“The Arrow of Sherwood" by Lauren Johnson (2013)
When I think of contemporary novelizations of Robin Hood, this is one of my absolute favorites. Lauren Johnson's The Arrow of Sherwood shines as a Robin Hood retelling for its historical research, originality, and characterization. I just finished my first re-read of this book, and I know there will be more to come in future years. I love history and I love Robin Hood, but the two are in many ways incongruous. What Lauren Johnson does is create a seamless and believable narrative, grounded in excellent worldbuilding built on historical fact. It's exactly what I would expect from a Robin Hood novel written by a professional historian. The Arrow of Sherwood begins where many Robin Hood stories popularly begin — Robin of Locksley returns home from the third crusade and finds things are not as he remembers. His father and sister are dead, his mother has remarried the sheriff, and his young nephew and estate are under the wardship of the powerful Vipont family. Through calculated
