Customer Reviews

Robin Hood (Wordsworth Children's Classics) (Wordsworth Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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A literate Englishman -- or an American with an Englishman's command of the mother tongue -- wove this vivid, detailed, but never static tale, bringing to convincing and thrilling life the era of Saxon and Norman and the spreading greenwood. With great success he combined historical acccuracy of setting and the exciting and manly legends of Robin's band. The book seems to date from the first quarter, perhaps the first tenth, of the 20th century. It is not so rococo as Pyle's Robin Hood. Amazon's page labels it suitable for "ages 9-12", forsooth; it was clearly written, to my mind, for an adult reader or intelligent adolescent. The author uses obsolete words --I mean very obsolete, Chaucerian ones -- regularly but judiciously, for color and piquancy. I am reading it aloud successfuly to my 11-year-old son; my bright 14-year old is daunted by the old words, and perhaps its manly theme, for she is a maiden. We are nearly through, and highly gratified by our time spent with Mr. Gilbert's book

When I began reading this book I found the use of the older English way of speaking to be a little over-done. The first few chapters were hard to get through but the further I got the more the book grew on me. It's not my favorite Robin Hood book, but I'm glad I gave it a chance and stuck with it. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Robin Hood literature.

Having studied English and German, I've found this book a real pleasure to read. For example, the phrase "Thou knowest" stands for "you know." It's also full of humour, e.g. "thy (your) heads, though thick, will not be thick enough to withstand his hoof (my horse's)."

I strongly recommend it, together with Ivanhoe, both edited by Wordsworth.