“ ’I’ve decided what we do,’ he called. ‘We robbed this silver from the rich … so now we’ll give it to the poor!’ ” Will Scarlet pg. 156 Will in Scarlet
The year is 1192 and bad things are afoot in England. While King Richard the Lionhearted is away fighting the crusades, his younger brother, Prince John, is ruling England in his absence, however Prince John doesn’t plan to give up the throne when his brother returns and begins plotting against the king. To the north, just outside the city of Nottingham, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, young William Shackley isn’t worried about the dastardly things Prince John is up to, he’s just worried that the meat his relatives from Scotland sent for Christmas will rot and make the rest of their presents smelly. Thirteen year old William, also known as Will Scarlet by his family and friends, is the only son and heir of Lord Rodric Shackley, who is off fighting the crusades with King Richard. While Will worries about the state of his Christmas presents, his Uncle Geoffrey, who is watching over Shackley Castle in the absence of Will’s father, worries about the state of the castle. Prince John wants the Shackley’s as allies against his brother the King, but when Geoffrey refuses Prince John sends in his muscle, Sir Guy of Gisborne, and that’s when Will goes from being the privileged son of a nobleman to an outlaw. After a narrow escape from the castle, Will and his mother go into hiding for a few months and then plan to escape separately to France, where his mother’s family lives, but in route to the coast Will is attacked, injured and found by bandits in Sherwood Forest … and the rest they say, is history, or well maybe legend. Will teams up with bandits John Little, Much, Rob and eventually Wat Crabstaff, to rob from the rich and give to the poor, but with the evil Sir Guy of Gisborne living at Shackley Castle and causing havoc across the countryside the Merry Men are in far more danger than the cute and fuzzy characters in Disney’s Robin Hood. Read Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody to join in the adventure and find out the fate of our heroes.
The author ends the book with a few notes on his research of the “real” Robin Hood, whose legend has gone through many changes over the years, but there is still the question … “ ’Who’s to say I’m the real Robin Hood?’ asked the bowman as he nocked an arrow. ‘And who’s to say all the tales are true?’ “ Rob pg. 254. However, Sherwood Forest is a real place and is now a National Nature Reserve in England. While it’s no longer home to the Merry Men, it is home to over a thousand ancient oak trees, many of which are more than 500 years old; plus countless rare beetles and spiders, and many species of birds. Click on the Sherwood Forest NNR web-site to open up their brochure and see some pictures of the famous forest, or visit Sherwood Forest Visitor to learn about its history and legends, see more pictures and even a detailed map of the area.
The year is 1192 and bad things are afoot in England. While King Richard the Lionhearted is away fighting the crusades, his younger brother, Prince John, is ruling England in his absence, however Prince John doesn’t plan to give up the throne when his brother returns and begins plotting against the king. To the north, just outside the city of Nottingham, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, young William Shackley isn’t worried about the dastardly things Prince John is up to, he’s just worried that the meat his relatives from Scotland sent for Christmas will rot and make the rest of their presents smelly. Thirteen year old William, also known as Will Scarlet by his family and friends, is the only son and heir of Lord Rodric Shackley, who is off fighting the crusades with King Richard. While Will worries about the state of his Christmas presents, his Uncle Geoffrey, who is watching over Shackley Castle in the absence of Will’s father, worries about the state of the castle. Prince John wants the Shackley’s as allies against his brother the King, but when Geoffrey refuses Prince John sends in his muscle, Sir Guy of Gisborne, and that’s when Will goes from being the privileged son of a nobleman to an outlaw. After a narrow escape from the castle, Will and his mother go into hiding for a few months and then plan to escape separately to France, where his mother’s family lives, but in route to the coast Will is attacked, injured and found by bandits in Sherwood Forest … and the rest they say, is history, or well maybe legend. Will teams up with bandits John Little, Much, Rob and eventually Wat Crabstaff, to rob from the rich and give to the poor, but with the evil Sir Guy of Gisborne living at Shackley Castle and causing havoc across the countryside the Merry Men are in far more danger than the cute and fuzzy characters in Disney’s Robin Hood. Read Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody to join in the adventure and find out the fate of our heroes.
The author ends the book with a few notes on his research of the “real” Robin Hood, whose legend has gone through many changes over the years, but there is still the question … “ ’Who’s to say I’m the real Robin Hood?’ asked the bowman as he nocked an arrow. ‘And who’s to say all the tales are true?’ “ Rob pg. 254. However, Sherwood Forest is a real place and is now a National Nature Reserve in England. While it’s no longer home to the Merry Men, it is home to over a thousand ancient oak trees, many of which are more than 500 years old; plus countless rare beetles and spiders, and many species of birds. Click on the Sherwood Forest NNR web-site to open up their brochure and see some pictures of the famous forest, or visit Sherwood Forest Visitor to learn about its history and legends, see more pictures and even a detailed map of the area.