5 h 1 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 1 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if justice lives in the forest, while the law takes the side of the cruel?
In Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws, Frank Sidgwick gathers old English story songs passed from singer to singer. Robin Hood lives with his band in the greenwood. He robs rich churchmen and sheriffs, helps a poor knight, and enjoys a fight as much as a feast.
This Robin is rougher and funnier than the familiar children's hero. His world stretches through Barnsdale and Sherwood, where meetings with strangers become tests and contests. Alongside his adventures come songs of the northern archers Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough and William of Cloudesley, fellow men outside the law.
What you’ll discover
- A rougher Robin Hood Meet a free farmer whose generosity sits beside a hearty appetite for fighting.
- Strangers in the greenwood Follow encounters where a challenge, a contest, and a surprise keep the story moving.
- Beyond the famous outlaw Discover Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough and William of Cloudesley in the same song tradition.
- Stories with a beat Feel how rhyme, rhythm, and repetition carry fast tales through short, steady stanzas.
- Fairness outside the law Explore songs where official power turns cruel and the forest holds a rougher justice.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy outlaw tales, the greenwood and clever archers, folk songs and the stories behind them, or early English poetry read aloud with a guide.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An editor chooses songs worth keeping
- Robin Hood is a hero the people made
- Old chronicles show how early his fame began
- Maid Marian and the greenwood came later
- The Gest tells of a knight in debt
- Sheriffs, archers and a king in disguise
- Shorter songs show Robin and his men
- Other outlaws, and songs of the sea
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws
A hungry outlaw will not dine until a paying guest arrives, and a poor knight rides into the greenwood.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Who stands in a forest clearing, bow in hand, and refuses to eat until a guest arrives who can pay for the meal? That is Robin Hood in the oldest songs about him, and he is stranger and more generous than the figure from the films.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 55 min2 h 20 min fast, 3 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 41,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An editor chooses songs worth keeping
Frank Sidgwick begins with a preface that tells you how to read the whole book. This is the fourth and final volume of a series he began in 1903. Together the four volumes hold 143 ballads. Only four of them are not found in the great collection made by Professor Child, which listed 305.
Sidgwick says Child collected while he himself selected. Child printed everything he could find, even pieces he thought nearly worthless. Sidgwick left out more than half. Some ballads are broken or damaged. Some are close cousins of ones he already printed. And some are what he calls degenerate, worn down by too much singing.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Sidgwick, Frank. Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ballads-of-robin-hood-and-other-outlaws.
Sidgwick, F. (2026). Ballads of Robin Hood and other outlaws. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ballads-of-robin-hood-and-other-outlaws
Sidgwick, Frank. Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ballads-of-robin-hood-and-other-outlaws.
@book{sidgwick2026ballads,
author = {Sidgwick, Frank},
title = {Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ballads-of-robin-hood-and-other-outlaws}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws about?
It gathers old English and Scottish ballads about outlaws and sea fights. The centerpiece is the Gest of Robyn Hode, joined by shorter Robin songs, Adam Bell, the Outlaw Murray and pirate ballads, with an introduction and notes.
Was Robin Hood a real person?
Sidgwick holds that the outlaw of the ballads never lived and was created by the English people. Records show several men named Robert Hood, but none matches the hero, and chroniclers learned of him from songs.
What is the Gest of Robyn Hode?
It is a long poem in eight parts, called fyttes, that joins several older ballads. It tells of Robin and a poor knight, Little John and the sheriff, and a king who visits the greenwood.
The author
Frank Sidgwick
1879–1939 · English publisher and poet
Frank Sidgwick (1879–1939) was a British publisher, poetry collector, editor, and writer. He lived in Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He edited Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws. His work included collecting and editing poetry as well as writing it.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
