Hood story: Little John, Will Scarlett, “Brother” Tuck. I feel like I shouldn’t have to recognize the story to get interested in it. I also sometimes have a hard time when the same person/character is referred to by different names – last name, first name, title – at different points. It took me way too long to realize that William deLacey and the Sheriff were one and the same! I really did like the last 100 pages. Overall, though, I’m keeping it at an “ok” rating. I already have the sequel, so I will read it at some point.
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father passed away, and the Sheriff hopes to marry her. When Will Scarlet, wanted for murder, kidnaps her, though he doesn’t “defile” her, everyone assumes so, so she is ruined. Doesn’t change that the Sheriff still wants to marry her, but she will have none of it. It’s a long book. It took 200 of the 800 pages for me to get interested, and even then, that was only when they started bringing in characters I already recognized from the Robin Hood story: Little John, Will Scarlett, “Brother” Tuck. I feel like I shouldn’t have to recognize the story to get interested in it. I also sometimes have a hard time when the same person/character is referred to by different names – last name, first name, title – at different points. It took me way too long to realize that William deLacey and the Sheriff were one and the same! I really did like the last 100 pages. Overall, though, I’m keeping it at an “ok” rating. I already have the sequel, so I will read it at some point.
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LibraryThing member joefreedom
A weaving of the fragments of the Robin Hood legend into an entertaining story, with an aspect of female empowerment and PTSD on the survivors of war.
LibraryThing member Herenya
The prose is very effective -- I was quickly engrossed, invested in Marian’s story! But I took months to finish the final third, and nearly DNF, because there are so many unpleasant men who keep getting POV sections. Ugh. If it had just been Robin and Marian, I would have felt quite differently
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about it. Show Less