Rating: 
Summary: A Piece of True Literature
Review: I read "Maid Marian" in a single day. It has been a very long time since I read a novel of such beauty. I am most impressed with the author's way of using language. The term "rich" comes to mind when I think of Elsa Watson's knack of making language her vehicle to paint a colorful picture of Maid Marian's life.
I could not put the book down; it was so fascinating that I did nothing else but read until I was finished. Congratulations to Elsa Watson for having created a piece of art!
Rating: 
Summary: K. Hoy
Review: I really wanted to love this novel - the premise has so much potential. Unfortunately, it was little more than fluff. The story in the hands of Elsa Watson is told rather than shown, giving the reader no opportunity to be immersed in the drama. While Ms. Watson is a capable enough writer, she does not know how to pull a reader in. In the hands of a more experienced novelist, Phillipa Gregory, for example, Maid Marian would have been incredible. I wanted a great summer novel. What I got instead was a ho-hum treatment that missed countless opportunities to be terrific.
Rating: 
Summary: this book is nothing but soft porn on a few of it's pages.
Review: I was given this book one day as a birthday gift, read it all the way though that same night & returned to the bookstore that sold it & exchanged it the very next day for another & much better book to own & read. Reason for this exchange being that some of the words that appear on one or two pages in this book are in my opinion is nothing but DISGUSTING SMUT & SOFT-CORE PORN. This is certainly not a book I would want to see anywhere in my house for anyone of any age to get their hands on & be able to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Light, easy reading
Review: Maid Marian is a first person account of Marian's relationship with Robin Hood. It begins with Marian giving her back story. She is the orphan of landed nobility, and as a result is the ward of the Crown. She is married at five, though by seventeen she had yet to take her place as wife in her husband's home. With his death, she becomes a widow and a pawn for Queen Eleanor who needs all the marriageable land she can find to make alliances for her son, the new King Richard.Marian hears that news of her impending marriage has been put in a letter and, desperate to know her fate, she makes a bold move. She enters Sherwood Forest in search of the illustrious Robin Hood, to enlist his aid to discover what is in that letter. Robin Hood does in fact help her, and armed with foreknowledge Marian returns home to form a plan that will deliver her from unwanted marriage, and allow her to keep her lands. She is unsuccessful and, to her surprise, Robin Hood turns up on her wedding morning and whisks her off to Sherwood Forest. Thus begins their friendship and with it, the start of a gentle courtship. This is Marian's story, not Robin Hood's, and as such there is very little of the legendary hero in this novel. His exploits are barely mentioned, when mentioned at all, and no real attempt is made to give life to his band or to show his outlaw side. He is just Robin, Marian's help in distress, her friend and later her love. I found this to be disappointing--instead of showing any difficulties in Marian having to adjust to Robin Hood's lifestyle, Watson merely had him move in two separate planes--Marian's life and his life. The last quarter of the book was the least believable. Marian goes to live with a farming family and is able to deceive them into thinking that she is of their class. Then, Marian becomes a servant and is equally able to convince the lady of the house of her servant status while worming her way into her mistresses confidence. Watson gives Marian's stay in Sherwood Forest as the reason she succeeds in these deceptions, but I find it extremely difficult to believe that a woman raised as nobility for 19 years would be convincing in those roles after a few months of helping out in a camp. It ends with an unrealistic series of events that lead to the successful, and easy, return of lands to Marian. A weak ending, with all loose ends rushing forward to be tied, that left me unsatisfied. Despite these weaknesses, Maid Marian is a good read, light and enjoyable. The back story is especially well written, giving good flavor of life in Queen Eleanor's court and a sturdy, convincing background for Marian. Part romance, part adventure, it would make a good book for carefree summer reading.
Rating:
Summary: Good fun, if very run-of-the-mill
Review: This debut novel tells the story of Robin Hood from Maid Marian's perspective. The writing is elegant and good, and young girls will definitely feel empowered. The language is solid, and the characters are generally well-drawn. Married at five, a widow at seventeen, Maid Marian trusts no one and fears love. Then she meets Robin Hood, who saves her from another loveless marriage and spirits her off to Sherwood Forest. They fall for each other, the merry men sing, it's all good. Then the novel becomes very 'Jane Eyre', with Marian running away from her love and living a penniless existence. Top this off with a little political intrigue and a murder mystery, plus a happy ending, and that's the book. Watson writes prose that is sturdy and enjoyable. She has an ear and an instict for elegant description, and makes 'romantic' medieval England come alive. It's a very clean, idyllic version of Robin Hood, sweet and gentle. The biggest problem is that it's all been done before. This is another 'old tale told from the female lead's perspective' novel. Marian is the typical heroine of these types of books: the tomboyish young lady who likes 'masculine' things like business and ox carts in the mud, but who can still get married to that charming guy who's up to date with modern feminism and really digs it. The storyline is a big departure from the actual tale of Robin Hood. And the middle ages just weren't so CLEAN. Still, that's the essence of escapism. Robin and Marian are a gosh-darn cute couple, the type that prefers tender nuzzling to heated romance. Watson seems secure in her writing; she doesn't have to tack on a tawdry romance-novel affair to keep us interested. A former member of Peace Corps, she also lets her sense of moral outrage find a voice in Marian. The lady takes a lot of time to notice the injustices suffered by the common people. A good idea, since this is Robin Hood, although it sometimes does seem Robin and Marian are a heartbeat away from joining PETA or Greenpeace. Still, this is a good book, one that wants to give us a little whimsy and hey-nonny-nonny in our feminist retelling of this classic. It's described on the jacket as romantic, and it is, in all the best senses of the word.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of a wandering tale
Review: This started out to be a good book - an historical biography of Maid Marian aka lover/wife of of Robin Hood. I guess I had anticipated it to be a bit more of just that...the story of her life before she met the famed outlaw and their relationship together peppered with her impression of him/his life/ his outlaw ways etc. That IS how it began. How it ended was as a second-rate murder mystery with Robin Hood and Maid Marian playing more of a role as undercover detectives than star-crossed lovers from different social spectrums. It was not terrible - but I felt like the author lost her way and suddenly 200 pages into the book had to find a way to end it.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of a wandering tale
Review: This started out to be a good book - an historical biography of Maid Marian aka lover/wife of of Robin Hood. I guess I had anticipated it to be a bit more of just that...the story of her life before she met the famed outlaw and their relationship together peppered with her impression of him/his life/ his outlaw ways etc. That IS how it began. How it ended was as a second-rate murder mystery with Robin Hood and Maid Marian playing more of a role as undercover detectives than star-crossed lovers from different social spectrums. It was not terrible - but I felt like the author lost her way and suddenly 200 pages into the book had to find a way to end it.
Rating:
Summary: Too cute
Review: Too cute...not enough warts and dysentary to make this a believeable story.
| 
