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The Black Arrow

Robert Louis Stevenson

3.81 · Rating details · 17,280 ratings · 680 reviews

From the beloved author of Treasure Island

Originally serialized in a periodical of boys' adventure fiction, The Black Arrow is a swashbuckling portrait of a young man's journey to discover the heroism within himself. Young Dick Shelton, caught in the midst of England's War of the Roses, finds his loyalties torn between the guardian who will ultimately betray him and the l ...more

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Paperback, 242 pages

Published 2001 by Adamant Media Corporation (first published 1883)

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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Swashbucklers

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Jun 17, 2011 Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-isles, 19th-century, novel, historical-fiction, childrens-ya

Enjoyable historical fiction set during the Wars of the Roses featuring a merely moderately disfigured Richard of Gloucester (that is, Richard III before he became infamous), ship stealing (and crashing thereof) assaults on fortified houses, minor battles, a sinister leper, sinister wall hangings and a sinister stolen inheritance.

Ideal for impressionable children if you want to leave them with a life long suspicion of wall hangings.

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Apr 09, 2016 Werner rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Fans of historical fiction in the Romantic style

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction

This was a reread for me, but my previous experience of the book was back in junior high school. (A lot of it I consciously remembered; much of it I recalled once reminded, and some of it was like a new book to me.) I'd wanted for some time to reread it, both so as to write a better-informed review and to see if my youthful liking for it held up under the scrutiny of an adult perspective and more experienced taste. Obviously, it did! Some might say I'm too prodigal with five-star ratings; but ba This was a reread for me, but my previous experience of the book was back in junior high school. (A lot of it I consciously remembered; much of it I recalled once reminded, and some of it was like a new book to me.) I'd wanted for some time to reread it, both so as to write a better-informed review and to see if my youthful liking for it held up under the scrutiny of an adult perspective and more experienced taste. Obviously, it did! Some might say I'm too prodigal with five-star ratings; but based on my sincere enjoyment of it, I couldn't give it less.

The Goodreads description is somewhat sensationalized; but the plot does indeed involve war, murder (past and present), revenge, shipwreck, and love which, if not exactly "forbidden," certainly has a lot of obstacles. It also involves derring-do, disguise and concealed identity, outlaws, secret passages and peepholes, elements of mystery, treachery and mortal danger. The whole mix is written in good Romantic style, with its frank appeal to emotional engagement from the reader. Since this is the kind of thing I can eat up with a spoon, its appeal to me isn't hard to understand. But the adventure and romance elements aren't all it offers; there's genuine moral and psychological growth on the part of the main character.

Stevenson's gift for adroit, lifelike characterizations is very much on display here. All of the major and many of the secondary characters are sketched with wonderful vividness and depth; and regardless of which side they're on, or whether they're "good" or "bad," they're genuinely nuanced. His portrayal of the two main female characters has won praise (which I agree with) even from one of the more negative reviewers of the book; and I'd say that the male characters are no less round and three-dimensional. I've been a Stevenson fan from childhood, and have read all four of his major novels (and a number of his short stories). Of the three major adventure novels, I like this one the best, though that's not a majority position. Many modern readers are stymied by his (approximate) reproduction of 15th-century dialogue; but for me, this was actually easier to understand than the Scots dialect of Kidnapped and the nautical terminology of Treasure Island. And though I'm not usually a fan of the "romance" (in the Harlequin sense) genre, I like an element of clean romance in a book, and I appreciate stories that incorporate characters from both genders, unlike the nearly all-male, "no girls allowed!" territory of the other two books.

A valid criticism of the book is the inaccuracy of Stevenson's portrayal of the future Richard III. The date here is May 1460-January 1461 (not stated directly in the text, but inferred from a reference to the death of the Yorkist leader in battle --Richard, Duke of York was killed in the battle of Wakefield in December, 1460); at that time, the younger Richard was an eight-year-old child. In fairness to Stevenson, he noted the discrepancy himself in a footnote; but if he wanted that character to be 17-18, it might have been better to move the date of the story to 1470-71. More importantly, the very negative portrayal of the latter Richard is taken directly from Shakespeare's Richard III, which itself slavishly follows Sir Thomas More's Tudor-inspired hatchet job on Richard from earlier in the 16th century. In fact, though, while nobody would argue that Richard was a saint (neither were any of the other political leaders of that day) the weight of historical evidence is that he was far less malevolent than More and Shakespeare depicted him. And much of this evidence would already have been available to Stevenson (for instance, in Horace Walpole's Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard the Third).

Other criticisms, IMO, are less justified. Comparisons between Ellis Duckworth and Robin Hood are inevitable for modern readers, since both are leaders of outlaw bands, living in the woods, using arrows, and at odds with the nasty and powerful local establishment. But while modern pop culture clearly ascribes exclusive title to that territory to Robin Hood, 19th-century British writers and readers were aware that outlawry was a persistent feature of the English scene for centuries after Robin Hood; far from being anachronistic, the social conditions of the Wars of the Roses, with their displacement of the poor and opportunities for legalized plunder by the powerful, were well calculated to mass produce bands of angry and vengeful outlaws with plenty of grievances. (And in the 1400s, arrows are still their projectile weapons of choice, and the forest their natural refuge.) Related to this, no one can deny the influence of Sir Walter Scott on every Romantic historical novelist who followed him, Stevenson included. But that's not the same thing as proving that this novel is a direct knock-off of Ivanhoe. On the contrary, the differences between the two novels are much more significant than the similarities. Finally, Stevenson has been faulted for celebrating ideals of chivalry that are scorned today, and weren't really much followed in the Middle Ages either. The latter reality , of course, is clearly recognized in the book; the villains here are anything but honorable and chivalrous, and things like the summary hanging of prisoners and the sack of Shoreby are realistic for the time, but far from chivalrous. But even if they weren't widely practiced, concepts like keeping one's word even when it would be convenient not to, treating even one's enemies with fairness and respect, and showing mercy and protection to noncombatants actually were held up as social ideals in the 1400s (and for centuries after), and actually were practiced by some individuals. (Other words for "chivalry," in this sense, would be "honor" and "personal integrity.") In choosing to celebrate and encourage these ideals, I would submit that Stevenson has the right of it.

This novel was originally serialized in a "story paper" marketed to teenage boys; our hero and heroine here are 17 and 16 years old when we meet them, and the book can be found in the YA or children's sections in some libraries. (I discovered it in my school library.) But teens in the Middle Ages grew up fast; Dick and Joanna think more like, and are treated more like, adults than like today's adolescents. YA readers who can handle late Victorian diction and aren't daunted by medieval dialogue could enjoy this, I think, and identify with the characters. But I personally would characterize this more as an adult novel that happens to have teen protagonists, and that teen readers could enjoy, rather than as a YA novel that some adults could enjoy. (I don't know if that distinction is clear, or helpful to anybody; but I make it for whatever it's worth. :-) ) ...more

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Feb 05, 2018 Piyangie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, children-young-adult, scottish-lit

The Black Arrow by Robert Louise Stevenson is a historical fiction set in the time of War of the Roses. The book tells the story of a young man named Richard Shelton, who in the quest of obtaining justice for his father's murder and rescuing his love from the grip of a villainous warden, displays loyalty and courage, and becomes an important warrior for the Yorks. For his unwavering valor, he is rewarded with a knighthood.

The story is quite interesting, but what I liked the most, is the histor ...more

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Mar 27, 2018 Loretta rated it liked it

Shelves: classic, my-2018-reading-challenge

It was a very enjoyable book but I really liked Treasure Island much more.

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Nov 21, 2014 Issicratea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1800-1900, reviewed

I love Stevenson as a writer, yet The Black Arrow had somehow passed me by before now. It’s a medieval Treasure Island, set during the Wars of the Roses and published, like Treasure Island, first pseudonymously as a serial publication (1883), and then as a novel (1888). Like Treasure Island, The Black Arrow is often labeled as “children’s fiction,” though the current Young Adult category fits it better—i.e. there’s a lot in it for old adults as well.

Stevenson was amusingly dismissive of this bo I love Stevenson as a writer, yet The Black Arrow had somehow passed me by before now. It’s a medieval Treasure Island, set during the Wars of the Roses and published, like Treasure Island, first pseudonymously as a serial publication (1883), and then as a novel (1888). Like Treasure Island, The Black Arrow is often labeled as “children’s fiction,” though the current Young Adult category fits it better—i.e. there’s a lot in it for old adults as well.

Stevenson was amusingly dismissive of this book (he sympathizes with his wife in the dedicatory letter for never having managed to get through it), but it’s actually a splendid yarn and immensely readable. I ripped through it in a few hours on a long-distance flight: the perfect reading context for a novel of this kind. The quality isn’t uniform—a few passages are “by the yard”—but there’s also some excellent action writing and taut, evocative scene-setting. You can also see interesting anticipations of some of Stevenson’s later novelistic themes, especially in the latter stages, where Richard of Gloucester, the future Richard III, has a memorable cameo as a kind of dark, Hyde-like double to The Black Arrow’s boy protagonist Richard Shelton, revealing the ambiguities in Shelton's own character and actions.

I liked someone’s description of this novel in a review on this site as like reading an accelerated Dumas novel. The Black Arrow is certainly closer to Dumas than Scott in terms of historical heft, although it draws substantially on Ivanhoe, especially for its Robin Hood-like band of outlaws. Stevenson makes no attempt to track the actual political events of the 1460s, and he cheerily admits to having adding ten years to Richard III’s age to allow him to participate in the novel’s (entirely fictional) final battle.

The point about acceleration is also good. Stevenson writes with great economy, as always. His descriptive language is always graceful and precise, and sometimes inspired. A battered ship in a storm, half-disappearing beneath a wave, “rose on the other side with appalling, tremulous indecision;” the revenge-bent men of a village “came clustering in an inky mass” onto its snow-bound streets. In our first glimpse of the outlaws’ camp, predictably sinister elements—cauldrons, arrows, a deer carcass hung on a hawthorn bush—mix with the surreally poetic (“a man lay slumbering, rolled in a brown cloak, with a butterfly hovering over his face.”) There is something faintly miraculous about reading a simple tale of swashbuckling folk narrated with such refinement. I would happily read a shopping list written by this man.
...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Benjamin Wilkins rated it it was amazing

I have no idea why The Black Arrow is not canon in the way that Treasure Island or Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hide are. It is a fantastic read, especially if you are like me and are in any way attracted to all things medieval. But there is much to love for anyone who is fond of thrilling adventure and surprisingly complex characters: sword fights, maidens in distress who are yet not helpless, class warfare ala Robin Hood, spies, historical figures, revenge, love, thieves, daring night raids from the sea ...more

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Jan 10, 2016 George Jankovic rated it liked it

This book was such an unexpected dissapointment.

It was one of my 20 or so favorites when I was a kid. My son is now of that age and I wanted to recommend it to him so, just in case, I wanted to re-read it first since I didn't remember anything except that it was set in England during the War of the Roses period.

It is an interesting coming-of-age adventure story with action, revenge, and forbidden love. Unfortunately, it is so poorely written. Considering how much I liked it then, I will give i ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 [Name Redacted] rated it it was amazing

Shelves: action, historical-fiction, classics, war

Another classic, child-hood favorite! I haven't read it in over 20 years, so it's time for a re-read!

~

I'm glad I re-read it! I appreciated it on a number of different levels this time around, beyond simply enjoying the action, adventure and romance aspects. There were all sorts of historical characters and events that 9 year-old Ian failed to recognize (apparently, I didn't know much about Richard III or the War of the Roses back then). Stevenson creates arguably the most successful fictional ad ...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Simon Mcleish rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in January 2002.

This medieval romance is one of Stevenson's minor adventure stories. Its main character is naive young noble Richard Shenton, who discovers that his guardian is in fact an evil man who murdered Richard's father and who looks to become wealthy by continually swapping sides in the Wars of the Roses. (The point of the guardianship is this. When a noble heir was orphaned, his revenues until he came of age were in the hands of his liege lord, or su Originally published on my blog here in January 2002.

This medieval romance is one of Stevenson's minor adventure stories. Its main character is naive young noble Richard Shenton, who discovers that his guardian is in fact an evil man who murdered Richard's father and who looks to become wealthy by continually swapping sides in the Wars of the Roses. (The point of the guardianship is this. When a noble heir was orphaned, his revenues until he came of age were in the hands of his liege lord, or such guardian as he appointed; moreover, the guardian was also frequently granted the tax payable on coming of age or marriage. These rights were the subject of lucrative trade in medieval England, and were one of the crown's major sources of income.)

To a modern reader, the main obstacle in The Black Arrow and the major reason it is less well known than, say, Treasure Island, is the flowery pseudo-medieval language used in the dialogue. This is something that has gradually been toned down in historical novels during the twentieth century, until now they are usually written with characters who speak more or less colloquial modern English. This is due to a change in philosophy; it is now considered better to accessibly reproduce what it felt like to be alive at the time the novel is set than to attempt to literally recreate it, and a modern reader will react differently to the kind of language used here from the way their medieval counterpart would have done to hearing it spoken. (And, of course, there was more regional and class based differentiation between individuals when people travelled less widely; this would be extremely difficult to duplicate, even for an expert in dialect development. Writers like Scott, Morris, Stevenson and so on didn't attempt to do this, and gave their characters dialogue based on a romanticised version of the formal speeches in medieval poetry - at least as inauthentic as modern usage.)

One of the merits of Stevenson's writing is the imperfection of his heroes. They tend to be - as Shelton is here - naive, not too bright, but with a strong moral sense; this makes them more interesting than the characters of many of the other writers of what might be termed proto-thrillers. Interestingly, when first published in serial form, The Black Arrow was more successful than Treasure Island had been; this ordering has since been reversed to leave the earlier novel as one of the classics of English popular fiction with The Black Arrow as just another novel by the same writer. ...more

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Sep 04, 2013 Mary Catelli rated it liked it

Shelves: very-old-books, mundane

Action and adventure during the War of the Roses.

Young Dick Shelton finds himself in the middle of intrigue, from his father's murder, to a prisoner his guardian is bringing to his hall, to the wars about him.

It involves a pursuit through the woods, the title black arrows being used to threat murderers, an attempt to mislead him with oaths, disguising himself a monk, winning and losing favor, an interrupted wedding, and more. ...more

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Jun 08, 2019 WhatIReallyRead rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, read-in-english, historical-fiction, owned, classics, audiobook

This was a really fun read. A young, brave, noble hero and a young, fierce heroine go on an adventure. There's lots of action and danger, and you really root for the main characters, because they have such good hearts, honesty, and depth of feeling. I'll be honest, I didn't really pay very close attention to the fighting scenes, of which there were plenty.

It felt a little naive. Had I read it as a teenager, I think it would have joined my "favorites" shelf. ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Gary Hoggatt rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, classics, ya, all-fiction, historical-fiction

Since I enjoyed Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and enjoy medieval history, Stevenson's The Black Arrow would seem to be a perfect combination. The tale is solid, but unfortunately there are a few issues prevent it from delivering on its promise.

The Black Arrow, first published as a serial in 1883 and as a novel in 1888, follows the adventures of Dick Shelton as he discovers that his guardian may be responsible for the death of his father and se Since I enjoyed Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and enjoy medieval history, Stevenson's The Black Arrow would seem to be a perfect combination. The tale is solid, but unfortunately there are a few issues prevent it from delivering on its promise.

The Black Arrow, first published as a serial in 1883 and as a novel in 1888, follows the adventures of Dick Shelton as he discovers that his guardian may be responsible for the death of his father and seeks justice, attempts to rescue his betrothed from the clutches of said guardian, and gets swept up in the tumult of the War of the Roses.

Shelton comes across throughout the book as mostly naive and occasionally cruel and self-centered, and he seems to blunder from one encounter to the next. In short, it's hard to really root for him or care about him, as he has few redeeming qualities, but he's also just not that interesting, either. I've read other books where the main characters aren't exactly heroes (such as George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series), but in those cases, the main characters were at least plotting and scheming and being actively devious, which is entertaining. Shelton shows a bit of character growth at the end of the novel, showing regret about some of the dubious actions he took while trying to rescue his betrothed, but it isn't enough to redeem him as an interesting character.

Another downside to the book is the disjointed nature of it. It feels very episodic, as if Stevenson approached each chapter thinking, "Okay, what trouble can Dick Shelton get into next?" This precludes any sort of build-up of tension, and also results in a limit to how much each episode is affected by those that came earlier. When I started reading the book, I was not aware that it had first been serialized, but by the time I finished it, I guessed it had, as it read like a collection of episodes, and I'm aware it was common practice at the time (Stevenson's Treasure Island was first published serially in the same magazine as The Black Arrow, and even Charles Dickens released his work that way).

The old fashioned language was a difficulty in getting into the book. I was reminded of watching a Shakespearean play, where it takes you a scene or two to really get into the old language and follow along relatively clearly. I had no trouble with the similarly jargon-laden and old fashioned Treasure Island. Maybe I just speak pirate better than I do knight.

The best parts of the book are the action scenes. These are strong, and helps redeem some of the other shortcomings of the novel. There are chases through forests, spying and sneaking, one on one combats, and large battles.

I think I'm probably being harder on this book than it might deserve because I'm holding up against Stevenson's other work. It's okay, it just lacks the life and energy of Treasure Island or the creepy tension of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and isn't the same sort of genre-defining work as those two stories.

I listened to the audio version read by Shelly Frasier. Frasier doesn't stand out with this book, though she isn't inherently bad, either, and I wouldn't avoid her in other productions. I didn't especially care for her reading this book, though, primarily because 95% of the characters are male, and having to decipher her narrow range of fake male voices to track who was speaking on top of following along with the difficult language wasn't an ideal combination.

The Black Arrow is a solid book that has the misfortune to have been written by an author with other fantastic books that outshine it. If you like medieval stories, you'll probably enjoy The Black Arrow, but I can't recommend it to the general reader like I can Treasure Island or Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

If you're interested, check out my reviews Stevenson's Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde here on Amazon for more of my thoughts on those works. ...more

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Mar 07, 2021 Olivia rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, classics

I have had this book on my shelf for YEARS and I finally read it all the way through and I'm so proud of myself. 😃😅

Anyway, pretty solid story! Some sketchy/improbable pacing/plotting, but it entertained me and that was all I wanted from it. ...more

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May 21, 2018 Hafsa Sabira rated it liked it

The Black Arrow is a romance and historical adventure novel which is based on the Wars of the Roses and tells the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton. The whole plot revolves around Richard becoming a true English hero from a mere ward of Sir Daniel, who is the real villain of the novel. Through so many struggles, betrayals and near-death escapes, Richard gradually earns his rightful knight title, saves his lady Joanna who accompanies him the whole time disguised as a boy and avenges his father's br ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Ron rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gutenberg, ebook, young

2.5 stars. I expected to like this a lot more. Stevenson thought The Black Arrow would earn even more acclaim than Treasure Island, but it doesn't come close.

The story itself is a slightly-out-of-kilter historical fiction set during the War of the Roses, but it strikes the reader more like a rip-off of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, published two generations earlier. Even Stevenson admitted that he fudged some historic facts for the sake of his plot. And the thinly disguised Robin Hood theme is thi ...more

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May 30, 2011 HBalikov rated it really liked it

Stevenson has a gift for dramatic action and this "swashbuckler" novel would take little effort to make into a screenplay. It was a help to be reading this on a Kindle where the antiquarian English words could be easily defined, but there are several editions that are well-footnoted.
Stevenson puts his young protagonist in the middle of the War of the Roses and gives a sense of how turbulent a time that was with shifting alliances and villages obliged to show fealty to a new lord (and pay rents) ...more

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Sep 12, 2021 Abigail Bok rated it did not like it

This book if it remains in print should be labeled with a parental advisory.

The Black Arrow is a semi-historical tale set during the Wars of the Roses of fifteenth-century England. It takes place far from the main nodes of power and conflict, though a few of the power players appear in it. The story focuses on a young man, Richard Shelton, an orphan living in the household of a minor knight in the shires, Sir Daniel Brackley, who is busy using all those around him (including Dick Shelton) to enh ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Marina rated it it was ok

Shelves: uk, historical-fiction, classics

This was recommended to me in a group when I said I loved The Three Musketeers. While I see the point, I found this book only mildly entertaining, while Dumas' novel is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Maybe my expectations were too high. ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Paul Clayton rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everybody.

Recommended to Paul by: No one.

I really enjoyed The Black Arrow by Robert Luis Stevenson. I read the original version published by Dover publications, with footnotes defining obscure terms- a quarrel, for instance, is not a discussion with your wife or husband of fifteen years, but rather a 'bolt' or arrow used in a crossbow; a bill is not what AT&T keeps sending you for your voracious online video viewing, but a weapon with a metal spike and a hook, mounted on a pole. Dozens more words, not footnoted, will send you to your d I really enjoyed The Black Arrow by Robert Luis Stevenson. I read the original version published by Dover publications, with footnotes defining obscure terms- a quarrel, for instance, is not a discussion with your wife or husband of fifteen years, but rather a 'bolt' or arrow used in a crossbow; a bill is not what AT&T keeps sending you for your voracious online video viewing, but a weapon with a metal spike and a hook, mounted on a pole. Dozens more words, not footnoted, will send you to your dictionary, or your OED, more likely. I loved the phrasing, the old archaic words, camping in the cold snow, the roaring fires. By the rood (the cross), 'twas a tale to enchant o're many a night. The beginning was strange. Set in England during the War of the Roses, young Dick Shelton throws in his lot with a strange looking boy his age, a boy who would be 'well favored for a wench,' that is, good looking for a girl, but effeminate for a boy. Earlier, Sir Daniel, Dick's warden, and the villain of the story, is sitting in an inn by the fire, plotting. Near him a 'young lad, apparently of twelve or thirteen,' sleeps in the straw. Sir Daniel says to him (this exchange confused the hell out of me), "... I took you, indeed, roughly, as the time demanded; but from hencforth... Ye shall be Mrs. Shelton... Master John. Sit ye down, sweetheart, and eat." The boy replies, "Nay, I will break no bread. Since ye force me to this sin, I will fast for my soul's interest." Throughout this chapter, the boy is referred to as 'the lad' and "Master John,' and it is not until much later that we discover that the boy is really a young woman, Joan, stolen for her value as a bride, who Dick will marry at the end of the tale. The book is genre, adventure fiction, but hyper-realistic, in my opinion. Most striking is the portrayal of an old world where cruelty is the norm. This is the kind of realism you rarely find in novels. And we're not just talking about cruelty to people, but cruelty to animals that most moderns would go to war over. One example is when Joan's horse gets mired in the quicksand and Dick shoots a quarrel into its head. The Black Arrow has plenty of period detail, plot, and action. Robert Luis Stevenson is a writer to watch. :) ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Pamela Shropshire rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-my-library, classics, historical-not-romance, medieval, romance-in-the-classic-sense, 19th-century-literature

This is a romantic tale in the classic sense of the word. Young Richard Shelton, age 17, is caught up in the civil war known in English history as the Wars of the Roses, which was basically a feud between two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty: the Yorkists, represented by a white rose, and the Lancastrians, represented by a red rose.

Dick, as he is most often called, is an orphan, and his guardian is Sir Daniel Brackley. Sir Daniel is, at the time of this story, on the Lancaster side, although This is a romantic tale in the classic sense of the word. Young Richard Shelton, age 17, is caught up in the civil war known in English history as the Wars of the Roses, which was basically a feud between two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty: the Yorkists, represented by a white rose, and the Lancastrians, represented by a red rose.

Dick, as he is most often called, is an orphan, and his guardian is Sir Daniel Brackley. Sir Daniel is, at the time of this story, on the Lancaster side, although he has changed as it was convenient to do so.

While his guardian is away, Dick repeatedly hears rumors that Sir Daniel was responsible for his father’s death. He meets another young man who is in Sir Daniel’s control against his will, so the two of them run away. Jack, as Dick has been calling his new friend, intends to seek sanctuary at a nearby abbey. Dick, meanwhile, falls in with a group of outlaws known as the Black Arrows, all of whom have a just grievance against Sir Daniel. So Dick and Jack, who have become quite close, reluctantly separate - and of course, later Dick learns that Jack is actually Joanna.

Meanwhile Dick has all kinds of adventures with the outlaws. He declares himself for York, mostly because Sir Daniel supports Lancaster. Unlike his guardian, though, Daniel, once declared, sticks to his chosen side, and subsequently, meets and fights with Richard, Duke of Gloucester who eventually becomes the much maligned Richard III. Stevenson insets a footnote that Richard would in reality have been much younger at this time in history.

Dick discovers Joanna has fallen into Sir Daniel’s hands again, and he plans to sell her marriage to one of his cronies. Dick takes some men and goes after them, and of course he is, in the end, victorious; Sir Daniel’s villainy is exposed; and Dick and Joanna are married.

This is quite an entertaining adventure story, and if a reader has an iota of curiosity, the events in the book should led her to explore the real history of the period. As long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed reading historical fiction, and it never fails to spark my interest to explore further. I would have given this a solid 5 stars when I was younger; today I would give it 3.5, so for sentiment’s sake, I’ll bump it up to 4 stars. ...more

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Oct 24, 2014 Nathan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

I first read this when I was twelve, and greatly enjoyed it.

Coming back to it years later, I couldn't help but notice that I liked the three villains much more than I liked the main character. I don't just mean that the villains are more interesting as characters, because that's quite common. I mean that at least the three bad guys had the good grace to feel bad for their misdeeds, and showed care and affection for their fellow-men. Our hero Richard Shelton, on the contrary, will kiss the ass of ...more

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Jan 25, 2014 GoldGato rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, summer, historical-fiction, young-adult

The definition of "tushery" = the use of affectedly archaic language in novels. This word was coined by the great Robert Louis Stevenson for his own BLACK ARROW, a swashbuckling tale of the Wars of the Roses. RLS was not the biggest fan of his own Lancaster versus York story, so he invented a word to describe the use of the many antiquated words in this historical novel.

"Ay, friend, a whole tale of tushery. And every tusher tushes me so free, that may I be tushed if the whole thing is worth a tu ...more

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Jun 27, 2018 R. rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, didn-t-finish, classic

didn't finish and I doubt I ever will
this book was originally written as a serial, so as I expected, the action doesn't really form a plot. I was ready to forgive this initially, but due to several other annoying elements, the randomness of the action got on my nerves. There's not one driving question that grips me to the end. I feel no curiosity to pick up the book and see how it ends.
The characters were the worst part. Dick is a highly idealistic character. Being a romantic, Stevenson would no ...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it

This book probably deserves a higher rating than 3 stars, but I just never got used to the language. It's been some time since I've read Stevenson. I like the story and of course the legendary happenings. In the midst of the War of the Roses vengeance being taken by black arrows with names of the one to be slain engraved on them/it. It's an exciting story based in a historic time. Just get used to the language (LOL). Sometimes, "me thinks, it me like's not"... :) ...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Amy rated it liked it · review of another edition

The main theme of this book was 'guys are idiots'. There are others, of course, like chivalry, courage, daring, manliness...etc. but mostly the guys were courageous idiots, the women were beautiful, smart, and rather helpless and the whole plot involves a great deal of 'revenge', murder, mayhem, and, shock of all shocks, black arrows. ...more

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Oct 18, 2016 Renee M rated it liked it

Light on history. Heavy with the trappings of adventure. This was a lot of fun to read.

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Sep 07, 2021 Dianna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An excellent plot hampered somewhat by too many words. Stevenson is definitely a vocabulary builder!

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Sep 17, 2020 Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: england, winter-weather, made-me-laugh, physical-disability-and-unusuality, orphans-adoption-and-foster-care, young-adult, reread-worthy

2020 re-read: This is still a really fun adventure romance! While I think the first section of the book is still my favorite, I appreciated the flow of the whole story a lot more as an adult.

Original review: I read this several times during my teen years (though I liked the first half better than the second half). I really need to re-read this and see if it's as good as I remember! ...more

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Apr 18, 2008 Chris rated it liked it · review of another edition

Nay, by the rood! If that I could give the book a fourth star. But alas, I find that I cannot. Suffice it to be contented with three, yet, by my sooth, three and a half stars is what I feel its worth to be.

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Aug 16, 2012 Alicia Willis rated it liked it

I liked this book. It was an interesting story and it did keep me reading. However, there were some quirks. Some parts were hard to follow, others didn't seem quite historical. Overall, this is a good story. but not one I would read many times over. ...more

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About Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

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Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is onl ...more

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“[H]e began to understand what a wild game we play in life; he began to understand that a thing once done cannot be undone nor changed by saying "I am sorry!” — 16 likes

“I know; I don't care to die either. But when whining mendeth nothing, wherefore whine?” — 8 likes

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