The Forestwife

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Although the book was intended probably for young teenage girls from ages 11-13, I was surprised by the level of character developement. This a woman you can truly respect as she matures. I enjoyed reading this book because of that. Also, the romance between Marian and Robin is the best, most bittersweet I have ever read. Three cheers!

Rating:
Summary: A good book, with well developed characters
Review: I just finished this book and it was an excellent depiction of srong women who live wild in the forest and help sick people. The characterizations were awesome, most especially Marian, who was an incredibly cool character in this book, unlike most other Robin Hood stories, so characters get five stars. The plot was good also, though I wish more of the action had actually taken place in the story. Instead, all the outlaws would go out and fight a battle "offscreen", and then come back and tell the other characters about it, so plot gets three and 1/2 stars. Writing style and dialogue were possitively breathtaking, with true old style flair, so it also gets five stars. So, altogether this book wins a unanimous four stars, which is excellent. This book would be best for kids ten to fifteen, as younger kids probably wouldn't get most of it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I like this book because Maid Marian is the main character. In this realistic medieval retelling of the Robin Hood story, Marian isn't locked up in a tower waiting to be rescued. She's in the center of the action! Mary de Holt would rather die than marry the rude, old, and ugly nobleman her uncle has chosen. So she runs away in a state of confusion and terror, without stopping to think. Luckily, her smart and fretting nurse, Agnes, shows up. Together they journey to the Forestwife, a so-called good witch. Big suprise...she's lying dead. Agnes becomes the Forestwife, and begins helping the poor and hungry people of Langden. Along comes Robert, Agnes's outlaw son. He and Marian have a bit of a dislike toward each other. Marian's friend Emma has a bit of a romance with Little John. Marian meets the Seeres, a lady who has locked herself up in a cell, Alice and Tom, two talented peasants, the poor,mad old lady Sarah, fiesty outlaw woman Philippa, the heretic nuns, the drunk preist and his dog, and the wicked nobleman William of Langden. When Robert is seriously wounded, Marian is sent to nurse him back to health. Who knows what changes can happen...can two haters become lovers? This book is full of both heartbreaking and joyous surprises, and suspense. Find out why Robin had "hood" added to his name! The characters are very well devoloped. The language is how they really spoke, and it could be confusing for younger readers. The plot is wonderful, romantic, and sad all at the same time. This is a fantastic book for people who love the Robin Hood stories, the middle ages, and most female main characters. However, I took away one star because I went through the whole book until I saw the "Afterward" thinking that this was some unknown Robin Hood story, and a good one at that. I find it annoying that THE FORESTWIFE is a story put together by many other stories, most having nothing to do with Robin Hood. But it's not an error, just a little fact that needs to be acknowledged. That's the only thing wrong with this super book. For ages 10-13.

Rating:
Summary: Caution Parents!
Review: The Forest Wife contains an inappropriate introduction to sexuality, anti-Catholic bigotry and an undercurrent of radical feminism. Parents should use extreme caution in exposing pre-adolescent girls to this book. Consider the following situations:

A teenage girl (15 years old?) is forced by the landowner to lie with him, under threat of evicting her family from their land. She conceives a child that is stillborn. But it gets worse, she later deliberately chooses to conceive a child out of wedlock with a man she likes.

Marian, nursing Robert during his recovery from wounds, sleeps with him to warm him with her body. Robert decides that he likes that, so they continue to sleep in each other's arms on Robert's recovery. They are unwed.

The book creates a situation in which the only good Catholic clergy are "heretics". Newly arrived monks lock a group of nuns in their cells in their own convent at the order of their abbot. The nuns escape. The book states that this makes them "heretics". The bishops are portrayed in a bad light. The only priest is portrayed as a drunk. Later when two of the book's characters wish to be married, the drunken priest says that he has forgotten how -- an extraordinarily implausible event. They are instead "married" by a circle of nuns in a ceremony strongly reminiscent of witchcraft.

The book ends with a relationship between a man and a woman that clearly meets the radical feminist ideal.

I urge any parents who are considering allowing their child to read this book, to read it themselves first.

Rating:
Summary: Caution Parents!
Review: The Forest Wife contains an inappropriate introduction to sexuality, anti-Catholic bigotry and an undercurrent of radical feminism. Parents should use extreme caution in exposing pre-adolescent girls to this book. Consider the following situations:

A teenage girl (15 years old?) is forced by the landowner to lie with him, under threat of evicting her family from their land. She conceives a child that is stillborn. But it gets worse, she later deliberately chooses to conceive a child out of wedlock with a man she likes.

Marian, nursing Robert during his recovery from wounds, sleeps with him to warm him with her body. Robert decides that he likes that, so they continue to sleep in each other's arms on Robert's recovery. They are unwed.

The book creates a situation in which the only good Catholic clergy are "heretics". Newly arrived monks lock a group of nuns in their cells in their own convent at the order of their abbot. The nuns escape. The book states that this makes them "heretics". The bishops are portrayed in a bad light. The only priest is portrayed as a drunk. Later when two of the book's characters wish to be married, the drunken priest says that he has forgotten how -- an extraordinarily implausible event. They are instead "married" by a circle of nuns in a ceremony strongly reminiscent of witchcraft.

The book ends with a relationship between a man and a woman that clearly meets the radical feminist ideal.

I urge any parents who are considering allowing their child to read this book, to read it themselves first.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely beautiful
Review: This is a believable reimaging of the tales of Robin Hood told from the POV of Marian and the women in Medieval England. It is rich in detail and historical fact. I highly recommend this book to anyone...

As to the previous reviewer's comments about anti-Catholic sentiments. Have you never studied history? The Catholic Church in the Dark Ages were full of bishops and clergy similar to those portrayed in the book. The Church was bigoted, violent and prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that women were kept underfoot. Before slamming this book for revealing history, perhaps you should take a look at the real history, you will find it is much...much worse and it was all done in God's name

Rating:
Summary: Parents will love this just as much as their kids!
Review: Twists and turns, hate into romance, hardness into humor, a novella with all the key characterisitics to draw a hungry reader in. Especially with Maid Marian as a lead character, you wish there'd be a sequel. But no, this book stands on it's own pretty well, pretty darn well.

Rating:
Summary: It's Enchanting, But Realistic!
Review: Unlike what I had expected, The Forestwife is not a retelling of Robin Hood story told from Maid Marian's perspective. It does not showcase the heroic acts of Robin and his merry band, or even focus primarily on his romance with Maid Marian. Instead, Tomlinson chose to develop a thoughtful, imaginative, and carefully researched branch off from the original legend (thought to have taken place near her actual English home), in which a cast of capable females, who have traditionally filled supporting roles, set off on a progression of adventures of their own.

Embodying a balance of compassion, courage, grace and true grit, these women work together, sharing their wisdom and strength, to win victories over oppression, illness, starvation, and the elements themselves, to heal others, and to heal themselves. Robin Hood and his Merry Men play a part in the plot, but generally in a more contributing fashion, working alongside or in cooperation with the able heroines, sharing equal opportunities with the women to swoop in and save the day.

In the tradition of Robin Hood, battle action and budding romances appear throughout its pages, but The Forestwife takes things one step further. If you are looking for a book with strong, capable, problem-solving female leads, or a window of insight into the realities of day-to-day medieval life (as in The Moorchild, A Door in the Wall, or The Midwife's Apprentice), this book would be well worth a try.