She uses plots from various legends and sources but the book which is action packed and fast moving, is at the same time sensitive and moving. She is strong in a very female way and she is a healer and a midwife and a very good food provider, She does not enjoy fighting but will fight if she has to to defend the poor and needy against the injustices of the medieval kings, Richard and John. A rich, vibrant tale, with an afterword that describes how various legends were braided into the story.' - Booklist, starred review. She felt Marian should have a toughness about her, be ready to go along with the men who were outlawed and live rough with them - and that was how The Forestwife was born. In an ending that's underplayed, Mary must forfeit her wished-for role of wife to Robert when she inherits the role of the Forestwife on Agnes' death.

Theresa always wanted to identify with Marian but the gentle ladylike image found in most books did not satisfy her. In The Forestwife trilogy, we are putting together the three retellings of the Robin Hood story by Theresa Tomlinson - these were published separately as The Forestwife, Child of the May and The Path of the She Wolf and sold well both in this country and in the US. Forced to sign the Magna Carta, King John reneges and answers the uprising by the foresters by destroying their villages. A engrossing and gripping three-in-one retelling of the Robin Hood story. Orchard Books (NY), 16.95 (170pp) ISBN 978-0-1 Readers who wish to see Maid Marian as more than a glorified moll to the Merry Men will find much.

The Forestwife by Theresa Tomlinson