I just loved this book. It`s the type of adventure-romance story I like the most. I must say that I fell in love with old english after finishing "The Black Arrow" and now I´m more interested in the Middle Ages than I was before. To anyone who like old english, I would also recommend Arthur Conan Doyle`s "The White Company". There`s little more adventure than in "The Black Arrow", but love story isn`t so colourful. Anyway both books are GREAT.
Mandy, if you liked the White company you must read 'Sir Nigel' , also by Conan Doyle.It is about Sir Nigel as a young knight and is full of exciting episodes and engaging characters. I found it as a boy of 15 in my Nanas book collection, I think I was the first to read it in 40 years, and I became an ardent mediaevalist after that. Of course I then read the Black Arrow and St George for England, Winning his spurs, Ivanhoe, and of course lots of non fiction mediaeval history. Sir Nigel especially influenced my interest in heraldry, and I remember going to the house of a very dignified elderley English lady to mow her grass one day when I was 20.
At that time (1979) I had long blond hair and a tan (I was a surfer), and the little old lady appeared afraid of me (long hair on men was considered scarey back then!). I noticed a brass rubbing from a knights tomb on her wall. I asked if it was of her family, and she admitted that it was (in a tone of voice that indicated ' how could a young long haired barbarian like you know anything of such things').
I proceeded to describe the coat of arms in the proper heraldic terms and then told her that the night had been to the crusades and had died peacefully. She was beside herself with pleasure then, and later interrupted me half way through mowing her yard with a tray of biscuits and cakes and a jug of ice cold lemonade, and she insisted that we sit and talk about mediaeval history and the old traditions!!
So it is a good thing to read books about the middle ages!
Thank you for sharing this. Howard Pyle's Men of Iron about the Black Shield of Falworth is a good story, although I liked the 50s movie: "The Black Shield of Falworth." There is a "smidgeon" of hearldry in there. It is delightful how the reading of fiction can determine the direction of our interests in life. The characters that we read about become almost real. I noticed, Mandy, that you liked the language in "The Black Arrow." It is too bad that Stevenson did not like it. He called it "tushery," but as with me as well, it got me interested in early modern English and Middle English.
The Black Arrow is, in my opinion, far better than Treasure Island, which seems to be Stevenson's hallmark of fame. I love the Olde English dialect, and the story is masterful. I love most of Stevenson's novels, but this one was a huge surprise. It ranks in the same league as Howard Pyle's Robin Hood, and is more exciting than King Arthur.
Stevenson engaged me in this story. I could feel the danger, imagine the deep, dark forests. The Romantic touch was so medieval, but also enjoyable. We need to get the word out about how this book should be ranked with Treasure Island for quality, adventure, romance, and excitement!
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