The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

I read the introduction to the book (after I had finished the story so it wouldn't influence my opinion, like I usually do) and I completely agree with it. The Black Arrow was definitely one of Stevenson's "minor works" and not entirely a classic in its own right, but a good story nevertheless.

It is really just a boys' adventure novel- simplistic, fast-paced, and fun, with a convenient moral at the end. Richard Shelton discovers his place in society during the War of the Roses in England in the 1400s. Accuracy and authenticity are not the author's major concerns, as there are numerous curiously prescient allusions to a yet-to-be-born Shakespeare, and many speech conventions contemporary of Stevenson.

Dick, as the protagonist is often called, rescues a young lady from an undesirable marriage, and revenges himself upon his father's murderer. He learns about right and wrong, and the far-reaching consequences of his actions.

The characters are rather simple, and their internal development merely superficial. But it makes for a good leisure read. Nineteenth-century "tushery," or books where authors use "tush" and other uncommon words often, a term Stevenson himself coined, is exceedingly diverting. What was perhaps considered unworthy then is highbrow compared to most of today's escapist fiction.

I found this book to be a lot of fun. The plot kept me turning the pages eagerly to the end. It was much more enthralling than say, Ivanhoe, a similar but infinitely more tedious novel. The adventure was, for lack of a better term, higher- more exciting and epic, like a medieval romantic adventure should be.