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A review by books_n_pickles
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Live fast, die young.
I read this book aaaaages ago. Middle school? I think that's when I read a bunch of these Puffin Classics. This is definitely exciting action adventure, with Green giving the action most of the emphasis. We're told often that Robin robs the rich and gives to the poor, but despite hearing how he takes hundreds of pounds from corrupt church officials, we don't get much indication of where that money goes. At one point he's raising a ransom of King Richard, and later we're told he sent it, but...when and how did it go?
In Green's telling, Robin's adventures are concise and quick--the chapters would make excellent campfire reading.
As an older reader, there were several interesting undercurrents I picked up on:
>> The simmering tensions between the Saxons and the Normans. In history class, invasions, occupations, and colonization often ends up seeming like a done deal, but here's the evidence that all is not well even a hundred years after 1066. I was rather impressed that at two points, Norman fathers whose daughters had married Saxons eventually chose to give up their anger for the sake of family.
>> Clergy were almost entirely corrupt, including Friar Tuck--I remembered (okay, okay, with help from the Russel Crowe movie) that he wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue, but he extorted tolls from travelers! How was that much better than the other clergy?
>> I was happy to see that Marian had as active a role as I remembered--yeah, it's not modern feminism, but she was basically her own action star AND she had some women friends as well, one of whom weilds a mean cudgel.
>> It was also interesting to see how often Robin was beaten by others, and how often he took it in good cheer and invited them to join him, not something you'd associate with gung-ho masculinity these days.
>> I picked up, too, on some dissatisfaction in the ranks for how often Robin Hood would get bored with the regular robbing-the-rich routine and wander off into trouble.
>> He's also not a perfect angel in contrast to the villains, though most movies make him out to be so: in one particularly dark scene (though I'm sure we're meant to see it as justice) he shoots down fifteen men tangentally involved in the death of his good friend.
>> There's more than a whiff of British classism showing through Green's interpretations, with the strict heirarchy of serf, yeoman, judge, knight, lord, etc., treated as the natural order of things; no one who's not insisting that Robin's an outlaw doubts that he is rightfully a lord. King Richard remains a perfect ideal from a distance, despite the fact that he--unlike Robin Hood--cannot escape but needs to be ransomed. And the King is, of course, stronger than Friar Tuck, Little John, and Robin Hood together. Like Robin, despite his responsibilities, he faffs around playing at the Black Knight before announcing himself. Way to get back to work, dude!
But most of the stories are light and airy, tales about Robin winning competitions; going in disguise to humiliate the Sherriff of Nottingham, the local bishop, and Prince John, rescuing friends (he doesn't actually rescue Maid Marian--she gets away from her father, Guy of Gisborne, and Prince John all by herself); and getting into friendly fights that end with a new recruit. There is a weird story with a witch in it, which just seems wildly different from all the rest, and stuck out so much from the other stories that I remembered bits of it over the years even if I didn't remember Will Scarlett or Allan-a-Green, etc. The biggest story of Robin's giving-to-the-poor kindness is when he helps a knight pay off a debt on his lands; other than that, it's all telling rather than showing.
I remember being surprised when I read this book for the first time that it actually ended with Robin's early death. He doesn't get a happily ever after: King John gets his revenge, forcing Robin, Marian, and Little John to flee their estate. In escaping, Robin is mortally wounded, though he somehow manages to play pirate with severe internal injuries before limping his way to the nunnery where Marian has holed up. At least he manages to see her and Little John on his deathbed.
All in all, good fun. Now I can read some of the Robin Hood retellings that I've been meaning to get to!
I read this book aaaaages ago. Middle school? I think that's when I read a bunch of these Puffin Classics. This is definitely exciting action adventure, with Green giving the action most of the emphasis. We're told often that Robin robs the rich and gives to the poor, but despite hearing how he takes hundreds of pounds from corrupt church officials, we don't get much indication of where that money goes. At one point he's raising a ransom of King Richard, and later we're told he sent it, but...when and how did it go?
In Green's telling, Robin's adventures are concise and quick--the chapters would make excellent campfire reading.
As an older reader, there were several interesting undercurrents I picked up on:
>> The simmering tensions between the Saxons and the Normans. In history class, invasions, occupations, and colonization often ends up seeming like a done deal, but here's the evidence that all is not well even a hundred years after 1066. I was rather impressed that at two points, Norman fathers whose daughters had married Saxons eventually chose to give up their anger for the sake of family.
>> Clergy were almost entirely corrupt, including Friar Tuck--I remembered (okay, okay, with help from the Russel Crowe movie) that he wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue, but he extorted tolls from travelers! How was that much better than the other clergy?
>> I was happy to see that Marian had as active a role as I remembered--yeah, it's not modern feminism, but she was basically her own action star AND she had some women friends as well, one of whom weilds a mean cudgel.
>> It was also interesting to see how often Robin was beaten by others, and how often he took it in good cheer and invited them to join him, not something you'd associate with gung-ho masculinity these days.
>> I picked up, too, on some dissatisfaction in the ranks for how often Robin Hood would get bored with the regular robbing-the-rich routine and wander off into trouble.
>> He's also not a perfect angel in contrast to the villains, though most movies make him out to be so: in one particularly dark scene (though I'm sure we're meant to see it as justice) he shoots down fifteen men tangentally involved in the death of his good friend.
>> There's more than a whiff of British classism showing through Green's interpretations, with the strict heirarchy of serf, yeoman, judge, knight, lord, etc., treated as the natural order of things; no one who's not insisting that Robin's an outlaw doubts that he is rightfully a lord. King Richard remains a perfect ideal from a distance, despite the fact that he--unlike Robin Hood--cannot escape but needs to be ransomed. And the King is, of course, stronger than Friar Tuck, Little John, and Robin Hood together. Like Robin, despite his responsibilities, he faffs around playing at the Black Knight before announcing himself. Way to get back to work, dude!
But most of the stories are light and airy, tales about Robin winning competitions; going in disguise to humiliate the Sherriff of Nottingham, the local bishop, and Prince John, rescuing friends (he doesn't actually rescue Maid Marian--she gets away from her father, Guy of Gisborne, and Prince John all by herself); and getting into friendly fights that end with a new recruit. There is a weird story with a witch in it, which just seems wildly different from all the rest, and stuck out so much from the other stories that I remembered bits of it over the years even if I didn't remember Will Scarlett or Allan-a-Green, etc. The biggest story of Robin's giving-to-the-poor kindness is when he helps a knight pay off a debt on his lands; other than that, it's all telling rather than showing.
I remember being surprised when I read this book for the first time that it actually ended with Robin's early death. He doesn't get a happily ever after: King John gets his revenge, forcing Robin, Marian, and Little John to flee their estate. In escaping, Robin is mortally wounded, though he somehow manages to play pirate with severe internal injuries before limping his way to the nunnery where Marian has holed up. At least he manages to see her and Little John on his deathbed.
All in all, good fun. Now I can read some of the Robin Hood retellings that I've been meaning to get to!