Archive-name: books/robin-hood Posting-frequency: 25 days Last-modified: 24 Feb 1995 ROBIN HOOD BOOKLIST This is a reading list involving the Robin Hood legend. Copies of this FAQ may be obtained by anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu under pub/usenet/news.answers/books/robin-hood. Or, send email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with send pub/usenet/news.answers/books/robin-hood in the body of the message, leaving the subject line empty. The very latest version is kept at http://www.io.com/user/tittle/books/robin-hood.html My criterion for these books is that it be concerned with the Robin Hood legend in some way. I have three basic categories: fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. There are a good number of research and old-manuscript references listed here that are probably unavailable except through a University-level library. I have split the books up into the following categories: * Medieval Fiction: often published at any point in time, but discussing texts from this period. I've arbitrarily put everything pre 1600 in this section, although I realize this isn't the "medieval" period. * Early Fiction (1600-1899): involves any fiction published during this time. If I have an 18th century commentary on a 15th century work, that goes here. (If it's a 18th century republication of something from prior to 1600, let me know and I will move it to the above category.) * Modern Fiction (1900-present): includes all fictionalized accounts published in this century. * Poetry: includes all poetic versions of the Robin Hood legend, regardless of when (first) published or written. * Non-Fiction and Research: includes analyses of the Robin Hood legend: how it started, what purpose it filled, etc. Some of the texts that republish old work but include an analysis may have been mistakenly filed in one of the fiction categories above; let me know if this is the case. I encourage you to send in any comments you have on a particular book for inclusion. I'd like to be able to give a sense of what the book offers. In addition, if you have references to books on Robin Hood that are *not* listed here, please send them to me for inclusion. Disclaimer: I have not vouched for the accuracy of each and every entry in this list. I would like also to indicate which books are no longer in print. If you find mistakes or have additional information on a reference, by all means, let me know. It might take me a while, but it will get put in ;-). Thanks to: Ann Carlson, Dean Clamons, Matthew Clark, Aaron C. Clarke, George T. Crafts, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, Roger Gardiner, George M. Jacobs, Michael Kelly, Larry Hammer, Tovah Hollander, Jane Lean, Duncan MacGregor, John G. Norman, Robert Oliver, Emma Pease, Tirza van Rijn, John C. Sluder, David Salley, Eric John Thiesen, and Elaine Thompson for their contributions. Copyright 1994 by Cindy Tittle Moore. All rights reserved. Medieval Fiction Pre 1600 The gallant achievements of Robin Hood : The famous history of Fryer Bacon: the romance of Robert the Devil. Edinburgh : O. Schulze, [1904?]. Early English prose romances. Childe, Francis. Ballads of England and Scotland. Childe collected a number of pre 1600 ballads, including ones about Robin Hood, into this volume in the mid 1800's. He used earlier collections for his sources. Clawson, William Hall, The gest of Robin Hood. University of Toronto library, 1909. Gutch, John Mathew, ed., A Lytell geste of Robyn Hode and his meiny. Reprinted from the edition edited by John Mathew Gutch, following the Wynken de Worde and William Copland texts, by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn for the Westgate Press ;... San Francisco, [1932], 1847. Early Fiction (1600-1899) The Adventures of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, commonly called Robin Hood, the famous English archer : being a complete history of all the merry adventures and valiant battles. Baltimore [Md.] : Printed and sold by William Warner, 1812. The History of Robin Hood. A new and correct edition. London : Printed for the Booksellers, 1816. Juvenile. Dumas, Alexandre. Robin des bois. Paris, Editions Baudelaire [1966]. Translations available. Is this Dumas pere or fils? Egan, Pierce (the Younger). Robin Hood and Little John : or, The merry men of Sherwood forest London: Foster and Hextall, 1840. Marsh, John B. The life and adventures of Robin Hood. London, New York, G. Routledge and sons [1865?]. Mills, Alfred, Sherwood Forest, or, Robin Hood and Little John (London : Published by E. Wallis ..., [ca. 1825]). M. P. (Martin Parker), A true tale of Robin Hood, or, A brief touch of the life and death of that renowned outlaw, Robert, Earl of Huntington, vulgarly called Robin Hood : who lived and dyed in A.D. 1198, being the 9th year of the reign... ([London] : Printed for J. Clark, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1686). Muddock, J.E. Maid Marian and Robin Hood: A Romance of Old Sherwood Forest With 12 illustrations by Stanley L. Wood Philadelphia: J.B.Lippincott Company 1894. Pyle, Howard, The merry adventures of Robin Hood : of great renown in Nottinghamshire (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884, many reprints). This is a classic rendition, most often recommended to readers. A little "old fashioned" in its phrasing, it has a style and flair all its own. Southey, Robert and Caroline Southey, Robin Hood : a fragment London : Edinburgh : William Blackwood, 1847). Peacock, Thomas Love, Maid Marian (London : T. Hookham, 1822, reprinted). Scott, Sir Walter, Ivanhoe. Robin Hood appears as a minor character in this work. Seawell, Molly Elliot, Maid Marian and other stories. New York : Appleton, 1891. Waldron, F. G. (Francis Godolphin), ed., The sad shepherd, or, A tale of Robin Hood : a fragment London : Printed for J. Nichols ... and sold by C. Dilly, 1783. With a continuation, notes, and an appendix. Modern Fiction (1900-present) Bowman, Anne, The boy foresters : a tale of the days of Robin Hood (London ; New York : G. Routledge, [1905]). Juvenile fiction. Brown, Alice, Robin Hood's barn. (New York, Macmillan, 1913). Bulfinch, Thomas, The age of chivalry ; or, Legends of King Arthur (many editions). Carpenter, Richard, Robin of Sherwood, (Puffin Books. 1984. ISBN 0-14-031690-6); Carpenter, Richard and Robin May, Robin of Sherwood and the Hounds of Lucifer, (Puffin Books. 1985. ISBN 0-14-031869-0); Carpenter, Richard and Anthony Horowitz, Robin of Sherwood: The Hooded Man, (Puffin Books. 1986. ISBN 0-14-032058-X); Carpenter, Richard, Robin of Sherwood: The Time of the Wolf, (Puffin Books. 1988. ISBN 0-14-032660-X). These four books are also collected in one volume, the omnibus: Carpenter, Richard, with Robin May and Anthony Horowitz, The Complete Adventures of Robin of Sherwood, (Puffin Books. 1990. ISBN 0-14-034450-0). The books to the marvellous Robin of Sherwood TV series. 'A magical retelling of the legend of Robin Hood'. Well written, great characters, gives a good impression of what it must have been like in mediaeval times, the mysticism and sorcery fits in, great sense of humour. Chase, Nicholas. Locksley. St. Martins/Marek, New York. 1983. ISBN 0-312-49428-9. A highly improbable and highly entertaining retelling of the legend as it "might have actually happened." Good reading. Creswick, Paul. N.C. Wyeth, illustrator. Robin Hood. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Reprint. Original copyright 1917, Wyeth, 1957. 1984. ISBN 0-684-18162-2. The illustrations alone make this book worth getting. A nicely told version of the Robin Hood legend. Doherty, P. C. The Assassin in the Greenwood (1993?), is a telling of the death of Robin Hood, and how an "under-sheriff" of Nottingham masqueraded as Robin to discredit him. The book is interesting in that it has a brief afterword by the author. In it, he claims that Robin was not a contemporary of Richard I (and John), but of Edward I. He suggests that Robin was a supporter of Simon de Montfort's revolt against the king in the mid-13th century and fled to Sherwood forest after the revolt failed. The plot is not that great, but the setting is well-rendered (including the tendency to violence that was said to be common in those days). Emery, Clayton, Tales of Robin Hood (New York : Baen Pub Enterprises; distributed by Simon & Schuster, 1988). Finnemore, John, The story of Robin Hood and his merry men (London, A. and C. Black, 1917). Fraser, Antonia, Robin Hood (Illustrated by Rebecca Fraser. [1st American ed.]. New York, Knopf [c1971]). Goldberg, Moses, The outlaw Robin Hood (New Orleans : Anchorage Press, c1980). Goldman, James, Robin and Marian (New York, Bantam Books, 1976). The major portion of this book is Goldman's original screenplay for the movie , which starred Audrey Hepburn (Maid Marian), Sean Connery (Robin Hood), Robert Shaw (Sheriff of Nottingham), Nicol Williamson (Little John), and Richard Harris (King Richard). Also included in the volume are 3 short essays. 'Where Have All the Heroes Gone?' laments the lack of heroes with High Principles and Noble Dreams, muses on heroes grown old--Ulysses, Ben Hogan, Fritz Kreisler--and sets up his premises/questions: What happened to Robin and Marian after they had grown old? (not doddering, but fifty-something), and Why do some of the versions of the myth have Marian killing Robin?. 'What All the Singing Was About' gives some historical background on the Robin Hood myth and why it has survived some 700 years and still has the power to move us. 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Screenplays and Were Afraid to Ask" is his insider's view of writing the screenplay, selling it, and making the movie. Godwin, Parke. Sherwood. Avon Books, New York. 1992. ISBN 0-380-70995-3. Robin and the King, 1993. Excellent, well thought out story. Placed during the Norman invasion of 1066. Unusual depth of characterization, you get a real feel for what the clash between the Saxons and Normans must have been like. Second book is set in France, where Robin has been exiled but still serves the King. Green, Roger Lancelyn, Robin Hood, (Penguin Books. 1982). A kind of compilation of various other Robin Hood books (quotations preceed every chapter). Green, Simon, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, (Fantail books. 1991. ISBN 0-14-090340-2). The novelization of the Kevin Costner Robin Hood movie. Greenberg, Martin H., ed., The fantastic adventures of Robin Hood (New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin, 1991). Harvey, George Cockburn, ed. and Edwin John Prittie, illus. Robin Hood. (Chicago: John C. Winston Co., 1923.) Black and White illustrations, with several color ones. All done by Prittie. Large print edition, so I assume for children. Some unfamiliar words are noted with asterisk and defined at bottom of page. Example: hinds=laborers. Book includes an Appendix with info about the real Robin Hood. This info is in the form of a "quotation from the abridgment of Ritson's Life of Robin Hoo, as given by Gutch" (345). Also in the Appendix is the ballad "Robin Hood and Allin'A' Dale." Hayes, Sarah, Robin Hood (Illustrated by Patrick Benson, 1st American ed. New York : Henry Holt, 1989). Herbertson, Agnes Grozier, Heroic legends : the stories of St. George and the dragon, Robin Hood, Richard and Blondel, and other legends (Illustrated by Helen Stratton, London: Blackie and Son, 1908). Holt, James Clarke, Robin Hood (London : Thames and Hudson, c1982, rev. 1989). Kluger, Richard, The Sherrif of Nottingham (N.Y.: Viking, 1992, ISBN 0-670-84022-X). A new fictional work which sets the story at the time of King John, but focuses on the much maligned sheriff of Nottingham. Kluger has historical notes identifying a historical sheriff of the period, Philip Mark, and recreates him as a rather sympathetic, if plodding, character. Lang, Andrew, ed., The story of Robin Hood, and other tales of adventure and battle (Illustrated by H. J. Ford, New York : Schocken Books, 1968). McKinley, Robin, The Outlaws of Sherwood (1st ed. New York : Greenwillow Books, c1988). A very nice retelling of the legend. Strong female characters. McSpadden, J. Walker, The Adventures of Robin Hood & His Merry Outlaws (Greenwich House, Crown Publishers, New York. 1984 reprint). ISBN 0-517-43602-7. Newboldt, Sir Henry John, ed., The Greenwood : a Collection of Literary Readings Related to Robin Hood London, Edinburg, T. Nelson, 1926). Pease, Howard, The Gypsy Caravan (Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, Doran & Company, inc., 1930). Being the merry tale of the travels of Betty and Joe with the gypsies. Robin Hood is a peripheral character. Rhead, L. J. (Louis J.), Bold Robin Hood and his outlaw band (New York, London, Harper & Brothers, 1912). Roberson, Jennifer, Lady of the Forest (1992). The lady is Marian, the forest is Sherwood, and Robin is Robert, the son and heir of the Earl of Huntingdon. Roberson wrote the book using all the characters for viewpoint (Sheriff, Earl, Robert, Will Scarlet, Marian, etc.) which while slowing it down in some ways, provided all sorts of different perspectives on the action, since *everyone's* version is present. This is set in the times of the Crusades and historical details are handled pretty well. Skinner, Eleanor Louise, Tales and plays of Robin Hood (New York, Cincinnati [etc.] American book company [ s1915]). Speak, Harold, Robin Hood of Wakefield ([Ossett, H. Speak & J. Forrester, 1970]). Stocqueler, J. H. (Joachim Hayward), The forest queen, Maid Marian. A story of Robin Hood, and his merry men, in Sherwood Forest (London, Lea [n.d.]). Sutcliff, Rosemary, The Chronicles of Robin Hood. (Oxford University Press. 1953). Goes as a children's book, but worthwhile reading for an adult too. A very nice retelling of the Robin Hood legend. Singer, Marilyn, Lizzie Silver of Sherwood Forest (Illustrated by Miriam Nerlove, 1st ed. New York : Harper & Row, c1986). Juvenile. Stone, Eugenia, Robin Hood's arrow (Illustrated by Rafaello Busoni, Chicago : Follett Publishing Co., c1948). Storer, Ronald D. K. Robin Hood (Mumbai : Oxford University Press, 1986). Trease, Geoffrey. Bows against the Barons, (Leicester: Brockhampton 1966 (c1934)). Because he was close to university and had very left-wing leanings (as so many English university types had at that time) this is a very "socialist" Robin Hood tale. Vance, Eleanor Graham, Adventures of Robin Hood (Illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum, prepared under the supervision of Josette Frank, New York, Random House, c1953). Vansittart, Peter, The death of Robin Hood : a novel (London : Owen, c1981). Whitby, Sharon, The Last of the Greenwood. (New York, Pyramid Publications, HBJ. 1975). Romance/Adventure retelling of the Robin Hood legend, concentrating on Robin's relationships with Marion. Enjoyable story. White, T.H., The Once and Future King. Includes a longish diversion in which Wart and Kay meet one "Robin 'ood," though it's explained that "'ood" is not short for "Hood," but "yer know, 'ood -- like this 'ood we're standin' in." Williams, Jay, The good yeomen (New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts [1948]). Poetry Dietrick, Laurabelle and Joseph Franz-Walsh, The merry ballads of Robin Hood (Illustrated by Edna Reindel, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1931). The whole story of that Robin Hood, known as Earl of Huntington, and Locksley. Dobson, R.B. and J. Taylor, eds., Rymes of Robyn Hood : an introduction to the English outlaw (Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976). Dobson, R. B. and John Taylor. Rymes of Robyn Hood : an introduction to the English outlaw. Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976. Considered one of the best editions of poems and ballads devoted to Robin Hood. Criticial commentary accompanies each poem. Hunt, Leigh, Ballads of Robin Hood (Cedar Rapids, Ia., Priv. print. [The Torch Press] 1922). With some manuscript reproductions. Jonson, Ben [1573?-1637], Ben Jonson's Sad shepherd, with Waldron's continuation (Ed. by W. W. Greg. Louvain, A. Uystpruyst; [etc., etc.] 1905). Jonson, Ben, The sad shepherd: or, A tale of Robin Hood, a fragment (many editions). Lees, Jim, ed., The ballads of Robin Hood (Illustrated by David Gentleman, Cambridge : University Press, 1977). Munday, Anthony, The death of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon. (Oxford, Printed for the Malone Society by V. Ridler at the University Press, [1967] 1601). Munday, Anthony, The downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon ([Prepared by John C. Meagher]. Oxford, Printed for the Malone Society by V. Ridler at the University Press, [1965] 1601). Ritson, Joseph, ed., Robin Hood, a collection of poems, songs, and ballads, relative to that celebrated English outlaw (London, Routledge, 1884). Ritson, Joseph, ed., Robin Hood : a collection of all the ancient poems, songs, and ballads (London : Printed for Longman, etc., 1820). Sidgwick, Frank, ed., Popular ballads of the olden time (London, Sidgwick & Jackson, ltd., 1912). Ballads of Robin Hood and other outlaws. Tennyson, Baron Alfred, The foresters, Robin Hood and Maid Marian (New York, Macmillan, 1892). Non-fiction and research Bellamy, John G., Robin Hood : an historical enquiry (Beckenham, Kent : Croom Helm, [1985]). Campbell, William W., An historical sketch of Robin Hood and Captain Kidd (New York, C. Scribner, 1853). Corcoran, Kelvin, Robin Hood in the dark ages (preface by Tom Raworth, London ; New York : Permanent Press, 1985). Fithian, Edward William, The life of Robin Hood, the celebrated outlaw; comprising an historical account of his birth, famous exploits, merry speeches, ballads, and gallant behaviour (London, Nicholson [1900?]). Gable, J. Harris, Bibliography of Robin Hood (Lincoln, Neb., 1939). Hargrove, Ely, Anecdotes of archery; from the earliest ages to the year 1791 (York, Hargrove, 1792). Including an account of the most famous archers of ancient and modern times; with some curious particulars in the life of Robert Fitz-Ooth Earl. Harris, Percy Valentine, The truth about Robin Hood ([6th ed.]. London [1957]). Evidence of the hero's actual existence. Hilton, R.H., ed., Peasants, Knights, and Heretics: Studies in medieval social history, (Cambridge & N.Y.: Cambridge U.P., 1976). Series: Past and Present Publications. Holt, J. C. Robin Hood. London : Thames and Hudson, 1982. A very useful survey of the origins and development of the Robin Hood stories, with good illustrations and maps. Keen, Maurice Hugh, The outlaws of medieval legend (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1961, reprinted in 1977). Knight, S., Robin Hood: A Complete Study of the English Outlaw. Oxford, Blackwell, 1994. 256pp, 24 b+w illustrations, 1 map. Miles, Bernard, Robin Hood, his life and legend (Illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, Chicago : Rand McNally, 1979). Victor G. Ambrus is an excellent illustrator. His arms and armour are not always absolutely right, but are usually pretty good; his heraldry is not always clearly understood, but then heraldry for the Robin Hood stories is even more hypothetical than that of the Arthurian tales. His horses are wonderful. The book is worth having just for the pictures, quite apart from Lord Myles' rather thoughtful commentary. Nelson, Malcolm A. (Malcolm Antony), The Robin Hood tradition in the English renaissance (Salzburg, Inst. f. Engl. Sprache u. Literatur, Univ. Salzburg, 1973). Pringle, Patrick, Stand and Deliver: Highwaymen from Robin Hood to Dick Turpin Copyright 1991 Dorset Press. ISBN 0-88029-698-4. This is a very interesting book, but RH is discussed only on pp 13-15. Stallybrass, Peter. "`Drunk with the Cup of Liberty': Robin Hood, the Carnivalesque, and the Rhetoric of Violence in Early Modern England." Semiotica 54, no. 1/2 (1985): 113-145. Reprinted in The Violence of Rhetoric, edited by Nancy Armstrong and Leonard Tennenhouse. New York: Routledge, 1990. Here's an interesting account of the politics of Robin Hood in the sixteenth century. Walker, John William, The true history of Robin Hood (With illus. by Ethel W. Walker, [Wakefield] West Yorkshire Print. Co., 1952, reprinted). _________________________________________________________________ Robin Hood Booklist Copyright 1994 by Cindy Tittle Moore, tittle@io.com