It’s been a mostly quiet life since Robin Hood put aside his pregnant wife Marian, turned his back on his Merry Men and his former life and retreated to a monastery to repent his sins . . . although no one knows what was so heinous he would leave behind Sherwood Forest and those he loved most.
But when friends from their outlaw days start dying, Father Tuck, now the Abbott of St Mary’s, suspects a curse and begs Marian to use her magic to break it. A grieving Marian must bargain for protection for her children before she sets out with a soldier who’s lost his faith, a trickster Fey lord, and a sullen Robin Hood, angry at being drawn back into the real world.
It’s not long before Marian finds herself enmeshed in a maze of secrets and betrayals, tangled relationships and a vicious struggle for the Fey throne.
And if she can’t find and stop the spell-caster, no protection in Sherwood Forest will be enough to save her children.
Based on the continued nonsense of the last couple of weeks; putting it bluntly, the world feels a bit broken at the moment. I live in a country where democracy seems to be slipping away in bite size increments. It’s at times like this that I need an escape, and there is little better than escaping into fiction. Fortunately, the book gods have taken pity on me. Brightfall by Jaime Lee Moyer arrived in a moment of cosmic synchronicity and is the ideal novel to escape into.
I was immediately smitten by the premise of this book. Set just over a decade after their well-known exploits, Marian and Robin Hood are not the people you remember. They are living separate lives; events having pushed them apart. When their trusted friends start dying, Marian is called upon to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, the only way she can do this means reconnecting with her lost love.
Moyer’s novel allows us to discover the people behind the legends. The adventures that everyone is already familiar with are long past. The ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ moment hasn’t quite worked out the way everyone expected. The author is happy to play around with, and defy, a reader’s expectations. The relationship between Marian and her ex is more than a little strained. Robin is distant, almost distrustful of Marian. There is a heck of a lot of emotional baggage between these two individuals and it shows. It’s also made abundantly clear that Marian is by far the stronger of the two. While Robin has stepped away from the outside world, lost in a quest for some sort of inner peace or personal redemption, Marian has been raising two children and dealing with the trials and tribulations of daily life.
It’s not just Marian who has been burned by Robin. The animosity Little John feels for Robin is barely contained. Robin has not only turned his back on the love of his life, he has walked away from the men he viewed as brothers. It makes for a fascinating back and forth. Relationships have become less than cordial and conversations are often tense.
Robin has turned to the church, while Marian has embraced nature and the magic of the forest. This causes further friction between them both. What he fails to appreciate is that Sherwood is still a mystical place. The lords and ladies of the Fae still hold sway. Though they are often devious and tricky by nature, Marian converses with them frequently. The politics and infighting in the Fae court adds welcome additional depth to the narrative. I really like the magical elements in the novel. I’m fortunate to live near what is left of Sherwood forest and there is something otherworldly about the place.
In some respects, Brightfall reminded me of the movie Robin and Marian from way back in nineteen seventy-six. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn play older, more jaded versions of the characters and the dynamic between them both has altered dramatically. Moyer explores similar ground and if I’m honest I much prefer her approach. The movie is a bit too sugar coated for my taste. Brightfall is far more honest in the way it dissects how relationships evolve and change as we grow older.
Sometimes a book comes along and I’m left a little speechless. I’m not sure I can adequately convey just how much I enjoyed Brightfall. I suspect in the future it will likely be viewed as a bit of a genre classic. Moyer’s novel is a beautifully judged homage to the legends of Marian and Robin.
Brightfall is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now. Highly recommended.
A special book requires a suitably special musical accompaniment. In a break from tradition for Brightfall I actually have a couple of suggestions. My first musical recommendation is Celtic Connections by Clannad*. The second is Celtic Journey by Filip Lackovic. Both are ethereal, haunting and entirely appropriate for any story that comes from the heart of the green wood.
*Oh c’mon, of course I was going to shoehorn in a Robin Hood related reference in there somewhere. It had to be done, it was a childhood favourite.
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