Sherwood: A Novel of Robin Hood

An author of works ranging from ironic science fiction (Waiting For the Galactic Bus) to plaintive historical fantasy (The Last Rainbow) attempts a drastic reworking of the Robin Hood legend--with plodding, off-key results. Godwin stretches several points to get going at all: this ``Robin Hood'' is Edward of Denby, a Saxon resister of the Norman invasion of 1066, not the traditional foe of Prince John in the time of Richard the Lion-hearted. When his serfs refuse to conform to Norman ways, Robin loses his holdings to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Ralf Fitz-Gerald, one of William the Conqueror's most honorable and reliable knights. The pair (of whom Ralf is definitely the more sympathetic figure) become bitter foes as Robin turns outlaw; the expected complications ensue. Finally, the (real- life) rebellion of 1075 looms; its Saxon leader, Waltheof, attempts to enlist the now-famous Robin. But, ironically, Robin prefers to join Ralf in support of William rather than side with scheming, treacherous, ambitious Waltheof, whose main hope is to rally the Saxons to the slain King Harold's banner, hidden by Little John since the Battle of Hastings. Pity there's no tradition, in history or folklore, of Saxon resistance centered on Nottingham; neither does the hanging of the familiar names (Marian, Scarlet, John, Tuck, etc.) upon anonymous or unconvincing characters lend conviction to this hard-working but historically implausible, colorless, and vastly overlong enterprise. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Godwin sets his highly satisfying retelling of the Robin Hood legend in the time of William the Conqueror, when the bastard of Normandy was pacifying his unruly new country. After the Saxon thane of Denby is killed at York, his son Edward Aelredson, nicknamed Robin, succeeds to the land, located next to Sherwood Forest. The young thane is outraged by the blinding of one of his men in retaliation for poaching King William's deer; when his attempt to reason with the sheriff of Nottingham turns to violence, Robin is outlawed. Before fleeing, Robin marries his love, Marian Elfrics, who is then sent to serve William's queen. Robin and four followers--Welsh woodsman Will Scatloch, blacksmith John Littlerede and Father Beorn and his sexton Tuck--commence the exploits that make them famous and give heart to the downtrodden Saxons. Denby is given to the sheriff, who falls in love with Marian and begins to develop a grudging respect for Robin. An attempt to enlist the two men in a treasonous plot draws them together unwillingly but fatefully. Godwin ( Waiting for the Galactic Bus ) depicts these epochal times vividly and colorfully, with carefully etched characterizations of Normans and Saxons. A sequel is planned.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.