Robert Louis Stevenson is indisputably one of the greatest adventure story writers of all time. His narratives are sharp, fast-paced, and historically accurate and viable. The Black Arrow is one of the finest examples among a career of masterpieces, combining a somewhat awkward but tender love story with nearly nonstop action to create an image of England during the Wars of the Roses that is both sentimental and raw.
The plot is simple: Dick Shelton is a young knight eager to prove himself; his father was wrongfully killed, but he doesn't know by who and wants to find out; he falls in love with a beautiful girl through no fault of his own; and, the Wars of the Roses pitting Lancastrians against Yorkists are raging across his beloved England. Wooing, mystery-solving, and swordplay ensue.
Critics have sometimes made fun of the way characters talk in The Black Arrow. It's true, the language Stevenson employs is a bit gaudy, and seems often to be more in the way of caricature than a legitimate imitation of 15th English dialect. But, whether authentic or caricature, Stevenson is faithful to his adopted idiom throughout, and whenyou adjust to its quirky rythms you'll soon find it's pure poetry.
This is escapist literature of the best sort. Stevenson isn't out to convince us of anything, and therefore is able to recreate a time and place accurately, endowing his characters with the thoughts they would have had and not those imposed on them by a later period. The Black Arrow is clean and action-packed, and ranks with Ivanhoe and The White Company as one of the great 19th century novels about Medieval England.
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Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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