Book Review: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

Robin Hood is a perennially popular figure. His adventures are legend and it is hard to tease out the historical truth from the fanciful embellishments that have accumulated over eight hundred or so years. This book is not really interested in the history (see this book for a historical investigation) but is a great compilation of the legends both famous and little known.

The story begins with the birth of Robert Fitzooth in Sherwood Forest. Son of a noble Norman father and Saxon mother, young Robert is born to nobility with a clear sympathy for both Normans and Saxons. He grows up learning all sorts of skills. When King Richard the Lion-hearted goes off to the Crusades, his brother Prince John begins to oppress the poor and take advantage of his high office for personal gain. Many nobles toady up to John but Robert goes rogue. He becomes Robin Hood and has his band of Merry Men in Sherwood rob the rich and give to the poor.

This Robin is an idyllic gentleman. He never molests women, not even the evil ones; he takes care of the poor and downtrodden. He's also a manly man, able to shoot an arrow straighter than anyone and nearly always able to beat others with a sword or a quarterstaff. His wedding to Marian is interrupted by Sir Guy of Gisborne, so that Robin and Marian can never be truly married until the return of the king. They live a chaste life in Sherwood, having adventures of a wide variety.

The stories are a bit episodic. Robin meets the famous Merry Men one by one, usually in some sort of friendly combat. More obscure characters like Allin-a-Dale (not just made up for the Disney cartoon!) and Much, the Miller's Son, are highlighted and become re-occurring characters. Famous scenes like escapes from castles or tournaments are interspersed with less famous, like Robin's encounter with a witch. The story does go on past the return of King Richard and the final union of Robin and Marian. Robin has a noble and tragic death that's a bit shocking because of the general lightness and fun of the rest of the book.

The book doesn't have a lot of depth but it is very entertaining and moves along quickly and captures that spirit of adventure that is so characteristic of most Robin Hood retellings.

Recommended.