Men of Sherwood;: New tales of Robin Hood's merry band

This story takes place roughly a year after Robin Hood is killed. Arthur Fitzooth is a carefree teenager living the life of a privileged young lord, excelling in swordsmanship and that favorite English pastime of old - archery. When his father, Baron Fitzooth, is framed for murder, Arthur flees into the night with a jeweled chest entrusted to him by his mother, Baroness Fitzooth, with the promise that he will guard it with his life. On his way to his uncle's home in the North, Arthur passes through Sherwood Forest and meets the legendary Robin Hood's right-hand man, Little John. Struck by the youth's uncanny resemblance to his lately-dead master (whose real name is Robin Fitzooth of Locksley), Little John talks Arthur into living with him and others of Robin Hood's band in Sherwood Forest. Arthur seems to have the same enemies as Robin did, and he seems to have the same effect upon people as Robin did - striking fear into the hearts of those such as the Sheriff of Nottingham, while beloved by the commoners. There is even a maiden for Arthur to fall in love with, the beautiful Elaine of Cliffbriar. Arthur enters an archery tournament in disguise, he and his merry men wreak havoc upon the Sheriff and Seneschal of Nottingham, and they uncover and prevent plans of treachery. In the end, good prevails and Arthur wins the lady's hand and takes back his house and lands.

This was a favorite of mine as a child and teenager. I even have "#1 book" written on the ugly, orange cloth cover of my copy. I recently re-read it and although all of the "forsooth"s and "thy"s were slightly tedious, I still greatly enjoyed it and will continue to read it in years to come. ( )

Men of Sherwood is one of those books I grew up reading and rereading. It was an old battered library copy that I'd check out a couple times a year when I wanted to savor it again. I was dismayed when I went to look for this book years later and couldn't find it in my local libraries. Imagine my happiness when someone on BookMooch posted it and also offered another book by the same author that I had never heard of! Soon I had a copy of that sturdily bound, library-worn book of my childhood, and settled down to reread.

It was different than what I remembered, of course. We can never really go back to the people we were when we read books years ago. The characters were closer to their legends, stilted and stiff, than to realistic people, and the writing was not quite so amazing as I thought. Oh, it's written well enough; it just didn't have that extra something that I remembered.

Arthur Fitzooth, who carries on the tradition of Robin Hood in this story, is young, dashing, and preternaturally skilled in archery and swordplay. His father, the upright, honest Baron Fitzooth, is framed for murder by the dastardly King John. Arthur escapes the storming of his ancestral estate through a secret passage, bearing a small chest his mother pressed upon him for safekeeping.

The country is in disorder, with the common people suffering under heavy taxes and cruel laws. Robin Hood has been dead for several months, and his Merry Men are scattered. When Arthur falls in with Little John in Sherwood, Little John is struck by how much Arthur resembles the dead Robin. Soon Arthur is fighting injustice using Robin's name as a rallying cry.

Everything comes right in the end, as it must in these stories. I am a little sorry I reread this because I've lost that childlike love I had for it; I've outgrown it. But I'll still treasure this old ex-library copy, remembering how many happy hours I spent with it as a young reader. ( )