# In the Shadow of Midnight

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1994 novel by Marsha Canham

In the Shadow of Midnight Author Marsha Canham Language English Genre Historical fiction Publisher Dell Publishing Publication date 1994 Pages 416 ISBN 978-0440206132 Preceded by Through a Dark Mist Followed by The Last Arrow

***In the Shadow of Midnight*** is a 1994 historical novel by Canadian author [Marsha Canham](/source/Marsha_Canham), the second instalment of her "Medieval" trilogy inspired by the [Robin Hood](/source/Robin_Hood) legend set in 13th-century England. The story centres on the rescue of [Princess Eleanor of Brittany](/source/Eleanor%2C_Fair_Maid_of_Brittany), the rightful heiress to the English throne, who is held captive by her uncle [King John](/source/John%2C_King_of_England). The novel was published by [Dell Publishing](/source/Dell_Publishing) in 1994 as a sequel to Canham's 1991 story, *[Through a Dark Mist](/source/Through_a_Dark_Mist)*.

A dream inspired Canham to reinterpret the legend of Robin Hood. She initially intended that Eduard FitzRandwulf – one of the main characters in *In the Shadow of Midnight* – would represent her vision of Robin Hood, before choosing another character who would be featured in the final instalment, *[The Last Arrow](/source/The_Last_Arrow)* (1997).

## Plot

### Historical background

The story begins in April, 1203, at [Rouen Castle](/source/Rouen_Castle). [Arthur, Duke of Brittany](/source/Arthur_I%2C_Duke_of_Brittany), rightful heir to the English throne, is murdered in secret by his usurper uncle, [King John](/source/John%2C_King_of_England), to prevent further rebellions against John's precarious reign. John had unsuccessfully attempted to leverage Arthur's sister, [Eleanor of Brittany](/source/Eleanor%2C_Fair_Maid_of_Brittany), as a means of persuasion for Arthur to recognize his right to the throne; with her brother dead, Eleanor becomes a claimant to the throne and remains in John's custody in England.

### Plot summary

At [Pembroke Castle](/source/Pembroke_Castle), Lady Ariel de Clare – a fiercely independent eighteen-year-old who rebels against the womanly role society expects of her – discovers that she has been betrothed by King John to one of his retainers, [Reginald de Braose](/source/Reginald_de_Braose). Ariel is outraged, having been promised by her uncle, the powerful [William Marshal](/source/William_Marshal%2C_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke), that she would choose her own husband. To avoid the match with such an unpleasant man, she decides to travel to France to find her uncle; but, before departing, Ariel rashly agrees to wed the visiting Welsh lord Rhys ap Iorwerth as a means of thwarting John's plans—and immediately regrets her choice. Accompanying Ariel to France are her older brother, Lord Henry de Clare, and his friend Sedrick of Grantham. Rhys instructs his brother Dafydd to bring the marriage offer to William Marshal, hoping that an alliance between their two families will help him gain political leverage over their older brother [Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd](/source/Llywelyn_the_Great).

The Clares' journey takes them to [Amboise Castle](/source/Amboise_Castle), the home of Lord Randwulf de la Seyne Sur Mer, champion of the dowager queen [Eleanor of Aquitaine](/source/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine) and the former outlaw known as "Black Wolf" (hero from the events of the [first book](/source/Through_a_Dark_Mist)). At Amboise, William Marshall reveals a secret plan to rescue Princess Eleanor and place her on the English throne. Randwulf's illegitimate son, Eduard FitzRandwulf, is tasked with the rescue, having had a long friendship with the princess. Ariel, Henry, Dafydd, Sedrick, Randwulf's eldest legitimate son Robin, and Randwulf's old friend Sparrow the dwarf accompany him in the guise of a bridal party en route to Wales for Ariel's marriage to Rhys. Eduard and Ariel feel attraction for the other, but initially spend most of their interactions verbally sparring.

The group departs secretly, posing as knights returning from the [Crusades](/source/Crusades) (Ariel impersonates a squire). After several violent encounters with ruffians and suspicious knights, they discover that Eleanor is being held at [Corfe Castle](/source/Corfe_Castle), on the southern coast of England. Ariel realises the princess is their mission, and she and Eduard come close to consummating their relationship. Once at Corfe, they contrive to get into the castle by showing letters of permission from Marshall, the pretence being Ariel's supposed impending marriage to de Braose. Eduard is horrified to find that John has had Eleanor blinded as a means of dissuading others from supporting her. They rescue the pious, gentle princess and her maid Marienne and bring them to a priory to live out the rest of her days in peace. Henry remains to protect them. Meanwhile, Ariel and Eduard have fallen in love and she breaks her engagement to the Welsh lord.

## Development

"That was what gave me the idea for the sequel, *In the Shadow of Midnight*, where the lost princess is found, and somewhere in there the whole Robin Hood theme started to take shape and I had a blast adding characters from the legends and making it look like that had been my intention all along."

— Author [Marsha Canham](/source/Marsha_Canham) on discovering the story of [Eleanor of Brittany](/source/Eleanor%2C_Fair_Maid_of_Brittany)[1]

Canadian author [Marsha Canham](/source/Marsha_Canham) began writing about the legend of [Robin Hood](/source/Robin_Hood) in her novel *[Through a Dark Mist](/source/Through_a_Dark_Mist)*, being inspired by her love of [Errol Flynn](/source/Errol_Flynn)'s films and by a recurring dream of a "beautiful blonde-haired damsel in distress, held captive in a cave high on a cliff, rescued by two men cloaked in monks' robes, wielding bows and arrows."[2] Canham had almost completed *Through a Dark Mist* when she came across something mentioning the "lost princess of Brittany". This discovery prompted her to add the young Eleanor to that story before finishing, and gave her the idea to write a sequel centred on her story.[1]

*Through a Dark Mist* saw the invention of "the Black Wolf of Lincoln", a character meant to be "heroic enough to have sired such a legendary hero" as Robin Hood. She followed this idea – the creation of the Black Wolf's son as a representation of Robin Hood – with *In the Shadow of Midnight* but ultimately decided that "Eduard Fitz Randwulf was not quite the man I was looking for."[2] Despite Eduard not quite fitting the role Canham was desiring to fill, her supporting characters, such as Marienne and Friar Tuck, were meant to "conceivably form the nucleus of the legend."[2] She opted to follow another character as a better fit for the legendary man, also named Robin, in her trilogy's final novel *[The Last Arrow](/source/The_Last_Arrow)*.[2]

## Release and reception

*In the Shadow of Midnight* was published in 1994 by [Dell Publishing](/source/Dell_Publishing). It was the first installment in Canham's Medieval trilogy, the other two being *Through a Dark Mist* (1991) and *The Last Arrow* (1997).[3] Jane Sullivan, writing for *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*, recommended the entire "swashbuckling" trilogy for "hopeless romantics,"[4] while Rebekah Bradford of *[The Post and Courier](/source/The_Post_and_Courier)* called the series an "inventive reimagining."[5]

## See also

- [Novels portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Novels)

- [List of historical novels](/source/List_of_historical_novels)

- [Robin Hood in popular culture](/source/Robin_Hood_in_popular_culture)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-canhamblog1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-canhamblog1_1-1) [Canham, Marsha](/source/Marsha_Canham) (February 13, 2011). ["Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?"](http://marshacanham.wordpress.com/2011/02/13/do-you-know-the-end-of-the-story-at-the-beginning/). *marshacanham.wordpress.com*. Retrieved March 30, 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-rtbookreviews_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-rtbookreviews_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-rtbookreviews_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-rtbookreviews_2-3) ["Message From The Author"](http://www.rtbookreviews.com/message/last-arrow). *RT Book Reviews*. Retrieved March 11, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-contempauthors_3-0)** ["Canham, Marsha"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140611123635/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591000029.html). *Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series*. January 1, 2007. Archived from [the original](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591000029.html) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014. (subscription required)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Sullivan, Jane (May 28, 2010). ["Lifting the hood on brave Robin"](http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/society-and-culture/lifting-the-hood-on-brave-robin-20100528-wl1z.html). *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. Retrieved March 10, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Bradford, Rebekah (March 31, 2008). "Romance novels changed after Sept. 11". *[The Post and Courier](/source/The_Post_and_Courier)*. [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest) [374213731](https://www.proquest.com/docview/374213731). (subscription required)

v t e Robin Hood Characters and settings Characters Main Robin Hood Maid Marian The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield Sheriff of Nottingham Guy of Gisbourne Prince John Bishop of Hereford Richard at the Lee King Richard Merry Men Little John Much the Miller's Son Will Scarlet Arthur a Bland David of Doncaster Will Stutely Friar Tuck Alan-a-Dale Gilbert Whitehand Settings Sherwood Forest Major Oak Nottingham Loxley St Mary's Abbey, York Barnsdale Wentbridge Media Screen Film Robin Hood (1912) Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946) The Prince of Thieves (1948) Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) Tales of Robin Hood (1951) The Story of Robin Hood (1952) The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) The Triumph of Robin Hood (1962) A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) Long Live Robin Hood (1971) Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood (1973) The Arrows of Robin Hood (1975) Robin and Marian (1976) Aaj Ka Robin Hood (1988) O Mistério de Robin Hood (1990) Robin Hood (1991) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) Princess of Thieves (2001) Robin Hood (2010) Robin Hood (2018) The Death of Robin Hood (2026) TV Robin Hood (1953) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955) The Legend of Robin Hood (1968) The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) Robin of Sherwood (1984) The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997) Robin Hood (2006, episodes, characters) Robyn Hood (2023) Robin Hood (2025) Animated Robin Hood Makes Good (1939) Rabbit Hood (1949) Robin Hood Daffy (1958) Robin Hoodwinked (1958) Rocket Robin Hood (1966) Robin Hood (1973) Robin Hood (1990) Young Robin Hood (1991) Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse (2012) Sherwood (2019) Parody About Seven Brothers (1968) When Things Were Rotten (1975) The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984) Maid Marian and Her Merry Men (1989) Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) Alternate settings Mexicali Rose (1939 film) Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964 film) Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985 Tamil film) Nyayam Meere Cheppali (1985 Telugu film) Robin of Locksley (1996 film) Catch Me Now (2008 Chinese TV series) Alyas Robin Hood (2016 Philippines TV series) Popular culture Statue of Robin Hood Robin Hood (DC Comics character) Robin Hood (Disney character) Child ballads 8: Erlinton 102: Willie and Earl Richard's Daughter 103: Rose the Red and White Lily 115: Robyn and Gandeleyn 117: A Gest of Robyn Hode 118: Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne 119: Robin Hood and the Monk 120: Robin Hood's Death 121: Robin Hood and the Potter 123: Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar 124: The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield 126: Robin Hood and the Tanner 127: Robin Hood and the Tinker 128: Robin Hood Newly Revived 129: Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon 130: Robin Hood and the Scotchman 131: Robin Hood and the Ranger 132: The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood 136: Robin Hood's Delight 138: Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale 139: Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham 140: Robin Hood Rescuing Three Squires 141: Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly 142: Little John a Begging 143: Robin Hood and the Bishop 144: Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford 145: Robin Hood and Queen Katherine 146: Robin Hood's Chase 147: Robin Hood's Golden Prize 148: The Noble Fisherman 151: The King's Disguise, and Friendship with Robin Hood 152: Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow 153: Robin Hood and the Valiant Knight 154: A True Tale of Robin Hood Stage / theatre The Downfall and The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington (1598 and 1601 plays) The Merrie Men of Sherwood Forest (1871 operetta) Robin Hood (1890 De Koven opera) The Foresters (1892 play) Robin Hood (1934 Tippett opera) Twang!! (1965 musical parody) Robin Hood (1998 ballet) Robin des Bois (2013 musical) Video games Robin of Sherwood: The Touchstones of Rhiannon (1985) Robin of the Wood (1985) Super Robin Hood (1986) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1991) Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood (1991) Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood (2002) Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown (2003) Robin Hood's Quest (2007) Volume (2015) Hood: Outlaws & Legends (2021) Literature A Gest of Robyn Hode (probably 15th century) Ivanhoe (1819) Maid Marian (1822) The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883) Bows against the Barons (1934) The Once and Future King (1958) The Outlaws of Sherwood (1988) Through a Dark Mist (1991) Lady of the Forest (1992) In the Shadow of Midnight (1994) The Last Arrow (1997) Lady of Sherwood (1999) King Raven Trilogy (2006) Music Legend (1984 soundtrack) "Robin (The Hooded Man)" "Love" (song) "Not in Nottingham" (song) "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (song) The Tale of Gamelyn Robin Hood (2010 soundtrack) Robin Hood (2018 soundtrack) Alan Dale Outlaw (2009) Holy Warrior (2010) King's Man (2011) The Outlaw Chronicles (2012–2016) Related Miss Robin Hood Son of the Guardsman The Son of Robin Hood The Bandit of Sherwood Forest Robin Hood's Larder Robin Hood Morality Test "Robot of Sherwood" "Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men" Once Upon a Time The Tales of Robin Hood (former Nottingham attraction) Once Upon a Studio Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [In the Shadow of Midnight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Shadow_of_Midnight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Shadow_of_Midnight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.