Robyn Hood: Outlaw Princess
YA Historical Fiction
by John Reynolds
Robyn Howard is a teenage schoolgirl. She lives with her father and her workaholic mother who always seems too busy for her. Robyn dreams of making a difference and wonders why there are so few famous women in history. After her mother lets her down yet again, she finds herself having a really bad day at school, including quarelling with William, her boyfriend. There is a sudden violent lightning storm and Robyn is transported to a forest, dressed in medieval clothing and surrounded by young women who address her as Robyn Hood. She quickly realises that they regard her as the leader of their band — and that she’s in Sherwood Forest, about to launch a raid on King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robyn Outlaw Princess is based on a full-length musical of the same name for which the author wrote the storyline, dialogue and lyrics (music by Gary Daverne). The show has been widely performed in New Zealand, the UK and the USA.
REVIEW
5 out of 5
A scintillating retelling of the Robin Hood story with a teen girl at the helm Feminist at its core, Robyn Hood is a great role model for girls. Robyn believes women should stand up and have a larger part of history – be it the past or history in the making.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Reynolds was born in Auckland, New Zealand. A qualified teacher he has taught in London England, Saskatchewan Canada, and Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He has travelled widely throughout western and eastern Europe and the USA. He has MA from San Jose State University, California and a PhD from the University of Auckland.
He has written scripts, screenplays several books and co-written five full-length musicals. His first novel Uncommon Enemy is in the “What If?” category. Germany has won WWII and democratic New Zealand is occupied. (This novel recently won a BooksGoSocial Gold Award and has been revised and re-released.)
His YN (young adult) novels Robyn Hood Outlaw Princess, Valley of the Voodons, and Starblaze are based on musicals that he co-wrote with composers Gary Daverne and Shade Smith.
He has also published a second edition of his popular Writing Your First Novel – a book for aspiring authors of fiction.
Low Flying is his latest crime novel. Set in Auckland, St Petersburg and Afghanistan it is an action story of love, loyalty, and betrayal, centred around drug smuggling using light aircraft. Based on the author’s experience as a trainee pilot and his experiences in Russia,Low Flying tells the story of Matt, a flying student, his crooked instructor Jason, their rivalry for the femme fatale Fleur Lassiter, and their clash with Vladimir Zhukov, the ruthless Russian crime boss.