The Black Arrow, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Black Arrow, Robert Louis Stevenson
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The Black Arrow

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrator: Ron Keith

Unabridged: 9 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/19/2010

Categories: Children's Fiction


Synopsis

The 15th-century Wars of the Roses serve as backdrop for this swashbuckling historical novel from the author of Kidnapped and Treasure Island. In a time of shifting loyalties and trecherous alliances, young Dick Shelton is betrayed by his brutal guardian. Intent on rescuing the woman he loves, Dick joins forces with a mysterious fellowship intent on dispensing their own brand of justice. Through one trap after another, each choice Dick makes begins to have dire consequences -not only for himself, but for the fate of England!

About Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, was born in 1850 in Edinburgh. As a child, he suffered from tuberculosis and spent much of his time in bed composing stories before he could even read. His father was a prosperous joint-engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses. Stevenson studied engineering at Edinburgh University but, due to his ill health, had to abandon his plans to follow in his father's footsteps. He changed to law and passed the Scottish bar in 1875. Stevenson then took some time to travel to warmer countries in an attempt to improve his health. These experiences provided much material for his works.

Instead of practicing law, Stevenson devoted himself to writing travel sketches, essays, and short stories for magazines. While on a trip to France, he met Fanny Osbourne, whom he married in California in 1880. They later returned to Scotland but moved often, in search of better climates.

Stevenson is especially known for his adventure novels. His first success was the romantic adventure story Treasure Island. His other prominent works include Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Black Arrow. Characteristic of Stevenson's novels is a skillful use of horror and supernatural elements. His stories are often set in colorful locations, where his characters can forget the restrictions of Victorian social manners. Arguing against realism, Stevenson underlined the "nameless longings of the reader," or the desire for experience.

In 1885 Stevenson published A Child's Garden of Verses, which was dedicated to his childhood nurse and has since been made into popular songs. His last work, Weir of Hermiston, was left unfinished, but it is considered his masterpiece. From the late 1880s until his death, Stevenson lived with his family in Samoa. He enjoyed a period of comparative good health but died of a brain hemorrhage in 1894.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Werner on April 09, 2016

This was a reread for me, but my previous experience of the book was back in junior high school. (A lot of it I consciously remembered; much of it I recalled once reminded, and some of it was like a new book to me.) I'd wanted for some time to reread it, both so as to write a better-informed review......more

Goodreads review by Louie the Mustache on December 21, 2022

Continuing my exploration of Stevenson, this excellent historical fiction novel is set during the War of the Roses and has some strong action fight scenes. However, it was written over 100 years ago as a serial for a publication in 1883. Consequently, the language serves as an impediment to an accur......more

Goodreads review by Issicratea on December 01, 2014

I love Stevenson as a writer, yet The Black Arrow had somehow passed me by before now. It’s a medieval Treasure Island, set during the Wars of the Roses and published, like Treasure Island, first pseudonymously as a serial publication (1883), and then as a novel (1888). Like Treasure Island, The Bla......more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey on January 24, 2024

I am rating this one 4 stars DESPITE the narration. It was a good story. One that tried to tell the tale of honor, love (I think), justice, the horrors of war, and the horrors created by those "leading" a war. It's a classic tale and I'm glad I read/listened to it. But if you are going to do this......more