Howard Pyle 
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood 

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire is an 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of Merry men-a colourful list of characters-has captivated our imagination. ‘The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, ‘ a story about flying arrows, lurking danger and medieval intrigue, was the first novel Pyle attempted. He took his material from Middle Age ballads and wove them into a cohesive story, altering them for coherence and the tastes of his child audience. 

Pyle’s book continued the 19th-century trend of portraying Robin Hood as a heroic outlaw who robs the rich to feed the poor; this portrayal contrasts with the Robin Hood of the ballads, where the protagonist is an out-and-out crook, whose crimes are motivated by personal gain rather than politics or a desire to help others. The novel was first published by Scribner’s in 1883, and met with immediate success.