A review by nigellicus
The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson

adventurous

5.0

So I have finally read The Black Arrow and put to bed my own personal misconception that it was the name of an individual who shot bad guys with black arrows, instead being a fellowship of guys living in the forest all mad at a particular lord for being a bit of schnaky bastard, and probably a murderer, specifically of the hero's Dad. The hero, fostered by the Lord, has managed to get to his current age without noticing that his father's death and the guy fostering him and getting paid for it might be connected, but, actually, our Dick is frequently described as not being the quickest on the uptake and a bit too trusting for the world despite many other excellent qualities. As the War Of The Roses rages, Dick falls in love with an attractive young fellow he has many adventures with. The fellow turns out to be a girl, but they get over that and pledge their troth, then are seperated and Oor Dick must steal a ship and lead a band of cut-throats to her rescue, which fails miserably. Then he meets a certain Richard Duke of Iforgetwhich and bravely fights in a big battle even though he senses this other Dick might be a wrong 'un, but stalwartly sacrifices advancement for love and Honour, having learned many a valuable lesson about Life.