The Forestwife

Theresa Tomlinson has made a speciality of these well-told, historically detailed stories and here she makes fascinating play with conventional legend, offering both a strongly female and strongly realistic version of the Robin Hood story. It's a very striking book in its own right and in the way that Errol Flynn heroics are replaced by female courage and compassion battling against enormous physical hardship and callous male domination. Rich in detail and emotional range, it offers a compelling sense of the bonds which tie people to each other and to the roles they play.