The Outlaws of Sherwood - by Robin McKinley (Paperback)

About the Book

In this reincarnation, the classic tale of Robin Hood gets a new lift as realflesh-and-blood outlaws, on the lam from the gallows and the sword, fight forthe sake of justice.

Book Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Robin McKinley's vivid retelling of the classic story of Robin Hood breathes contemporary life into these beloved adventures-with Marian taking a pivotal role as one of Robin's best archers.

Robin is an apprentice forester in the woods of Nottingham. The arrows he makes and sells earn barely enough extra coin to retain the title to his father's small lands. The sheriff of Nottingham's jealousy toward Robin's father is just as fierce towards his son, and the sheriff's men take every opportunity to harass the young woodsman. But when Robin defends himself by accidentally killing one of the sheriff's men, he flees to Sherwood Forest, knowing that he has not only lost his father's land and good name forever, but that he will live the rest of his days as a hunted man.

But his friends Much, the miller's son, and Lady Marian, Saxon daughter of the half-Norman lord who despises his Saxon blood, believe the disaster that has befallen Robin is also an opportunity: An opportunity for a few stubborn Saxons, cast out or outlawed in ways equally unjust, to gather together in secret under Robin's leadership and strike back against the arrogance and brutality of the Norman overlords.

Review Quotes

"Takes us back to those wonderful first meetings between Robin Hood and his followers. So strong is the power of this story that it catches us all over again...[McKinley] richly restores the textures that time has worn to bare narrative threads." -The New York Times

"In the tradition of T.H. White's reincarnation of King Arthur, a novel that brings Robin Hood...delightfully to life!" -Kirkus Reviews

"McKinley's taken the familiar high adventures and retold them with her unique talent...There's plenty of action, but in this retelling, as in her first brilliant book Beauty, McKinley makes what was familiar and comfortable new and shining...[A] glorious romance." -St. Petersburg Times

"Praiseworthy." -The Washington Post

"A great read." -Chicago Tribune

"Enriched with entrancing details of life in the forest, graced with a neat pair of satisfying love stories, and culminating in a couple of rousing battles, McKinley's Robin should be delighting readers for years to come." -Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.