Robin Hood

by Louis Rhead, Frank Godwin (Illustrator)

Recounts the legend of Robin Hood, who plundered the king's purse and poached his deer and whose generosity endeared him to the poor.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

Louis John Rhead (November 6, 1857 – July 29, 1926) was an English-born American artist, illustrator, author and angler who was born in Etruria, Staffordshire, England. He emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-four.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive, well-researched, clearly written and beautifully illustrated collection of the original Robin Hood tales. Rhead sticks very close to the canonical ballads- perhaps too close, resulting in a few too many tales that follow the eventually tedious pattern of Robin meeting someone, getting into a fight with them, and then they become part of the band. Some creative editing could have helped these stories to build on one another better, but as it is there is just enough of an overall arc to make the final few stories more powerful as Robin ages, the new king takes over, and the world built by the famous outlaw crumbles. Many of the characters feel redundant or interchangeable, but Rhead does a good job of crafting and building the friendship between Robin and Little John, the antagonism between Robin and the Sheriff, and occasionally a minor character will be startling interesting or alive: Guy of Gisoborne, the Sheriff's Wife, the Bishop of Hereford in particular. Marian is a very minor character, appearing in only one chapter, and Will Scarlet feels only vaguely present. Henry III and Queen Eleanor make for the most complex and vibrant personalities outside the title character, and their cycles of stories towards the end of the book make for the most interesting arc, from a modern literature perspective. Still, a good jumping off point for anyone looking to learn more about Robin Hood from a reverent source, and again, truly beautiful illustrations that perfectly capture the look and feel of the stories.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

TEN PAGES IN AND ALREADY SO JAUNTY

UPDATE: If you love shounen anime or tales that involve a hero and their whole motley crew being the heartiest of loyal companions through thick and thin, get into these tales. They're the 1912 adventures of Robin Hood and they are EXCITING. See corrupt clergymen get booped on, the corny sheriff get played out of his riches time and again, riveting swordplay and staff fighting, lusty merry men crying and hugging in public and MOAR!

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

My only knowledge of Robin Hood prior to this book came from the Disney movie. I think their choice of portraying him as a fox was a smart move, not only for the obvious "he's sly as a fox" connection that is made throughout all the stories, but also because of the coloring he was said to have. Tricky. I'm not sure why Disney made Maid Marian the King's niece though, unless that is in other stories than the one told here.

Fun, episodic lighthearted stories though they turn a bit formulaic. Robin goes out, meets a stranger, threatens/challenges/gets angry and attacks said stranger and generally gets beaten, though sometimes coming out in a draw. Invites stranger to join his band and voila! He has a new outlaw in his band. Every now and then something different happens to shake it up, like he goes and shoots in an archery match. Or he meets the beggar, hahahahaha! By then, I was ready for something like that to happen.

Kind of crazy that the Sheriff kept getting tricked by his disguises. And never recognized him. After, what, 40 years? 50? Aren't you tired of being tricked Sheriff??? He had a much different personality than the Disney version too. He didn't deserve what he got at the end though, that's for sure.

All in all, glad to have this one crossed off my TBR list finally.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dad read this to me when I was very young and I recently read it again. Robin Hood is a favorite character of mine because he is so very human. A really fun and easy read.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be utterly charming. The clear descriptions, witty dialogue, and beautiful illustrations all add up to perfect entertainment.

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Olde English insults and the adventures in this version of Robin Hood. Those dudes loved their feasting! I also really enjoyed Robin Hood's recruitment method: meeting random guy in forest, duelling with random guy, losing duel to random guy, inviting random guy to join band of merry men. Fantastic!

Louis Rhead's pen & ink illustrations are fabulous.

[Brooklyn Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read any Robin Hood books before. I loved this book I love the way it's written and illustrated! It's a great bedtime story book for kids also! But the ending did make me sad lol

[Will Witkop · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because Robin Hood was a child hood idol for me. I loved the story of an outdoorsman outlaw that lead a band of merry men in the wilderness helping the poor and fighting corruption and evil. After reading the story, I realized that Robin Hood was not the role model that I had built him up to be in my youth. Robin Hood was a flawed man in an even more flawed time. Robin Hood had a toxic masculinity, showed signs of laziness, and for a person notorious for his slyness, seemed to be a bit dim. The toxic masculinity was shown in every chapter when he would recruit some youth, yeoman, or friar for his band. The typical interaction would be that Robin would block the person's path in the forest and request money for safe passage. After the person would not pay the toll, Robin would proceed to fight the man and if the man put up a good fight or bested Robin, Robin would call for his merry men to recruit the fighter. This showed that the only necessary quality of a man was his ability to fight when there are much more important things that a leader of so many men such as Robin Hood could have embraced. Robin Hood was lazy in that he hardly ever added to society. His days were filled with partying, eating, drinking, and fighting. The money that he got was solely from shaking down people that passed through the forest which he self proclaimed as his own land. Lastly, Robin was not nearly as quick witted for the reputation that he had. His main target for tricks were the Sheriff of Nottingham and the greedy clergymen. The typical trick would be to overpay for some beggar's clothe and come into the town in disguise. These costumes always fooled the slow sheriff or clergymen so they would follow Robin into the forest where Robin would promise to show them where Robin Hood lived. Each time they would come into the woods and be robbed by Robin' band of men and be sent back home with empty pockets. This seems like it could work maybe once if the people being tricked had never met Robin Hood, but it continued to happen throughout the story which showed a lack of creativity from the man in tights and a lack of learning from mistakes on the part of the sheriff and clergymen. To this I say Robin never had a formidable foe and therefore should not go down as the sly fox that he is remembered to be. All in all, this story showed me that we should reconsider the role models that we pose for our impressionable youths and strive for smarter, more diligent, and more noble characters to look up to.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was born and raised in Nottingham, so I've always loved the tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. His skills with archery, his love of practical jokes - generally at the expense of the Sheriff of Nottingham - and his love for Maid Marian are well-known. Rhead tells most of the common stories (though, inexplicably, he leaves out almost all involving Marian), and attempts to tie them into the facts of history, even when they don't fit very well. The main problem is his archaic style and use of words and grammatical construction which are likely to put off most readers. His inclusion of artwork (black and white illustrations of his own, and color ones by Frank Godwin) is a plus.

[Aaron Krell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this book is another outlook at the famed thief Robin Hood. I like how it alters things, and stays true to his character. Like one thing that surprised me was that Maid Marion was not a princess. Instead she was an old playmate from when they were kids, and fell in love when they were in their teens. She even joins Robin, and his merry men. She isn't even related to Prince John, and even King Richard likes what Robin has done to England by helping the poor. As he felt his brother Prince John needed to be taught a lesson.

[Adam Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a very young age, I adored the legends of Robin Hood and have read almost every classic and many modern takes on the story. Some friends and I even wrote our own. This is a beautiful copy with great picture and elegant arrangements. The stories themselves are not written in the most engaging way since they seem geared to take the Shakespearan tone, but all the favorites are there and it was a nice jaunt down memory lane.

[Shiana Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated how the author kept the original text and engaged the reader with interesting tales of Robin Hood. Robin Hood wasn't portrayed as this larger than life character, he had failings in this text, and I liked that he was kept human.

[Matthew Richey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhead's version is less of a coherent metanarrative than other versions and more episodic, largely because he is more closely following his source material (which I'm assuming include the ballads). Very fun read, language is a bit archaic, which is fitting, but needs some translation when reading to children. That said my boys really enjoyed this one.

[Joel Ackerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories and characters were fun. The prose also. The descriptions were vivid. The last chapter was tear-jerking. But this book left much to be desired in terms of plot and character development.

[ireneekins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written stories of my favorite outlaw hero.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Robert Fitzooth, after being orphaned and then betrayed by those left in charge of him, takes to the woods, and there gradually gathers followers and becomes the legendary Robin Hood, archer extraordinaire, gold-hearted bandit of the rich and selfish, champion of the poor, and leader of the scores of Merry Men of Sherwood Forest. Along the way he fights and disguises and tricks his way out of the good graces of the local law and into the hearts of the needy.

When it came time for Robin Hood in my Disney source material read-through, I wasn't sure which version to read, since there are SO many, and it's hard to track down the original (which, evidently is almost 1000 years old). I decided to go with one of the versions we have on the shelf, and the one which The Wife grew up reading. I guess everyone knows this story more or less, but I still thought it was fun and sometimes thrilling! Robin Hood is such a well-known and beloved character, and it was great to read some version at least of the stories that inspired so many film versions of the character (which, I was surprised to find, Disney's version gets closest to the original, as well as, surprisingly, Mel Brooks's... don't even get me started on Kevin Costner... Russell Crowe was okay, though he may as well have been named something else, since he was barely Robin Hood). The story itself was episodic and after a while pretty repetitive (there was a definite formula going on -- Robin meets a random stranger on a merry stroll through the wood, words are exchanged, someone takes offense, they have a sword/staff/archery duel, Robin is usually bested, and then jocularly embraces the stranger and invites him to join his band, and occasionally turns out to be kin), but it had enough other adventures interspersed throughout to keep it interesting. It was always amusing to see Robin's schemes and disguises dupe corrupt clergymen or royalty, or of course his longtime nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The story had a nice scope, as the author included some stories prior to Robin's reign in Sherwood, and concluding at the end of his life. I was a little surprised that certain key players didn't figure in more -- Marian is only featured in one chapter, and barely mentioned in one other as an afterthought, Friar Tuck is around occasionally, but always in the background, and King Richard and his treacherous brother John didn't play into the story much either. The writing, from the early 1900s, sounded really genuine for the time period but was still really readable, and although the ending was a little abrupt and unexpected, it had a nice feeling of conclusion. I feel like there might have been some social commentary going on, what with the churchmen being almost exclusively corrupt, but I guess that's more a statement on the men in the church at the time, not the church itself, or the God behind it. The illustrations, gathered from a couple of artists, fit very nicely the tone and style of the storytelling (though the placement of some of them might have been better to avoid some mild spoiler issues).

For sooth, this doth be a lusty and rollicking adventure from ye olden days of yore! As a story it's a little repetitive, and there wasn't as much focus on some of the principal characters as I expected, but it was such fun that I can't really complain. Robin Hood is a truly fascinating character, and Louis Rhead's treatment of his stories was exciting and felt authentic, and the illustrations were a perfect complement to the olde English text.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this out loud to kiddo as part of our studies of the middle ages...

[Chicklet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to review this and was surprised by the number of authors for Robin Hood! I'm glad I remembered the author's name.
I first read an abridged version of Robin Hood and loved it so much I went out and bought a copy of the unabridged version and enjoyed reading that even more.
Robin Hood is unique in that it originated from ballades. My copy has a very nice introduction where this is explained and then it is said that Rheade researched as many of these as he could find and compiled his story from that. He may have pulled parts of the story from various story tellers. I mainly remember the intro saying that this is one of the more authentic versions of Robin Hood.
This book does not disappoint. Neither do the movies. I love all 3 of the movies I've seen, the standard one (with Costner I think), the Disney one, and lest I forget - Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Forgive me for liking the latter the most....

[The Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covered the entire life of Robin Hood an outlaw who takes from the rich and sometimes gives to the poor....like three times in the entire book to people who just happen to be walking by. They're constantly robbing random people and keeping most of the money even though they hardly use it. Robin is the the leader of a merry band of out laws, they pledge to do good and listen to Robin,the most contraversial person in all of England. This book was difficult and hard to read at first, not because it was bad because of all the old english Lingo. When I really got in to it I thought it was exiting but had a few plot holes like why Maid Marien, Robin Hood's wife, was suddenly forgotten about. I would recommend this book to confident readers interested in the past.

[Melissa Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book for exploring local knowledge and history. It allows children to glimpse into a politically unsteady, vigilante medieval Britain.
The illustrations of the book allow children to view clothing, food, architecture etc. The images are bright, engaging and detailed.
The language is easy to follow with few antiquated words in which you can explore with children.
The plot is full of action, twists and nail biting moments for children.
I would recommend this book for children 6+.

[Paula Sena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eu estava tentando me lembrar o motivo de ter dado 2 estrelas e não 1 pra esse livro, porque achei o personagem completamente irritante e folgado. Todos os capítulos eram iguais, tinham o mesmo formato, só mudava a "vítima" dele e ele continuou o livro todo com esse complexo de superioridade. Mas me lembrei que teve um capítulo que ele tentou fazer o que ele faz de melhor (ser folgado e insuportável) e ele levou uma surra, valeu a pena cada palavra daquele capítulo, mereceu mais uma estrela <3

[Wachlin007 Hotmail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Robin Hood, a classic tale. I enjoyed reading it.

[Beethoven · Rating 3 out of 5]

READ IT... STILL READING IT...

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the stories and the research. That would get four or five stars. But the faux medieval speech patterns are driving me bonkers.

[Chloe Walton]

good book

[Lauren Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren Parker
Mrs. Menkus literature Period 2
13 September 2017
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was an amazing book because it had a lot of suspense which would make me want keep on reading more and more. My favorite character is Robin Hood Of course because he is strong courageous and very determined. First Robin was accused for something that was not his fault but he didn't give in, no he started his very own sivilasaition and stood up for whats right. Like he would always say steal from the rich to give to the poor. I think that this was an amazing book and you definitely should read it.