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crothe77 's review for:
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest
by Amy S. Kaufman
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman is a third person-POV historical novel examining the story of Robin Hood through the original Medieval lens. Jane has few prospects in life and has little respect for her mother relying so much on men. When Jane meets Bran, she finds someone who is calm and steady but maybe doesn’t necessarily fill her with excitement. But then Bran brings her to meet Robin Hood, setting off Jane’s own journey of self-discovery and she’s going to have to make a lot of sacrifices if she’s going to survive.
The author’s note helped to contextualize a lot of what happens in the book, particularly in regards to Robin Hood. Like a lot of Americans, I grew up on the Disney version and all the stories of the selfless Robin and his beloved Maid Marion. This is all apparently a revision that started in the time of Henry VIII and the original Robin Hood was much more morally gray and didn’t really have a love interest as he instead devoted himself to the Virgin Mary. It was a really interesting experience for me to read this because it showed me how much my enjoyment of an adaptation is colored by the version I grew up on and prefer.
Beyond Robin’s devotion to Mary, Jane’s brother has joined the Church and there are discussions around the ways the Church abused their power in the Medieval era. It isn’t a secret that the Catholic Church had a lot of power in Europe for centuries and it handled that power very poorly, with many of the people who claimed to serve God using the Church as a shield to commit heinous acts, acts that, unfortunately, do continue today. Not all depictions of the Church are painted in a bad light, as Jane’s brother is genuinely devoted to God and appears to be a better man than some of the other members of the clergy and Jane works with a nun who is trying to convince Jane to join a nunnery so she can have some kind of power over her own life.
The romantic elements between Bran and Robin are definitely frustrating, mostly because I could see Jane falling for Robin a mile away and how toxic he would be for her. Bran is a good partner who cares about her and respects her boundaries, but he’s also safe. Despite all the negative things Jane thinks about her mother, she still made less than ideal choices regarding men. This helps to show the cycle that many people wind up in when it comes to partners and how anyone can be lured in by a charismatic personality.
Content warning for mentions of CSA and sexual assault
I would recommend this to fans of Robin Hood looking for something based on the original ballads and readers of historical fiction who like more morally gray characters
Minor: Sexual assault