The Black Arrow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

A fierce war rages between two powerful and bitter rivals:on one side the House of Lancaster; on the other the House of York. The prize? The crown of England! Young Richard Shelton finds himself torn in his loyalties. Should he serve the interests of his villainous master. or throw in his lot with the dashing outlaw Ellis Duckworth and his band known as the Black Arrow? Richard must decide wisely, for his fate—and the fate of England—hangs in the balance....

An exciting portrait of England during the War of the Roses, The Black Arrow is a breathless adventure of battle, intrigue, deception, kidnapping, spies, rogues, heroes,and villains.

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Historical, Young Adult, Literature

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1883

About the author

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 only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Piyangie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 history that is set as the backdrop of the story. The historical part was both fascinating and informative. The story was also well written, using language appropriate for the time period coupled with the local dialect. The dramatic quality and fast pace created suspense and set the tone appropriate for the battles. However, I wish Stevenson could have worked on a more personal touch, for so far I have observed, his writing though good, is a little distant and detached. For this reason, the reader is unable to feel as much for the characters as he ought to.

Overall, it was a good work of historical fiction and an engaging read. Since I'm quite a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed this very much.

More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/

[Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

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. :-) )

[Jan-Maat]

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.

[Roberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

La tortura della freccia

Ricordando lo sceneggiato televisivo con Loretta Goggi di cui attendevo con trepidazione le puntate (credo la domenica sera) e confidando nella garanzia del nome Stevenson, mi sono dedicato con attenzione e con molte attese a questa lettura.

Ma qual sorpresa! Quello che mi era sembrata una trama avventurosa mi è parsa ora una storia poco probabile, scritta in modo non più attuale (quanti giri di parole per non dire nulla!), prevedibile, confusa, poco coinvolgente, con invocazioni a Dio ogni due pagine (che Dio me lo conceda, che Dio dia pace allo spirito suo, che Dio vi aiuti, per grazia di Dio etc), con una tal rassegna di personaggi mal caratterizzati e ingessati nel proprio ruolo che ci vuole un’agenda per ricordarseli.

Il romanzo fu scritto nel 1888 a puntate settimanali (17) e si vede; probabilmente il brodo, cucinato a lungo, è stato allungato un po’ troppo, come spesso avviene in questi casi.
Mi verrebbe da dire un libro per ragazzi, se non fosse che ben pochi ragazzi ora si cimenterebbero nella lettura di un libro del genere che, oggi, risulta essere solo noioso.

"E' una strana freccia, questa — disse il ragazzo, fissando il dardo che aveva in mano. — E' vero, in fede mia! — esclamò Bennet.— Nera, con la punta di piuma nera. E' una freccia di malaugurio per la verità, perché il nero, dicono, porta la sepoltura.”

Si è mai vista una freccia che a quei tempi non portasse alla sepoltura?

Che distanza dal bellissimo L’isola del tesoro!

[Théo d'Or]

I feel frustrated that I'm not 13 anymore. I would have had something to tell about this book, and maybe I would have told it until I fell asleep. At 13, minor things, simplistic and aimless phrases seemed to me full of spirituality, or, at least, with hidden meanings. Though, authors like Duras or Hemingway , or Poe - fascinated me, most of the time making me forget Dumas' musketeers.
Now, I'm not 13 anymore. Things changed, the goblins in my head have aged, and I can't laugh anymore when I see X kicking Y's ass. But I still like Pink Panther's perseverance. Mature people should follow his example. Probably a small corner of my unconscious it is still there, in my childhood. Now, thinking better, I'm not sure if I would have liked it, even at 13, one of the absolutely disheartening things - I didn't find any sentence to catch my attention, and this really exhausted my poor neurons, unaccustomed to sterile searches.
And, as far as the violation of history is concerned, Dumas is a clearly superior "'rapist ".

" La Flèche Noire "suggested me ,as a whole, à possible dialogue between Heckle and Jeckle :

- So, what was I talking about ?

- I don't know, Jeckle. If you don't know what you were talking about, how would I know what you were talking about ?

- But talking about what I was talking about is exactly what I was talking about !

- Now, where were we ?

- We were discussing what you were talking about .

- Which was ?

- Exactly ! What was I talking about ?

- I have no idea. Let's talk about what we could have talked about.

- Great ! Where were we ?

- Don't start.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my exploration of Stevenson, this excellent historical fiction novel is set during the War of the Roses and has some strong action fight scenes. However, it was written over 100 years ago as a serial for a publication in 1883. Consequently, the language serves as an impediment to an accurate and full understanding. At times the writing is taut, tense. There are other times that the writing is a slog. Contextually it is written for an extremely different milieu, which may cause younger readers (and some more mature ones too) accustomed to the current standard to be put off by metaphors and colloquialisms for a Scottish audience. Otherwise, the story is about a young man, Dick Shelton, who is torn between the guardian who may have had a hand in killing his father and the Black Arrow (strangely reminiscent of Robin Hood) and his band of outlaws. There is adventure, romance, action, shipwreck, espionage, and betrayal. Some parts were good, but others were not. Still, it fulfills my criteria for the term classic, and I mostly enjoyed the piece.

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanzo di Robert Louis Stevenson [1850-1894] pubblicato nel 1883, “La Freccia Nera” è ambientato in un particolare momento della storia inglese, quello che vide nel mezzo del XV secolo le casate di York e di Lancaster battersi l’un contro l’altra in una guerra fratricida nell’intento di assicurarsi il trono inglese vacante. Il romanzo si apre in un momento in cui i Lancaster sembrano primeggiare sugli York, ma la situazione è incerta e i vari vassalli del regno fanno fatica a barcamenarsi nella scelta delle loro alleanze: è quello che succede anche a sir Daniel Brackley, personaggio ambiguo perché i suoi atteggiamenti e le sue azioni tale lo descrivono ed inoltre circolano delle voci secondo le quali egli sarebbe implicato nella morte del padre del giovane protagonista Dick Shelton, del quale Brackley è tutore.
Il giovane Dick, vissuto fino allora all’ombra di sir Daniel andrà incontro a una serie di avventure lontano dal suo tutore durante le quali potrà rendersi conto sia della situazione politica e militare della sua patria che scoprire raggiri e misfatti di sir Daniel e dei suoi accoliti, mettere alla prova il suo coraggio e l’attitudine al comando e infine innamorarsi e lottare lealmente per la ragazza che ama e per un futuro migliore.
Romanzo d’azione di comoda lettura, interessante e godibile, “La Freccia Nera” sia per l’intreccio che per lo svolgersi della trama abbastanza esile e senza grandi colpi di scena, rimane un romanzo inferiore qualitativamente sia a “L’Isola del Tesoro” e “Il Master di Ballantrae” ma soprattutto a “Lo Strano Caso del Dr Jekill e Mr Hyde”.

[Issicratea · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Zoeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

At a first glance, "The Black Arrow" seems like yet another traditional albeit entertaining swashbuckler, one that should end exactly as one would predict it to end - the hero defeating the villain in some protracted duel and thus winning the hand of the lady destined to be his bride all this while. Something, if you can imagine, like Sir Walter's Scott's enjoyable "Ivanhoe": on no account a bad or a boring book by any stretch of imagination. It is just comfortably what we would assume it to be.

And yet, unlike Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson was not interested only in the minutiae of history or political intrigue and was more concerned with human morality and its inevitable complexity. "The Black Arrow" is indeed a rousing swashbuckler with a difference, an adventure story with thrills and spills, with suspense and romance but also, most crucially, a terrific cast of characters, not entirely heroic yet admirable, not wholly heartless yet dangerous. It is a swashbuckler that feels almost real and resonant.

It is also unexpectedly a swashbuckler that has aged most wonderfully and elegantly. Back in the days of boyhood, I would often try and imagine what would be the story for this novel by Stevenson - we had always been able to find in the shelves of the school library pocket-sized adaptations of "Treasure Island" or "Kidnapped" but "The Black Arrow" had always eluded us - and inevitably, the story that would flash in my mind would be that of gallant archers, young and chivalrous heroes, damsels in distress imprisoned in English castles and even charismatic villains to contend with. And truly, the novel not only lives up to a boy's vivid fantasies but also holds up as a splendid adventure novel for fully matured readers (I myself read it at the age of thirty) with a surprising level of profound resonance.

Many a summary describes it as a historical adventure novel set against the War Of The Roses. However, as said before, Stevenson is only briskly concerned with the conflict and is more interested in the consequences that the war bears on the fortunes of the characters and events of the story. The real story, of young Richard Shelton, the orphaned ward of the influential knight Sir Daniel Brackley, of how he discovers the damning secret of his father's death and is then thrust into a dangerous, suspenseful and even romantic adventure in which is loyalties are tested and even allegiances are deceptive, is sufficiently full of enough intrigue, peril, excitement and glory. But even more than mere entertainment, it is remarkable how mature and serious does "The Black Arrow" feel. Like the other two adventures written by Stevenson, this too has been endowed with the unmistakable shades of a mature genre.

Stevenson never refrains from pushing the story into the grimiest corners and the darkest directions. The violence of the action is palpably gritty and intense - we actually feel the sting of those volleys of arrows when they find their targets unerringly and as the narrative is thickened with relish by blending daring skirmishes and deadly ambushes, hair-breadth escapes and failed rescues, near-shipwrecks and even elaborate pursuits and even a gruesome battle unfolding in the streets of Shoreby, he presents us with many a sobering and unsettling scene of chaos and anarchy that are smartly stripped of all semblance to glory, thus creating an urgent and authentic realism that makes the reader believe in the significance and import of all these events.

Similarly, the characters are equally fleshed out with skill and conviction. The "hero" of the adventure - Richard Shelton - is no self-assured knight in shining armour but is instead an idealistic, even naïve young man who discovers and learns of the ambiguous complexity of people and situations unfolding around him and thus comes of age in the course of the story. His capacity for heroic derring-do is tested on more than one occasion when he is compelled to retreat or resort to unlikely alliances and this constant sense of paranoia and peril makes us believe whole-heartedly in the importance of his quest which has little to do with the war between York and Lancaster or even the intrigue of the noblemen changing from side to side. It is at heart a stirring, sensational romance - about Shelton's dangerous and dramatic quest to win the hand of his lady love and thus the stakes of his quest feel truly monumental.

Even the so-called villains and allies of this adventure are far from being merely villains of a monstrous nature or disposition. There is no doubting that the main antagonist of the novel is capable of ruthless deeds but even he is deserving of empathy and is portrayed as a brave and cool-headed leader of men at war. On the other hand, one of the many allies upon whom Shelton has to depend is revealed to be capable of cold-blooded cruelty. And for an adventure novel in the nineteenth century, "The Black Arrow" is wonderfully modern in its portrait of women. Far from being damsels in distress, they are brave and heroic in their own way.

None of this modernism, however, interrupts or distorts the pure, exhilarating pleasure of Stevenson's prose, that his nephew Graham Greene praised for its elegant economy, or his prowess for picking the right words that awed Chesterton too. With a galloping pace and yet a sublime and even poetic eye for detail, he skillfully grips us throughout an adventure rich with excitement, drama and moral realism. Why can't there be more such adventures to read in today's times?

[Loretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am rating this one 4 stars DESPITE the narration.

It was a good story. One that tried to tell the tale of honor, love (I think), justice, the horrors of war, and the horrors created by those "leading" a war. It's a classic tale and I'm glad I read/listened to it.

But if you are going to do this one by audiobook, maybe look for a more modern one. This one by Frasier was, candidly -- and it gives me no pleasure to say this, please believe me -- was really not good. It was kind of lifeless, slow and dull.

[amapola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raccontami una storia

Le dame, i cavalieri, i soldati, i fuorilegge. La Guerra delle due Rose, le battaglie, spade, frecce, cavalli. Il castello e la foresta. La brama di potere, l’istinto di vendetta. L’ingiustizia e la ribellione. Il tradimento, l’infamia, il coraggio, l’amicizia. Un amore che sboccia. Le rocambolesche avventure e il lieto fine.
Ah, se l’avessi letto da bambina lo avrei adorato!
Invece l’ho letto adesso e l’ho adorato.

https://youtu.be/PBL_zxd64xk

Grazie, grazie e ancora grazie, Tusitala!

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Исторически роман за "Войната на розите" в средновековна Англия.

Превъзходно написан, чисто удоволствие, четен и препрочитан през годините.

Да си спътник на младия Дик и да попаднеш с него във върхушката от битки, предателства и несгоди, помага да се опознае добре конкретния период. Той ще срещне любовта и ще излезе от премеждията истински възмъжал.

А за всяко черно сърце, има по една смъртоносна черна стрела, долетяла изневиделица!

P.S. Това издание е с чудесните илюстрации на H. M. Paget. Можете да научите повече за тях и да ги видите тук:

http://robert-louis-stevenson.org/ill...

[Benjamin Wilkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 - the list goes on and on. The book is not perfect. There are moments in the middle when the plot languishes, and the ending feels a bit too much like RLS was running out of time at the end of an exam and had to rush everything to its conclusion. But I have to give it five stars, despite its flaws, because, like every Robert Louis Stevenson book I've ever read, I could not put it down. I couldn't put it down, but there are scenes from the book that I will always remember. It is exceedingly rare for a book to be both gripping and memorable. I think he manages this by both painting with broad, exciting strokes, and attaching real consequences to the characters. The story is set up in a well-written, but fairly standard way, with a clear hero with a clear mission and clear enemies to struggle against. But though the hero proceeds to fight and slaughter his way toward what he wants in the most heroic fashion, he is actually changed by this. He is made to see that what he does, even when he had good intentions, has negative consequences. He is made to feel guilt for his more deplorable actions and the reader is asked to look at the actions themselves - not to excuse them just because he is the hero. Because of this, Dick Shelton is as memorable a character as any in literature. I strongly recommend the book.

[Theo Logos · Rating 2 out of 5]

My week of rereading Robert Louis Stevenson’s boys classics finally brought me to The Black Arrow, and my first disappointment in the bunch. This historical fiction boy’s adventure is set during the War of the Roses, and should have all the elements to make it as thrilling as Treasure Island or Kidnapped, but instead it suffers by close comparison.

Like those other books mentioned, The Black Arrow was originally serialized in the magazine Young Folks. Unlike them, it failed to fuse its episodic parts into an immediately cohesive story that pulled me in. In yet a more serious differences, it’s young protagonist, Dick Shelton, starts the book as a bit of a twit — a blow hard about honor who is too dim to perceive that the lad who is his traveling companion is actually a lass, or that the knight whose ward he is was his father’s murderer (despite multiple people attempting to inform him). This stands in stark contrast to both Jim Hawkins of Treasure Island and David Balfour of Kidnapped, each of whom start out as clever and competent boys.

I enjoyed this book when I read it as a kid, but on this reread find that I lack the patience to wait for it to get better. DNFed at 25%.

[Gabril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ammetto: è stata una botta di nostalgia per il celebre sceneggiato.
Uno Stevenson decisamente minore che non avrei avuto la costanza di leggere dall’inizio alla fine. Ma per fortuna esiste l’audiolibro.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow is, I feel, an unjustly neglected book by the author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped. Since the novel is set during the Wars of the Roses, in effect a civil war, it deals extensively in divided loyalties. (At the same time, that is what makes it a more mature work.) Also, Stevenson writes in a lite version of Middle English, using terms that have disappeared from English centuries ago, like "shent."

Its hero, Richard Shelton, fights many losing battles and deals with several powerful figures who are contemplating changing sides. The most villainous characters -- Sir Daniel Brackley and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (a.k.a. Richard III) -- hare shown to have their good sides.

I imagine it would make reading difficult for a young reader who prefers more straightforward people, causes, and events. But then, it's a good preparation for later life, which is filled with moral ambiguities.

[Cats Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romanzo d'avventura ambientato durante la guerra delle due rose.
Sicuramente un bellissimo classico da leggere, entusiasmante ed avvincente.
Ci si affeziona ai personaggi e non si può non tifare per loro.

[Savasandir · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Trovo pochi piaceri più grandi del rileggere le mie opere, eppure non rileggo mai — oh, giammai! — La Freccia Nera”
Robert Louis Stevenson

Spesso si vorrebbe sostenere che ogni romanzo sia sempre superiore a qualsiasi sua trasposizione, ma chi ha letto e visto tanto, sa che questo assioma non regge oltre a un certo limite.

È il caso de La freccia nera, opera disprezzata dallo stesso Stevenson, scritta sotto lo pseudonimo di Captain George North all'unico scopo di far soldi, priva tanto dell'introspezione psicologica del Ballantrae e di Jekyll e Hyde, quanto della freschezza dell'Isola del tesoro.
Siamo dalle parti della parodia: Stevenson mutua gli archetipi narrativi dall'Ivanhoe di Scott e li svilisce in cliché, intrappolandoli in un linguaggio arcaico e artificioso che lo stesso autore in seguito fustigò come tushery (ovvero scrittura medievaleggiante di infima qualità).
Il risultato è una storia dall'intreccio inutilmente arzigogolato in cui si muovono personaggi piatti e assai poco memorabili; altro che il meccanismo perfetto di Treasure Island! Altro che Long John Silver!
Arrivo a ipotizzare che, almeno qui in Italia, si debba il continuo fiorire di nuove edizioni del romanzo principalmente al ricordo che il fenomenale sceneggiato Rai con Loretta Goggi e Aldo Reggiani impresse su almeno un paio di generazioni di telespettatori.

Anton Giulio Majano seppe infatti trasmutare un feuilleton di bassa lega in un drammone che alterna atmosfere shakespeariane alla foga espositiva di Dumas, eliminando le circonvoluzioni superflue, caratterizzando meglio i personaggi secondari e in particolar modo gli antagonisti, semplificando alcuni passaggi narrativi per rendere più coerente lo sviluppo della storia e l'evoluzione dei personaggi (entro i limiti del medium utilizzato, beninteso). Come capita più spesso di quanto si sia portati a credere, da un romanzo mediocre nacque un'ottima trasposizione, nettamente migliore del materiale originale, nonché grande esempio di intrattenimento televisivo.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[George Jankovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 it a blended score of 3 (the average of 5 and 1).

I was so excited... Now I am heart-broken :(

[Ana Rilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me costó llegar al final, la verdad. La historia no está mal, pero no es muy de mi gusto.

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Očekuješ srećnu pobedu? Bolje unapred prihvati da te čeka baksuzan poraz! Ozbiljno, ova avantura ima toliko preokreta, očekivanih i neočekivanih, da su početne rečenice idealan alternativni naslov. Nema boljeg razloga uzeti ovu knjigu za pročitati do avanturističkog duha priče.

Kao i u Treasure Island, pustolovina prati odrastanje mladog i još uvek neiskusnog mladića kroz gorke poraze, srećne odluke, nezavidne situacije, varljive pobede i vredne greške; kraće rečeno, Stivenson ponovo uspeva da napiše trezvenu, poučnu, ali ne previše mračnu priču o sazrevanju. Pobede ne dolaze bez kajanja, snaga nije garant uspeha, a sami trijumfi ne moraju biti vezani za materijalna bogatstva. Najbolji deo knjige - taj.

I pored napisanog, knjiga nije idealna. Način na koji su prva ljubav i ženski likovi napisani su nesumnjivo produkt svog vremena, tj. napisani su vrlo neuverljivo, prosto i pomalo frustrirajuće. Možda nije pravo uputiti te reči za scene upoznavanja, ali ostatak je definitivno takav. Od hrabre devojke spremne da se izloži velikim opasnostima radi spasenja dolazimo do (naj)pasivnog igrača sa "misijom" da se onesvesti u stresnim situacijama. Eh, ne može izgleda sve da se odjednom u životu ubode.

[Dafne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inghilterra, 1400.
Siamo nel bel mezzo della famosa “guerra delle due Rose”, la guerra civile che vide contrapposti i Tudor e gli York per la successione al trono.
Il protagonista, Richard, fa parte della banda di fuorilegge della “Freccia Nera”, banditi e vendicatori che combattono contro le ingiustizie, in stile Robin Hood. La freccia nera si fa viva nei momenti più importanti del racconto.
Ci sono vari rovesciamenti di fronte, tradimenti, prove di coraggio, cavalieri, dame e audaci imprese in questo romanzo ricco di azione d’avventura, ma anche d’amore (la storia tra Richard e Joanna) e di formazione, infatti, viene descritto la crescita, fisica e morale, del protagonista. Bellissime le descrizioni del mare, della tempesta, dei vascelli dei pirati con le vele strappate, della fuga dal castello, ecc.
Un libro che appartiene alla letteratura per ragazzi ma che può essere letto anche se si è più in là con gli anni.

[FernandoG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia de aventuras, caballeros, que nos sumerge y desarrolla en la Inglaterra del siglo XV. Su lenguaje es de la época, florido. 3.8/5

[Amaranta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caro, caro Robert
Se avessi avuto 15 anni per questo libro sarei impazzita. L’avventura di un giovane in cui identificarsi, le peripezie, le battaglie, l’amore ne fanno un libro perfetto per gli ardori dell’adolescenza. Con questo non voglio sicuramente sminuirlo, ma credo che forse con gli occhi di un adulto si perda un po’ quella meraviglia che solo agli occhi dei più piccoli può esistere. Il libro è comunque una lettura piacevole, avvincente e in alcuni punti divertente. Da leggere per chi ha una lacuna da colmare.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 adaptation of Richard III, presenting him as a complex, multifaceted man who, while not conventionally likable, is a brilliant leader and powerful warrior. I also suspect that this novel formed the inspiration for Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three, as the relationship between Dick & John reminded me of the relationship between Taran & Eilonwy. Despite Stevenson's own contempt for this novel, I appreciated its frank depiction of the wages of war and the complicated nature of the York/Lancaster struggled. Definitely a book I'll be reading to or recommending to my children!

[lise.charmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambientato durante la Guerra delle due Rose in Inghilterra (conflitto tra York e Lancaster), il romanzo ci presenta il personaggio di Dick Shelton, giovane pupillo di Sir Daniel, che scopre che il suo tutore è in realtà anche il mandante dell'omicidio di suo padre. Sir Daniel è infatti un signorotto opportunista crudele e ladro, per il quale nessun crimine è abbastanza spietato, pur di raggiungere i propri obiettivi. E' anche però un pregevole cavaliere con un grande seguito militare, benché cambi partito rapidamente, per stare sempre dalla parte dei vincitori.
A Dick non resta altro che fuggire dal suo tutore, insieme a John Mecham, un ragazzino debole e minuto a sua volta in fuga da Sir Daniel.
Nella sua fuga Dick si ritroverà tra mille avventure, tra cui anche unirsi al gruppo di fuorilegge della Freccia Nera, che vogliono vendicare i crimini di Sir Daniel.
Durante le sue peripezie il giovane Dick imparerà molte cose su di sé e sul mondo, che lo porteranno a crescere e a capire che nessun onore sarà mai pari alla prospettiva di una vita tranquilla e serena con la donna che ama.

[Anna P (whatIreallyRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Encarni Prados · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro lleno de aventuras donde tenemos a un malo, Sir Daniel, que a todo le saca beneficio y se cambia de chaqueta cuando hace falta, ya sea con los Lannister (uy, jiji Lancaster) o los York (en este caso, los buenos). Un chico inocente Richard o Dick y una damisela en apuros. Con estos ingredientes R.L. Stevenson crea una historia llena de aventuras que he disfrutado como una niña chica.