Elsa Watson revisits the legend of Robin Hood with a fetching tale told through Marian Fitzwater's point of view.

Marian, an orphan, is married off at age 5 by order of Queen Eleanor, mother of King Richard and Prince John. Her husband Hugh, the equally young Norman lord of a neighboring territory, has no interest in a wife and spends most of his formative years across the sea in Anjou -- until word comes to Marian, now a teenager, that he has died under mysterious circumstances.

Widowed before she is truly wed, Marian has no real desire to be remarried, but word comes soon that her first marriage has been annulled -- stripping her of certain property rights, which revert to Hugh's mother -- and Eleanor has ordered her to be married anew to Hugh's much younger brother Stephen, who is still a child. Dazzled by stories of the local Saxon outlaw Robin Hood and his band of merry men, she and her nurse steal away from her guardian long enough to find Robin in Sherwood and beg his assistance. He, of course, gives it ... in an unexpected and typically dramatic fashion.

Thus begins Marian's life among the outlaws and her legendary romance with Robin. Unique to Watson's story is Marian's ongoing battle to regain her parents' land and manor against a ruthless noblewoman who has the ear and favor of the queen. Also, Marian's journey to the conclusion -- which ends well, if not surprisingly -- provides some interesting insight into the lives of poor Saxon villagers and the servants in a noble house.

Robin Hood is still, indisputably, the hero of the story, but Marian is no damsel in distress. She is resourceful, industrious and, when pressed, an excellent strategist. Anyone who enjoys the Sherwood folklore will likely enjoy this book, but it's nice to see the story told from the perspective of a female protagonist.