Maid Marian... Not a damsel in distress
While the Robin Hood legend has existed since Medieval times, Maid Marian first appears in ballads of the 16th century.
Some scholars suggest Marian was originally a personification of the Virgin Mary. Yet, in some of the tales, she was given a persona that is far less holy. Indeed, this verse from one of the early ballads about Marian by a lascivious Friar Tuck is unabashedly lewd: She is a trul of trust, to serue a frier at his lust. / A prycker, a prauncer a terer of shetes. /A wagger of ballockes when other men slepes.
But Marian is most commonly portrayed as courageous and independent yet loyal. While females in legends of the era were typically damsels in distress, Marian was self-assured and resourceful.
In King Robin, Marian is a commanding personality, a skilled archer and cunning political ally who is Robin's equal. Marian is also sexually liberated - on her own terms.
Little wonder that today, Marian is celebrated by many feminist commentators as one of the earliest strong female characters in English literature.
A fresh take on a cast of well-known characters
King Robin “puts these enduring characters into a realistic milieu, where the morality is grey, and the decisions are never easy. With the structure and approach, it’s custom-built for streaming or cable audiences,” reports story analyst James Chatterton (HBO, Anonymous Content) in his cinematic coverage of the novel..
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KING ROBIN REVIEWS
“Gusto. Humor. Eros.”
Ralph Keyes
Author of The Post-Truth Era
“Thought-provoking. A real page-turner.”
Bob White, Chairman
Worldwide Robin Hood Society
“On the same plane as Rise of Empires,
Knightfall, The Last Kingdom and
even Game of Thrones.”
James Chatterton
Story analyst (HBO, Anonymous Content)
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“A sexy retelling of the Robin Hood legend.”
Rebecca Coffey
Author and journalist (Forbes, NPR )
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