''The Outlaws of Sherwood'' is a retelling of the legend of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

Robin McKinley Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...

.Bunnell, John C., "The Role of Books". ''Dragon'' Magazine,

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

Issue 151, November 1989, (pg.46)Lampe, David. "The Heirs/Errors of "Ivanhoe" : Robin Hood in Pre- and Post-Modern Fiction",. In Hahn, Thomas G. (ed.) ''Robin Hood in Popular Culture: Violence, Transgression, and Justice'' Boydell and Brewer, 2000. (pgs. 136-137) In McKinley's afterword, she says, "The retellings through the centuries have echoed concurrent preoccupations." The story includes both the traditional Robin Hood characters —

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, al ...

, Much,

Friar Tuck Friar Tuck is one of the legendary Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood. History The figure of the jovial friar was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th through 17th centur ...

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

and

Alan-a-dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became a ...

— and characters of McKinley's own invention. Notably, three of the most important characters are women, all of whom escape marriage to prospective spouses chosen by their fathers.

Summary

Robin is a

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

in Sherwood forest. As he leaves an archery contest, someone shoots at him and only just misses. Without thinking, Robin returns fire and kills someone. Robin's friends Marian and Much convince him to become an outlaw. Robin hides in

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cor ...

and gathers a band to oppose the tyrannous

Sheriff of Nottingham The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, ...

. Unsurprisingly they rob the rich, give to the poor, and poach deer. Newcomers join the band, including the huge

and

Will Scarlet Scarlet (also Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock, Scatheloke, Scathelocke and Shacklock) is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son. The confusion of surn ...

. Will hears that his sister does not want to marry a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

baron, but Robin refuses to help. A young minstrel named

asks for help. His beloved, Marjorie, is to wed a baron and he wants to rescue her. The outlaws get Friar Tuck to perform the marriage to Alan instead of the original groom. Alan and Marjorie join Robin's band, which takes in a mysterious young man called Cecil, who is later found to be a girl, and whom Will recognizes as his sister, Cecily. She stays in the band. Robin hears that Sir Richard of the Lea, who had been kind to Robin when he was a forester, is about to lose his property due to debts. The outlaws give Sir Richard the money he needs. There is an archery contest with a prize of a golden arrow; it is clearly a trap so Robin does not go. Marian wears a disguise and wins the contest. Guy of Gisbourne, a mercenary hired by the Sheriff of Nottingham, attacks her thinking that she is Robin. Cecily and Little John spirit Marian away to

's hideout in the forest. Marian is badly hurt. Robin tells her he loves her and asks her to marry him.

Guy of Gisbourne Sir Guy of Gisbourne (also spelled Gisburne, Gisborne, Gysborne, or Gisborn) is a character from the Robin Hood legends of English folklore. He first appears in "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" (Child Ballad 118), where he is an assassin who atte ...

and his men find Tuck's hideout. The band beat them off. Sir Richard takes the outlaws to his castle to keep them safe but the Sheriff is furious that Sir Richard is protecting them. Both he and Sir Richard send word to

King Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

. Little John and Cecily say they love each other. King Richard shows up at Sir Richard's castle unannounced. He makes all the outlaws swear loyalty to him, and tells them that they must join the crusades. The king makes Robin the heir to Sir Richard’s lands and says that Robin and Marian can marry.

Reception

Reviewing ''The Outlaws of Sherwood'' in '' Dragon'' magazine, John C. Bunnell stated "McKinley's retelling of Sherwood Forest's familiar history is wise and deeply satisfying, enough so that it is hard to imagine a version of the legend that could be discernibly better".

References

External links

''The Outlaws of Sherwood'' at Robin McKinley's website

* ttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v30n2/pdf/barnhouse.pdf "Robin Hood Comes of Age" by Rebecca Barnhouse {{DEFAULTSORT:Outlaws Of Sherwood, The American fantasy novels 1988 American novels Novels by Robin McKinley Robin Hood books Novels set in Nottinghamshire