Olde Robin Hood

by Kate Danley

Overview

"Rich prose, intense action, historical and mythological depth, and captivating innovations." -Kirkus Reviews

Exiled for an unjust crime and forced to use whatever means necessary to survive, a figure of hope emerges from Sherwood Forest. But what most people know about Robin Hood (the enemy of Prince John and nobleman loyal to King Richard) was an invention of a playwright nearly three hundred years after Robin Hood died. However, there are older stories about the real Robin Hood.

USA Today bestselling author Kate Danley weaves the original 13th century ballads, Robin Hood traditions passed down through ancient pagan rites, and historical evidence together into a noblebright epic. Enter a world of adventure and chivalry as you discover the man behind the myth, as you meet the Olde Robin Hood.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940156101047
Publisher:	Katherine Danley
Publication date:	09/20/2018
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	317,790
File size:	482 KB

About the Author

Kate Danley began her writing career as an indie author in 2010. Since then, she spent five weeks on the USA Today bestseller list, has been honored with various awards, including the Garcia Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year, and her Maggie MacKay series has been optioned for film and television development. She has won the 2016 Panowski Playwriting Award and her plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and other major cities. She has over 300+ film, television, and theatre credits to her name, and specializes in sketch, improv, and Shakespeare. She wrote sketch for a weekly show in Hollywood and has performed her original stand-up at various clubs in LA. She learned on-camera puppetry from Mr. Snuffleupagus and played the head of a 20-foot dinosaur on an NBC pilot. She lost on Hollywood Squares.

Editorial Reviews

2018-11-16

This epic fantasy retelling of a classic story delivers characters both new and familiar.

Danley's (A Spirited Manor, 2018, etc.) tale has a mythic bent from the beginning, as the corrupt sheriff of Nottingham murders Robin Hood's father and burns their family farm to the ground. This episode invokes the idea of the monomyth (and a call to action, especially for the farm boy). From there, the story hits familiar beats but keeps them fresh with information from folktales and oral traditions apparently pre-dating the Robin Hood mythos of modern popular culture. Exiled, Robin escapes to Sherwood Forest, where he meets Little John (fleeing the sheriff's service). The two become friends and join forces with others, adopting a moral code even as they turn to highway robbery to survive. Interestingly, this code is less contingent on their targets' wealth than their honesty, as Robin and his companions visit justice on only those who lie when asked if they have money. Rather than resorting to violent acts, they have a strict rule against killing and, in fact, invite some weary travelers to join them in their feasts. Further, Robin renounces Christianity early in the story, seeing clergymen as another aspect of the corrupt state, preying on the downtrodden and coveting riches beyond their needs. This stance—as well as the fact that Robin is neither a nobleman nor a loyalist to an absent king, as in some adaptations—sets Danley's protagonist apart from the simplicity of the morality plays the character often stars in and introduces pagan religion and a philosophy akin to political anarchism, with its strong opposition to unjust hierarchies. Some readers may find that these elements fail to breathe new life into the tale's well-trod ground, especially as the plot proceeds. Robin (now beloved by the poor) is pitted against an increasingly irate sheriff, forcing the hero to use only his wits and skills to save his friend and lady love. The bones of the narrative are familiar (Little John says of Robin: "He gets one taste of treating folks with kindness, and it is like a thirst that is never quenched"). But the classic story endures for a reason, and many readers will likely find themselves intrigued and entertained by the novel's rich prose, intense action, historical and mythological depth, and captivating innovations.

A tried-and-true heroic tale made fresh with novelty and well-researched details.

Kirkus Reviews