19 h 9 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 19 h 9 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when the law serves power, and justice takes refuge in the forest?
In Forest Days, G. P. R. James draws on the legend of Robin Hood to open a world of castles, abbeys and greenwood paths. Sherwood Forest offers more than shelter. It is a place of danger and freedom, where the outlaw tradition challenges those who misuse authority.
This historical romance sets invented lives against a medieval English past marked by sharp divisions of rank. Robin Hood stands on the side of the poor, while the story's world brings law and conscience into tension. James takes his time, building scenes through landscape, dress and a narrator who speaks about right and wrong.
What you’ll discover
- The outlaw's appeal Meet the Robin Hood tradition through its sympathy for the poor and resistance to unjust power.
- A forest apart Enter woodland where refuge, danger and freedom share the same green paths.
- Law against conscience Explore the uneasy distance between what authority demands and what justice seems to require.
- Old England in detail Move among castles and abbeys in a world shaped by wealth, poverty and rank.
- A leisurely telling Settle into carefully built scenes, with room to notice landscape, clothing and moral questions.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love Robin Hood and Sherwood, medieval England with real kings and battles, knights in love, loyal outlaws, and old-fashioned tales full of songs, feasts and sudden rescues.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A village inn and a false hunchback
- May Day on the green ends in blades
- Kate is carried off and Robin takes charge
- Robin feasts an Earl beneath the greenwood
- Lucy de Ashby vanishes on the road
- A promise given and a chivalrous restraint
- The Prince's escape and a fatal battle
- Plots at court and a night escape
- Richard de Ashby's dark plan and Kate's choice
- Merry England and the question of who rules
- Love, honour and the cost of a promise
- A storyteller who speaks to you directly
Who’s who
- Hugh de MonthermerA learned, quick-witted young knight, nephew of an earl, who loves Lucy de Ashby and tries to keep his honour through every danger.
- Robin HoodThe outlaw lord of Sherwood, also called Robert of the Lees, who serves the English cause.
- Lucy de AshbyA bright, brave young lady who loves Hugh and tries to save both her lover and her proud brother.
- Richard de AshbyA poor, cunning kinsman of the Earl of Ashby who wants wealth and rank and will use any means to win them.
- Alured de AshbyLucy's proud, hot-tempered brother, brave and honest at heart, who dislikes the Monthermers and fears being thought a coward.
- Kate GreenlyA lively innkeeper's daughter who leaves her promised husband for Richard and later tries to undo the harm he plans.
- TangelA long-armed dwarf in Robin's household, as agile as a squirrel, who serves Hugh with loyalty and sharp jokes.
- Thomas BlawketA sturdy yeoman in the Earl of Monthermer's service who wants promotion and proves honest and useful.
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Forest Days
by G. P. R. James · 1843
A hunchbacked peasant reveals hidden strength and tells Blawket how he spotted a royal spy serving Richard de Ashby.
Challenging10–20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What if the famous outlaw of Sherwood did not live under Richard the Lionheart at all? G.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A village inn and a false hunchback
The story begins at a wooden inn beside a village green near Pontefract. A hunchbacked ploughman named Hardy sits over a jug of Bordeaux wine.
A rider approaches the inn, Thomas Blawket, servant of the Earl of Monthermer. Richard de Ashby, a dark and handsome kinsman of the Earl of Ashby, arrives with other nobles, and his servants pick a quarrel with the hunchback. The old man knocks one down without leaving his stool.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1843
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 12 h 25 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
James, G. P. R. Forest Days. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/forest-days.
James, G. P. R. (2026). Forest days. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/forest-days (Original work published 1843)
James, G. P. R. Forest Days. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/forest-days.
@book{james2026forest,
author = {James, G. P. R.},
title = {Forest Days},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/forest-days},
note = {First published 1843}
}
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What is Forest Days about?
It follows Hugh de Monthermer, a knight in the reign of Henry the Third, who loves Lucy de Ashby. Robin Hood and his outlaws help the English cause while a scheming cousin plots against the family.
When is Forest Days set, and is it a true story?
It is set in 1265, around the escape of Prince Edward and the battle of Evesham. The wars, kings and De Montfort are historical, but Hugh, Lucy, Kate and Richard are invented.
Is Robin Hood in Forest Days the same as in the ballads?
He keeps the green clothes, the horn, the archers and Little John, but James places him in the 1260s, not under Richard the Lionheart, as a yeoman outlawed for backing De Montfort.
The author
G. P. R. James
1799–1860 · English historical novelist
George Payne Rainsford James (1799–1860) was an English novelist and historical writer, born in London. He wrote Richelieu, published in 1829, and Forest Days, published in 1843. He also worked as a British consul in the United States and in Venice. He died in Venice in 1860.
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