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The Chronicles of Robin Hood
A classic tale of adventure and bravery charting the transformation of Robert of Locksley into Robin Hood, the outlaw of myth and legend.
Join Robin and his band of Merry Men as they battle injustice and seek to defeat the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne.
Join Robin and his band of Merry Men as they battle injustice and seek to defeat the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
25 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Sutcliff
107 books677 followersRosemary Sutcliff, CBE (1920-1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. Although primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults. She once commented that she wrote "for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with Tristan and Iseult. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with Tristan and Iseult. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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July 9, 2020Everyone knows the legend of Robin Hood. The hunter in the forest who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. But what the whole legend of Robin Hood is Even for England lovers.
March 29, 2017
War eigentlich eine ganz nette Geschichte. Ich habe es nur ein wenig vermisst, dass Robin Hood an die armen Menschen abgibt. Eigentlich behält er alles für sich und seine Leute.
December 19, 2020
Another beloved British hero superbly brought to life by Rosemary Sutcliff. The result is much like the ballads and Howard Pyle's much-beloved 1883 adaptation. All of the classic characters are here, though there are some differences that mark this out well from Pyle. There are multiple Sheriffs of Nottingham in this one, the first having met his end at Robin's hand after a chance meeting in the forest.
Robin is all yeoman here, as he was in the earliest stories, but he is the beloved classic version of the character - his merry and fundamentally good-hearted nature, his love of the poor of England, and his burning anger toward the rich and powerful that abuse them while King Richard are all in full force. While he has little patience for those parts of the Church that are wealthy and abusive, he remains pious in his own way, and would not think of harming nuns (though he kills a few monks in this one, though no ordained priests that I can think of). Robin's anti-clericalism is easy to forget sometimes, especially if one has not been adventuring with him in a while.
His parting from Marian is a sad one, as she has been with him from the very beginning of this version of the tale, and it's there that the story shifts from the merriment of the old ballads to that wistful, elegiac and dignified tragedy that Sutcliff deploys like no other. I was wondering where it had got to, but lo and behold, there it was.
Highly recommended. Much like Pyle, but more strongly integrated to the conflict between King Richard and Prince John, and without the colorful pseudo-medieval vernacular.
Robin is all yeoman here, as he was in the earliest stories, but he is the beloved classic version of the character - his merry and fundamentally good-hearted nature, his love of the poor of England, and his burning anger toward the rich and powerful that abuse them while King Richard are all in full force. While he has little patience for those parts of the Church that are wealthy and abusive, he remains pious in his own way, and would not think of harming nuns (though he kills a few monks in this one, though no ordained priests that I can think of). Robin's anti-clericalism is easy to forget sometimes, especially if one has not been adventuring with him in a while.
His parting from Marian is a sad one, as she has been with him from the very beginning of this version of the tale, and it's there that the story shifts from the merriment of the old ballads to that wistful, elegiac and dignified tragedy that Sutcliff deploys like no other. I was wondering where it had got to, but lo and behold, there it was.
Highly recommended. Much like Pyle, but more strongly integrated to the conflict between King Richard and Prince John, and without the colorful pseudo-medieval vernacular.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 27, 2011Its a solid telling of the old ballads in prose form rather than any sort of twisty re-telling. A fun read - and a really good time in a sweet, nostaglic way to revisit the characters as they orginally were.
I really apprectaied the fact that Sutcliff manages not to make it sound like the characters are in a Leave It To Beaver production of Robin Hood with 1950's slang - as much of the historical fiction written in the 1950's is guilty of.
Also, she doesn't indulge in pseudo-medieval speech - no thees and thous and forsooths! to wade through.
A good read.
October 29, 2019
Simpel maar imponerend
November 22, 2018
It’s always good to have a re-working of an enduring legend to see how another writer interprets it and what they add through research or personal knowledge. Surely Robin Hood is everyone’s favourite outlaw as Sutcliff herself asserts at the end of the story? I liked the interplay with Robin and his men against Prince John’s greedy Norman officials versus the old Saxon nobility and their dependants. It was great to see how Sutcliff introduced each well known character into the story and how she developed their parts in it. I loved the way they all stood by Robin until his untimely demise at the hands of a cowardly enemy. I was very sad when I finished it as I’d gone on the journey with them all and suffered their defeats and rejoiced in their victories and pleasures. It was thoroughly enjoyable escapism and throughout I wished the Lionheart had spent more time at home than off crusading and how much misery could have been spared his country by that decision. Still more Sutcliff to read and I’m so glad I rediscovered here last summer thanks to Hadrian’s Wall.
November 13, 2021
Ich fand den Schreibstil echt besser als gedacht. Super bildlich und obwohl das Buch schon so alt ist, ist es angenehm zu lesen.
Leider hatte man nur wenig Handlung. Die Charaktere waren einem leider viel zu fern und man konnte die Gedanken und Gespräche nicht so gut nachvollziehen. Ich hatte ja die Hoffnung hebt, dass es wie Robin Hood von Disney sei, bzw. dieser Film auf dem Buch basierte, weil ich das irgendwie positiv in Erinnerung hatte, doch leider hatte es nur wenig damit gemein.
Leider hatte man nur wenig Handlung. Die Charaktere waren einem leider viel zu fern und man konnte die Gedanken und Gespräche nicht so gut nachvollziehen. Ich hatte ja die Hoffnung hebt, dass es wie Robin Hood von Disney sei, bzw. dieser Film auf dem Buch basierte, weil ich das irgendwie positiv in Erinnerung hatte, doch leider hatte es nur wenig damit gemein.
like-author-but-do-not-want-to-read
January 15, 2025I like Rosemary Sutcliff generally, but this is just a storybook sort of telling with no character depth.
September 7, 2025
Why is it that I never fail to cry over 1) the story of Robin Hood and 2) anything Sutcliff writes?
January 7, 2022
Heerlijk jeugdboek met avonturen van een wel heel nobele en goede Robin Hood tegenover wel zeer barbaarse en ruwe tegenstrevers.
March 9, 2017
Brought back all my best memories of the legend. Language is a bit old, yet fine for those real to involve themselves in the adventure. May work as a read-aloud with 6-7 year-olds who have been listening to longer stories.
May 11, 2010
I read this book for the first time when I was ten, twelve years old. My library had a Dutch version of the book, and I absolutely loved it. I must have borrowed it at least five more times after that. When I was fourteen, I went looking to purchase this book, but unfortunately, it was no longer for sale anywhere, not in Dutch, not in English. I spent ten years looking for this book, and I finally found a brand new Japanese copy and a second-hand, first edition English copy. No words can express the joy I felt when I had this book finally in my hands.
For me, it's one of the best stories written about Robin Hood. There are many versions, of course, and each has its own quirks and twists to the long forgotten original story. I have seen it in movies, all adapting it to their own idea, but nothing touched me as much as this book.
It's a very well-written story that draws you in from the start. You meet Robin of Barnsdale as a young man returning home, only to find that he has been outlawed. You follow his life through the rest of the book; how he gathers his men, how he has helped lost strangers and became their best friend, how he rescued Maid Marian, and all the way up to his final hours.
I have laughed, cried and loved this book. If you can put your hands on this book, please... give it a try. It's worth it.
For me, it's one of the best stories written about Robin Hood. There are many versions, of course, and each has its own quirks and twists to the long forgotten original story. I have seen it in movies, all adapting it to their own idea, but nothing touched me as much as this book.
It's a very well-written story that draws you in from the start. You meet Robin of Barnsdale as a young man returning home, only to find that he has been outlawed. You follow his life through the rest of the book; how he gathers his men, how he has helped lost strangers and became their best friend, how he rescued Maid Marian, and all the way up to his final hours.
I have laughed, cried and loved this book. If you can put your hands on this book, please... give it a try. It's worth it.
October 12, 2009
This was the version of Robin Hood I grew up reading - well written, exciting and perfect to intrigue a young mind with a life and time that is in the past. The good thing about legends like this is that they never go out of fashion and teach us more about the kind of person we'd like to be.
January 26, 2017
A Biography of Robin Hood.
Most of the stories about Robin Hood deal only with his love for Marian or about his fight with the sheriff of Nottingham, however, The Chronicles of Robin Hood takes us through to his death. Very interesting easy read.
Most of the stories about Robin Hood deal only with his love for Marian or about his fight with the sheriff of Nottingham, however, The Chronicles of Robin Hood takes us through to his death. Very interesting easy read.
May 17, 2010
karena ngidam dan ngiri sama mbak Lita, akhirnya dapat juga buku ini secara tidak sengaja. emang kalo jodoh, tak akan lari robin hood dikejar...:p
October 5, 2011
I really liked this version of Robin Hood. It seemed rather true to "A Gest of Robin Hood",
even if that meant Robin and Marian had to die... =(
even if that meant Robin and Marian had to die... =(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2016
Ein wundervolles Buch das in meinem Herzen immer einen ganz besonderen Platz haben wird.
November 3, 2016
Read this for a school project and I'm a bit surprised by it. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would!
July 16, 2023
I’ve reread this one many, many times since I was a kid, and I still love it to bits. i’m also crying by the end every single time.
October 30, 2025
Ten year old me really loved this retelling of the classic children's story, good story for young girls as well as boys. Sutcliff was one of my favourite authors as a child.
January 27, 2010
belum bisa bikin review...masih terpana sama ceritanya :D
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews