The Sherwood Ring [Paperback]

Elizabeth Marie Pope (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Newly orphaned Peggy Grahame is caught off-guard when she first arrives at her family’s ancestral estate. Her eccentric uncle Enos drives away her only new acquaintance, Pat, a handsome British scholar, then leaves Peggy to fend for herself. But she is not alone. The house is full of mysteries—and ghosts. Soon Peggy becomes involved with the spirits of her own Colonial ancestors and witnesses the unfolding of a centuries-old romance against a backdrop of spies and intrigue and of battles plotted and foiled. History has never been so exciting—especially because the ghosts are leading Peggy to a romance of her own!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fresh, offbeat, a romantic fantasy done with skill."  (Kirkus Reviews )

"The complicated strands of mystery, history, and love are drawn skillfully together into a bright pattern. (New York Times Book Review )

About the Author

Elizabeth Marie Pope (1917-1992) was an author specializing in Elizabethan England and the works of John Milton and William Shakespeare.

Elizabeth Marie Pope was born on May 1, 1917 in Washington, D.C., to Christopher Herman Pope and Florence Anna Thompson Pope. In 1940, she received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College, and went on to Johns Hopkins University, where she took her Ph.D. in 1944. She taught English as a professor at Mills College for thirty-eight years before retiring on June 30, 1982. She was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism.

Evaline Ness (born Evaline Michelow; 1911 - 1986) grew up in Pontiac, Michigan. Ness studied at Ball State Teachers College before deciding to become an illustrator and author in 1960, with the publishing of The Bridge, by Charlton Osborn. She won a Caldecott Medal in 1967 for Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine.

She was married to Eliot Ness, an American Treasury agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois as the leader of a legendary team nicknamed The Untouchables. They were married from 1938 until their divorce in 1946. She married Arnold Bayard in 1959.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (October 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618150749
• ISBN-13: 978-0618150748
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-wrought tale, December 13, 2001

By 

Liyet - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sherwood Ring (Paperback)

Let me first dispel any misconceptions you might have. Upon first hearing the title, I assumed that this was a Robin Hood retelling. It isn't. This is a children's historical fiction, but in this case the history imparts a vivid backdrop for the story to take place. You never feel pressured to know overmuch about the events of the American Revolution (although your enjoyment will be enhanced if you do). History isn't a dry, weighty affair in this book--it's what gives _The Sherwood Ring_ its breath.

I've also heard this called a ghost story. Technically true, but each of the characters is vividly, blazingly drawn, undimmed by any ghostliness. Their purpose is not to haunt the present as echoes of the past. In fact, it is *their* story which forms the heart of the book, and I argue that you spend more time in the time of the American Revolution than in the present day. The appearance of those characters as ghosts only provides you with a chance to observe a delightful parallelism between *then* and *now.*

Throw in some romance. Not the soppy kind that you want to wring out, but the thoughtful kind between two well-suited characters that makes you want to cheer it on. There's a good share of humor, as well. Despite the presence of a war in one storyline and ghosts in the other, this really is not a grim book at all.

So: one American corporal, his normal arrogance dampened by desperation as he searches for a British conspirator who slips through his hands. The butterfly-deft woman who taunts him for his failure. His sister, quite sensible, but even the most clearheaded can get a bit muddled when caught in a snowstorm, and so she rides straight into her own share of problems. And a hunted man, showing off his cleverness to supposedly win his uncle's approval, but when he runs into the object of his true desire, he decides to go after what he really wants.

And as Peggy meets each of them and becomes entranced by listening to their lives, so will you. Caught in Pope's clear, strong prose, this tale is a definite read for both children and older readers.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most unusual ghost story..., July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sherwood Ring (Hardcover)

When orphaned Peggy Grahame goes to live with her Uncle Enos in the old Grahame ancestral home, the past comes alive. The ghosts of her ancestors come and tell her about their lives in the Revolution, while actual current events mirror those of their pasts.

Barbara Grahame, the most frequent ghostly visitor, is an independent and intelligent young woman living in the American Revolution. Her interaction with the extraordinarily clever British officer, Peaceable Sherwood is very enjoyable to read...particularly as Peaceable is nemesis of Barbara's brother, Dick (a young captain fighting for American independence). At the same time, serving to frame the story, Peggy uncovers mysteries of the past, and is led to her own romance with a young man from England.

A very unusual and thoughtful Revolution story with possibly the best ghosts I've ever read about.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you're searching for a book you will come to again..., April 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sherwood Ring (Hardcover)

...read this one, without a doubt. This is historical fiction done with skill-after I finished it, I wanted to research the Revolutionary War even further (I had recently done a project for my history class-a novella about the Rev War-so I had been doing a lot of research already) to see if Peaceable Sherwood really existed. I have owned it for a week and have been unable to put it down. My history teacher recommended it to me and I must commend her for that. With an interesting romance set in two time periods and amidst ghosts and family traditions, this is one I doubt you will be able to put down.

The book starts out with Peggy Grahame going to New York to live with her uncle in the family's ancestral estate, Rest-and-be-thankful, after her father dies. On her way there she first sees a woman whom she later discovers is the ghost of her ancestors, and she also meets a young British scholar named Pat in the country doing some research on the War for Independence, who is also headed for Rest-and-be-thankful. Peggy's uncle banishes him from the house at first sight for unexplained reasons. A very typical situation, is it not?

Peggy's uncle prove to be overly busy and never has any time for her, so she sets off to explore the house by herself-and there are enough mysteries without explanation. As Peggy explores the estate, she finds pieces of her family's history which bring visits from ghosts. And not just any ghosts, mind you. These are ghosts so real and captivating that I often felt that the ghosts had more life in them than Peggy and Pat did. Each ghost comes to Peggy and tells her a bit of his story from the time of the War.

Her first visitor is the second Richard Grahame, who tells her the story of his commission from General Washington to capture a British captain by the name of Peaceable Sherwood-Peaceable Drummond Sherwood, if that means anything to you. We follow him through an interesting tale of Dick's attempts to subdue Captain Sherwood and of his failure, while we also witness the unfolding of a romance between old adversaries.

When Peggy discovers a letter written in a cipher, she is visited by the second ghost-Eleanor Shipley-who tells a gripping story of how Dick finally discovers Peaceable's plans and foils his plot. It is a wonderful little tale progressing the romance and the plot.

Then Peggy, after completing a task her uncle requests of her, finds another relic from the past inducing a visit from the third-and first-ghost, Barbara Grahame. Barbara's tale is my personal favorite part of the book. Barbara tells Peggy of her confinement with her Aunt Susanna, and how she escaped on a trip to the apothecary's on Christmas to go see Dick, her brother, and Eleanor. On her way, she is led astray into the hands of the notorious Peaceable Sherwood himself-who proves to be a charming, witty, curiously attractive antagonist, with whom one can't help but fall in love. (And, incidentially, it appears Barbara, too, can't help but fall in love with him.) When she at last contrives to escape and deliver him to the hands of the waiting authorities, one can't help but miss him.

That, too, however, is remedied shortly when Peggy is visited by none other than Captain Peaceable Sherwood himself! Peaceable tells definitely one of the best stories of his escape and near discovery. A clever story with a master touch.

Unfortunately, the book's ending does not really do it justice-I found it wholly unsatisfying, as we never really did see exactly what happened to the ghosts, who were far more interesting than the live characters. In fact, I really hated Pat and didn't care much for Peggy, either; but the book is a worthy read simply for Captain Sherwood himself. I first read it with a migraine, and it sure soothed my headache. I have no doubts you will not regret reading this book. I wish it was longer-much, much longer-and occupied more of my day than three hours. I do warn you that picking up this book is fatal-once you do, you will never be able to put it down. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a good, fun read.