The Black Arrow

Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags: Long Read, Robert Louis Stevenson

Our rating:

Ever since his father died, Richard Shelton has been living as the ward of Sir Daniel Brackley. Richard, or Dick, as he is called, has for some time been annoyed with Sir Daniel’s habit of changing sides for material gain. Is Sir Daniel for Lancaster or for York? Dick can’t say, but when he begins to suspect Sir Daniel of having a hand in the murder of his father, Sir Richard Shelton, Dick is faced with a difficult decision. Live with the man who has taken care of him all his life, or avenge his father’s death. At last Dick chooses to avenge his father, but has he delayed too long? Sir Daniel suspects that Dick knows something and wishes to get rid of him as quickly—and permanently—as possible.

And, since that’s such a splendid, suspenseful ending, I’ll leave it there. This is a very good book that takes place during the War of Roses in England. Lancaster and York are the two groups vying for the throne. There’s a thread of romance in the story; Dick becomes separated from his lady fair and spends half the book trying to rescue her. But don’t think that that makes the book dull! On the contrary, I had trouble putting it down. It reminds me of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, and King Arthur. A very good book, highly recommended by me, and I’m sure multiple others. Plenty of action and, as an added bonus, a secret passage! (Pause for collective ooohs and ahhhs) Okay, so I really liked that part.
The writing style is a little hard to understand at times, but don’t despair. The only time I had to read something twice was when I skipped ahead to peek. Take a lesson from my confusion and don’t skip. This book doesn’t deserve to be read in such a slip-shod, higgledy-piggledy manner. Enjoy!