Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood

If I’m going to invest time in reading a story about Robin Hood I have two questions: Is it immersive? And, does it have something new to offer?When it comes to “Nottingham”, I can easily say “Yes” to both of those questions.Anna Burke successfully met some challenging tasks of bringing a medieval time to life while also producing a strong ensemble cast of characters. True, she borrowed characters that already existed in previous versions of the Robin Hood story but they easily could’ve been two dimensional cut-outs with no other purpose than to fill space. Instead, Burke added depth to each and every character, giving them all standing and contribution in their own right. They felt like real people and were intriguing to get to know. And the spin she gave them made them all the more interesting.One thing I do want to note is that there is a romance element in the story between Robin Hood (or, in this case Robyn Hood) and Maid Marian but this isn’t so much a romance as a friendship-mance or a “choosing your family” kind of story. The scenes between Robin and Marian are fun, well placed, and move the story along but the two spend the majority of the book apart and they meet a total of about four times in the entire story. We actually get a lot of their connection from how they reflect on each other and how the other characters weave into them to bring their romance to the fore even though they’re not on the page together, if that makes sense.Also, for the time and setting, Burke did such a good job pulling us back, that you could smell the leaves, hear the sounds, see the wardrobes of the people while also holding the hopes and fears of that time. Really well done.Funnily enough, I recently watched Tony Robinson’s documentary “Was There A Real Robin Hood? | Robin Hood: Fact Or Fiction”, which I recommend if anyone is interested, and Burke’s version matched the tone and accuracy quite a bit which elevated the story for me.This was a near perfect story. The only part I thought was weird was a speech given by Robyn towards the end of the book because it didn’t seem to fit the setting and departed from the style of the read a bit. But, that is so super minor and may just be me.The read has a lot to offer with action, adventure, fun, extreme loss, drama, romance, and all the warm fuzzies that come with finding home. Recommend.4.4 stars

I adore Robin Hood stories, and this genderbent, queer retelling is easily one of the best books I've read this year! It was amazing to see Robin (Robyn) as a woman, and a trans man Little John, as well! I loved the queer love story and found family aspect, and how well Burke steeped the reader into the politics and dangers of this period. There isn't enough adventure historical fiction, and so this was so refreshing to see. If you like historical settings, adventure, and queer characters, I recommend this!

This book is perfect. If I had the money I'd buy the rights to produce it into a movie...it's that good

A sweet romance, great relationships with side characters, with enough going on to keep the pages turning. Really enjoyed it.

This is just one of many retellings of the famous Robin Hood, but I think I prefer this version the most.

I started a new job today and should not stay up until 2:30AM reading Nottingham and then stay awake a bit longer to tell everyone how good the book is. And yet, here I am doing just that because the book was just that great. I got lost in it.Oh well, hopefully no one will notice my exhaustion when I show up for my second day at the new job with a word hangover.Anna Burke has written a believable, compelling take on the story of Robyn, Marion and the Merry “Men”. The pacing is perfect, the plot engrossing, the climax exciting, and the wrap-up is satisfying. Despite my need for sleep, I was saddened when I saw “5 min left in book” on the eReader.Sequel Anna?

I bought this book on a recommendation, and I wish I’d remember who pointed me to it, as they deserve serious brownie points. This ‘remake’ of Robyn Hood grabbed me with both fists, I couldn’t put it down. Seeing other reviews, it looks like I wasn’t the only one, oh what a surprise. NOT.The plot is absolutely perfectly paced to keep one fully engaged, the twists are really cool, especially for a story that all of the world knows by heart since childhood!I loved the characters –extra kudos to the secondary ones, which, in practical terms, aren’t so secondary after all. Even the sheriff!Enough said. It’s a fabulous read.

A good retelling of the story of Robin Hood and her merry fellows. I actually like the first half part rather than the 2nd half, for I found it a bit jumpy at later stage that the main characters swayed back and forth quite often geographically and mentally. I like the story and find the story structure solid, though somehow I can’t say I have the passion for it.

I took a few days after reading this to get my head around writing a review. I usually enjoy retellings, but i'm afraid this one fell a bit flat for me. I'm not sure whether it's because of the length of the book, or the fact that my father is from Nottingham so I kind of grew up with the stories, and I now live about fifty minutes away from Sherwood Forest. Perhaps I was expecting something more exciting. I felt the novel plodded along for much of the time, hitting the various classic scenes when it had to. Marian confused me a bit. she seems horrified by witnessing a lesbian encounter, and even more horrified that it stirred her own feelings of same-sex attraction - wondering if things were indeed possible and how terrible a sin it was. Yet she was perfectly accepting of the idea that a woman would hire a midwife to masturbate them if they were unmarried and had an itch they needed to scratch. Fair enough, 12th Century attitudes towards homosexuality were pretty harsh, for men, but women could get away with quite a lot since the idea of 'sex' was phallocentric. No penis, no sex, therefore two women could not have sex because neither of them have a penis. In fact, there is even a 12th Century published story of a woman who finds herself mysteriously pregnant going to the king and asking him to find the father of her child as she had not had sex with a man for years and has no idea who it could be. The king asks her if she has had 'playful mating' with a woman and not to be ashamed to tell the truth if she has, to which she says yes. The king deduces the other woman must have had sex with a man and the semen was still present when she had her 'playful mating' session and it became transferred...voila, pregnancy. I think the penalty in England was something like 3 years of penance if prosecuted, which is pretty light. So, I had a hard time reconciling Marian's feelings on the matter, especially since most unmarried women of Marian's class were kept away from men and essentially lived on top of each other. There would have been plenty of women having 'playful mating', I am sure. Women were at it so much that the church wrote a penitential on the use of dildos (unnatural devices), and was very upset that nuns were making them and having a grand old time. Five years penance on holy days for that one. Don't get me started on what the Anchorites probably got up to. It felt like modern ideas of female homophobia and even the idea of sexual orientation or what the act of 'sex' involves was being superimposed on the people of 900 years ago.Anyway, I guess that was a bit of a rant - it's the feminist archaeologist in me. I'm not your average reader, and most people probably wouldn't even think to think about the history of sexuality in the 12th Century when reading a Hood novel.I did like the fact a fair few of the male roles in the story were either trans or cross-dressing, including Robyn, obviously. There is a long history in many cultures, and we have only recently started to re-examine historical records and accounts with open eyes. So many scholars of the 19th and 20th Centuries simply omitted any reference to such things from their writing. You only have to look at the margins of medieval illuminated manuscripts to see all sorts of strange things that were never written about...or even the 93 willies around the edge of the Bayeux Tapestry. Just imagine, a bunch of proper ladies, embroidering away, locked in their communal abode (perhaps partaking in 'playful mating' in between breaks for penance), slaving with needle and thread, then suddenly, a little prick...Anyway...the main thing that stopped me scoring this novel higher was simply the fact that it dragged on for too long and did not hold my attention as much as I would have liked. I loved Burke's Compass Rose and Sea Wolf. In comparison, Nottingham felt like it lacked guts and was somewhat wishy washy. It wasn't bad, but it's not on my favourites list.

So I have to confess two things before I start - firstly, I have really been not a “Robin Hood” fan in the past, however, I absolutely love Anna Burke so I was keen to try this book!I was slow getting into it but then that is usually the case when books are setting the scene (plus without my daily commute - thanks covid- I just had to grab 20 minutes reading each night which is never enough!). However, I very quickly got sucked into the story and can honestly say now that I love it!! I particularly liked the writing style of swapping point of view each chapter - it really helps you bond with both characters. I can safely say now that I want to join Robyn Hood and her band of merry people in Sherwood Forest now please!

Very impressed with this fabulous retelling of a traditional tale. Definitely one of the best researched and accurate portrayals of the period that I’ve come across. The characters stand tall and truer than many amongst the hundreds of portrayals of the outlaw band and whilst the tale itself is so very familiar, this twist is so well written it will have the reader believe it to be the original. Bravo! An absolute delight I’d give 10 stars if I could.

As a English reader and a historian.l was intrigued by the synopsis of Nottingham.The author has got quite a few things spot on.Yes homosexuality has always been with us.Despite what the Victorians and the church try to say.It is historical fact.that Richard 1,was gay.So read the story and think yes this is really the true story of Robyn Hood

I really like women-centred retelling of classic myths & legends and this one was particularly good. That it also had a sensitively written trans character was an added bonus.