Pyle, Howard - Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

First edition title-page / Private collection.

Front cover of first Classic Comics edition.

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-08-08. Revised by 18.220.11.34, 2020-05-15.

Together with the Gest of Robyn Hode and Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1820), Howard Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883) is the most influential of all works of Robin Hood fiction. Inspired by renaissance traditions, directly or perhaps more likely indirectly through Scott's Ivanhoe, Pyle chose to locate the life of Robin Hood during the reign of Richard I (1189-99) rather than that of "our comely King Edward" as in the Gest, but apart from this the book follows the ballads quite closely in terms of plot and incidents. Pyle is far from the first writer to avail himself of the fact that the ballads, done into prose and arranged in proper sequence, provide a 'life of Robin Hood'. In fact the earliest English children's books on Robin Hood tended to be such prose renderings of the ballads. What distinguishes Pyle's book is especially the nostalgic tone, evident also in the author's masterly drawings.

Editions

Including unabridged and abridged editions, translations and adaptations.

• Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire (New York, 1883)
• Pyle, Howard; Lübcke, F., transl.; Daugaard, Jacob, transl. Det Lystige Æventyr om Robin Hood, den Berømte Røver fra Nottinghamshire (København, 1894)
• Pyle, Howard. Robin Hood (Chr. Erichsens Børnebøger). 4th printing (Copenhagen, 1924)
• Pyle, Howard. 'The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood', in: Darah, Jane, ed.; Martignoni, Margaret E., ser. ed. and introd.; Shores, Louise, ed.-in-chief. Legends of Long Ago (Collier's Junior Classics, vol. 7) (New York, 1962), pp. 233-76
• Pyle, Howard; Olsen, Ella Willy, transl. Den Vidtberømte Robin Hood og hans Muntre Eventyr ([s.l], ©1972)
• Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire (New York, 1985)
• Pyle, Howard; Knight, Stephen, introd. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire Eight printing (New York, 2006)

Translations

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Derivative works

These are children's books more loosely based on or inspired by Pyle's Robin Hood.

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Comic book versions

English

• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. VII) (New York, Dec. 1942)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. VII) (New York, [1943-c.1946])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. VII) (New York, [1943-c.1946])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. VII) (New York, [1943-c.1946])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. VII) (New York, [1943-c.1946])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classic Comics, No. 7) (New York, [1943-c.1946])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1947-c.1955])
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, Nov. 1955)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, Nov. 1957)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1957-1964)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1957-1964)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1957-1964)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, [1957-1964)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, June 1964)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, May 1965)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, July 1966)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, Dec. 1967)
• Anonymous. Robin Hood (Classics Illustrated, No. 7) (New York, June 1969)

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Discussion

• Chapman, James. 'Chapman, James. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and the Origins of the Television Swashbuckler', Media History, vol. 17 (2011), pp. 273-87
• Gaylord, Alan T. '"There was something about him that spoke of other things than rags and tatters": Howard Pyle and the Language of Robin Hood', in: Potter, Lois, ed.; Calhoun, Joshua, ed. Images of Robin Hood: Medieval to Modern (Newark, 2008), pp. 153-73
• May, Jill. 'Robin Hood's Home Away from Home: Howard Pyle and His Art Students', in: Potter, Lois, ed.; Calhoun, Joshua, ed. Images of Robin Hood: Medieval to Modern (Newark, 2008), pp. 138-52
• Pedersen, Viggo Hjørnager. 'Make it New: Howard Pyle's Robin Hood', in: Caie, Graham D., ed.; Nørgaard, Holger, ed.; Harder, Peter, gen. ed.; Nielsen, Jørgen Erik, gen. ed.; Nixon, Ingeborg, gen. ed. A Literary Miscellany presented to Erik Jacobsen (Copenhagen, 1988), pp. 338-52
• Wikipedia: Howard Pyle
• Wikipedia: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

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  First edition title-page / Private collection.

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  Front cover of first Classic Comics edition.

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  Front cover of first Classics Illu­strated edition / MyComic­Shop.com.

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