{{short description|1997 novel by Marsha Canham}} {{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> | name = The Last Arrow | image = The Last Arrow by Marsha Canham.jpg | caption = | cover_artist = | alt = | author = [[Marsha Canham]] | country = Canada | language = English | genre = Historical fiction<br>Romance<ref>Adamson, ''World Historical Fiction'', p. 149.</ref> | publisher = [[Dell Publishing]] | release_date = 1997 | media_type = | oclc = | isbn = 978-0440222576 | pages = 454 | preceded_by = [[In the Shadow of Midnight]] }} '''''The Last Arrow''''' is a 1997 historical novel by Canadian author [[Marsha Canham]], the third instalment of her "Medieval" trilogy inspired by the [[Robin Hood]] legend set in 13th-century England. The novel was published by [[Dell Publishing]] in 1997 as a sequel to Canham's 1994 story ''[[In the Shadow of Midnight]]''. It received generally positive reviews from book critics.
Canham became inspired to write a new interpretation of the Robin Hood legend after experiencing a dream. She considered having several different characters represent the famous outlaw before deciding on Lord Robert Wardieu, one of the main characters featured in ''The Last Arrow'' (and the son of the hero in the first instalment ''[[Through a Dark Mist]]'').
==Plot==
===Historical background=== [[John, King of England|King John]] has been monarch for fifteen years, overseeing a disastrous reign that has driven England further into debt, lost territories in France, alienated his barons, and placed corrupt, cruel men in positions of power. Many countrymen begin speculating on the fate of John's lost nephew [[Arthur I, Duke of Brittany|Arthur of Brittany]], the long-lost rightful heir to the throne before being usurped by John. The whereabouts of Arthur's sister, [[Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany|Princess Eleanor]], is also a mystery, though rumours speculate that she [[In the Shadow of Midnight|was rescued by a group of knights many years ago]].
===Plot summary=== Meanwhile, Princess Eleanor, secretly blinded by King John to bar her from power, has been hiding in an English abbey to live out the rest of her days. Her protector, Lord Henry de Clare, has disguised himself as a "Friar Tuck" and kept a close eye over the abbey. One day, Eleanor's maid Marienne is almost assaulted by guardsmen of [[Guy of Gisbourne|Guy de Gisbourne]], the sheriff of Nottingham; Henry defends her and is taken prisoner.
Outside the walls of [[Château d'Amboise]], Lady Brenna Wardieu, the master archer daughter of Lord Randwulf de la Seyne Sur Mer, encounters a knight whilst out hunting. Brenna remains suspicious of the mysterious knight, Griffyn Renaud de Verdelay, rightfully so since he intends to kill her brother Robert for a large reward from King John. Despite this, she and Griffyn are attracted to each other but spend much of their time verbally sparring. Lord Randwulf is sent a message from Marienne with Eleanor's ring and the warning "They have taken Lord Henry." Intending to discover the status of Eleanor's secret, Randwulf sends Robert, his friend's son Will FitzAthelstan, and several others to England. Brenna overhears the plan and demands to accompany them.
Before leaving for England, they travel to a nearby [[Tournament (medieval)|tourney]] at [[Château Gaillard]] to avoid attracting the suspicions of King John and his minions. Their contact, the Welshman Dafydd ap Iorwerth, is captured before he can find Robert's group; before dying, his torturers Lord Bertrand Malagane and his sadistic lover Solange de Sancerre discover enough to suspect Robert is on a mission to rescue Eleanor. They intend to have Robert, the group's leader and a great tourney champion, killed. Griffyn was sent for from Burgundy for this task, and upon meeting him they pay him one thousand English sterlings, though they fail to tell him Robert's plans to find the princess. Griffyn is told to stay away from the Wardieus.
However, Griffyn and Brenna secretly consummate their relationship soon after, and rather than killing Robert he joins their mission. Brenna learns that Griffyn is an Englishman named Rowen Hode, Earl of Huntington, who has been passing as the famous "Prince of Darkness", a Burgundian knight unmatched in the lists. Five years previously he competed against Robert, a match that ended in a draw which caused Griffyn to lose all of savings and belongings, and the life of his wife. He has sought revenge ever since, but realises that he was at fault for his predicament, not Robert. Griffyn loses to Robert, and is almost killed by Malagane before being rescued by Brenna and the others.
Before leaving for England, Robert reveals that Princess Eleanor has a secret ten-year-old son by Henry de Clare. Eleanor only wishes for her son to grow up happy away from politics, and they are seeking her out to secure the safety of mother and son. Once in England, they secure the help of outlaws led by Henry de Clare (who has been going by the title "the King of Sherwood"). After almost dying due to a trap set by Gisbourne and Malagane, they rescue Henry from [[Nottingham Castle]]. Eleanor tells them of a secret royal charter signed by [[Henry I of England|King Henry I]] in which he granted concessions and liberties. Later, Eleanor and Henry die of an illness within hours of each other, and a lone arrow is fired into [[Sherwood Forest]] to mark their graves. Griffyn and Brenna marry and have four children.
==Development== Canadian author [[Marsha Canham]] began writing about the legend of [[Robin Hood]] in her novel ''[[Through a Dark Mist]]'', being inspired by her love of the [[Errol Flynn]] films and 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."<ref name=rtbookreviews>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/message/last-arrow |title=Message From The Author |work=RT Book Reviews |accessdate=March 11, 2014}}</ref> ''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. However, she realized that this character, nor his son Eduard in her next novel ''[[In the Shadow of Midnight]]'', fit her conception of Robin Hood. Instead, the Black Wolf's other son Robin would represent the outlaw – "conceived in the magical waters of the Silent Pool, destined to some great future enterprise that would carry his name down through the centuries."<ref name=rtbookreviews/> Robin's story formed the main narrative in ''The Last Arrow''.<ref name=rtbookreviews/>
Reflecting back on her trilogy, Canham said that she took "great pains and even more perverse pleasure in skirting around the edges of the actual legend, choosing instead to suggest how the many elements of several heroic characters blended together to create the fabled Prince of Thieves."<ref name=rtbookreviews/> Canham later recalled that ''The Last Arrow'' was a "blatant ripoff of the part of the legend where Robin dies and in order for his body to remain hidden for all time, an arrow is shot into the forest and where it landed was where he was buried."<ref name=canhamblog1>{{Cite news|url=http://marshacanham.wordpress.com/2011/02/13/do-you-know-the-end-of-the-story-at-the-beginning/ |title=Do you know the end of the story at the beginning? |work=marshacanham.wordpress.com |first=Marsha |last=Canham |authorlink=Marsha Canham |date=February 13, 2011 |accessdate=March 30, 2014}}</ref>
==Release and reception== ''The Last Arrow'' was published in 1997 by [[Dell Publishing]]. It was the final installment in Canham's Medieval trilogy, the other two being ''Through a Dark Mist'' (1991) and ''In the Shadow of Midnight'' (1994).<ref name=contempauthors>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591000029.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611123635/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591000029.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 11, 2014 |title=Canham, Marsha |work=Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series |date=January 1, 2007 |accessdate=March 14, 2014}} {{Subscription required}}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' gave a mostly positive review to ''The Last Arrow'', noting that while its first half was "weighed down by excessive background information, much of it awkwardly related in dialogue," the novel still contained "rousing action, a strong sense of medieval life, a satisfying love story and intriguing spins on historical events as well as the familiar Robin Hood characters [that] should bring readers back for more."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-440-22257-6 |title=Fiction Book Review: The Last Arrow |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=April 7, 1997 |accessdate=March 10, 2014}}</ref>
Kristin Ramsdell of the ''[[Library Journal]]'' felt the villains' love of "sadistic sexual torture may offend some," but opined that the novel nevertheless had "beautifully done historical detail."<ref name=Ramsdell/> Ramdsell added that while its "description occasionally slows the pace of the story, fans of both the Robin Hood legend and of medieval tales of derring-do will like this one."<ref name=Ramsdell>{{cite news |title=The Last Arrow |work=[[Library Journal]] |first=Kristin |last=Ramsdell |number=122 |volume=9 |page=68 |date=May 15, 1997 }}</ref> Alison Cunliffe, writing for the ''[[Toronto Star]]'', called ''The Last Arrow'' a "rich, entertaining and utterly different take on the legend."<ref>{{cite news|title=A Horse of a Different Cover |work=[[Toronto Star]] |first=Alison |last=Cunliffe |date=July 19, 1997 |page=M.15}}</ref> Jane Sullivan, writing for ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', recommended the entire "swashbuckling" trilogy for "hopeless romantics,"<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/society-and-culture/lifting-the-hood-on-brave-robin-20100528-wl1z.html |title=Lifting the hood on brave Robin |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |first=Jane |last=Sullivan |date=May 28, 2010 |accessdate=March 10, 2014}}</ref> while Rebekah Bradford of ''[[The Post and Courier]]'' called the series an "inventive reimagining."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Romance novels changed after Sept. 11 |work=[[The Post and Courier]] |first=Rebekah |last=Bradford |date=March 31, 2008 |id = {{ProQuest|374213731}}}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Novels}} * [[List of historical novels]] * [[Robin Hood in popular culture]] {{clear}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
;Works cited * {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/worldhistoricalf00adam |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldhistoricalf00adam/page/695 695] |quote=marsha canham. |title=World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults |first=Lynda G. |last=Adamson |year=1999|publisher=Oryx Press|location=Phoenix |isbn=1-57356-066-9 }} * {{Cite book |title=The Last Arrow |first=Marsha |last=Canham |year=1997 |edition=2011 |publisher=Marsha Canham |asin=B0054H91J0 }} {{Robin Hood}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Arrow, The}} [[Category:1997 Canadian novels]] [[Category:Robin Hood books]] [[Category:Novels set in Nottinghamshire]] [[Category:Canadian historical novels]] [[Category:Fiction set in the 1200s]]