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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if life outside the law offers more honor—and better company—than life under a prince?
Robert Fitzooth, Earl of Huntingdon, loves Matilda, the spirited woman known as Maid Marian. But their world gives them more than a love story to contend with. When Robert becomes an outlaw, he takes the name Robin Hood, and Sherwood Forest becomes a new home for people who have lost their place.
In Thomas Love Peacock's comic novel, the greenwood rings with songs, banter, and arguments about power. Marian takes a full part in outlaw life, while Friar Tuck brings appetite and mischief. Against them stands Prince John, whose greed gives this merry adventure a sharper question: who has the right to rule?
What you’ll discover
- Lovers in the greenwood Meet Robert and Matilda, whose love finds a place among the outlaws of Sherwood.
- Marian as an equal Discover a spirited woman who chooses the forest and stands as Robin Hood's match.
- Tuck at the feast Enjoy a fighting churchman whose love of food and company brings hearty comic pleasure.
- Loyalty with a laugh Join Little John, Robin's loyal friend, with his ready bow and good humor.
- Power under playful scrutiny Follow a familiar legend into witty questions about rule, greed, and life outside the law.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy Robin Hood tales, witty narrators, songs and feasts, brave heroines, and comedy that pokes fun at church and crown.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A broken wedding tests their love
- Matilda refuses to surrender her choice
- Friendship brings people into the forest
- Royal desire meets an armed refusal
- Forest freedom has its own rules
- Disguise turns danger into comedy
- Freedom means choosing whom to trust
- The jokes keep the questions alive
Who’s who
- Matilda Fitzwater, later Maid MarianA baron's daughter who shoots, fences, sings, and keeps her word, she wants to marry the man she loves and live free in the forest.
- Robert Fitz-Ooth, called Robin HoodThe outlawed Earl of Huntingdon, a fine archer and leader, he wants to protect his men and his bride while taking from the greedy.
- Friar Michael, later Friar TuckA tall, canary-loving friar who fights with a staff, sings at every chance, and guides Matilda's soul and her mischief.
- Baron FitzwaterMatilda's hot-tempered, generous father, who storms at everyone, melts at his daughter's tears, and wants her safe under a roof.
- Sir Ralph MontfauconAn ambitious knight who tries to arrest the earl and then chases Matilda, hoping to win both her hand and the earl's lands.
- Little JohnA page raised at Gamwell Hall who grows seven feet tall, shoots with unmatched range, and serves Robin as treasurer and clerk.
- William Gamwell, called ScarletA young gentleman and Robin's cousin, saved from the gallows, who joins the outlaws and takes a new name.
- Prince JohnKing Richard's brother, who seizes Nottingham while the king is abroad and wants Matilda by force.
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Maid Marian
by Thomas Love Peacock · 1822
A wedding at an abbey ends in arrows when soldiers try to arrest the bridegroom at the altar.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What happens when soldiers burst into a wedding just as the abbot is warming up his voice? The organist strikes a grand chord on empty keys, the choir freezes mid-trill, and the bridegroom, an earl, fights his way out of his own wedding.
Maid Marian at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 20 min1 h 55 min fast, 2 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 33,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1822by Thomas Love Peacock
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
A wedding broken at the altar
The story opens at Rubygill Abbey, near Sherwood Forest. The abbot and his plump friars stand ready to marry Matilda Fitzwater to Robert Fitz-Ooth, Earl of Locksley and Huntingdon. Before the vows can be spoken, Sir Ralph Montfaucon and the king's soldiers march in and forbid the marriage in the name of King Henry.
The scene is played for laughter. The organist strikes empty keys, and the friars tumble over each other in the doorway when the arrows fly. Only one tall friar, Brother Michael, stands calmly with arms akimbo, a picture of neutrality.
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Details
- First published
- 1822
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Peacock, Thomas Love. Maid Marian. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/maid-marian.
Peacock, T. L. (2026). Maid Marian. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/maid-marian (Original work published 1822)
Peacock, Thomas Love. Maid Marian. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/maid-marian.
@book{peacock2026maid,
author = {Peacock, Thomas Love},
title = {Maid Marian},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/maid-marian},
note = {First published 1822}
}
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What is Maid Marian about?
It retells the Robin Hood legend with Matilda Fitzwater as its heroine. After soldiers break up her wedding, she joins the outlawed earl in Sherwood Forest, where she becomes Maid Marian and helps him and his band resist a prince.
Who is Friar Tuck in Maid Marian?
He begins as Brother Michael of Rubygill Abbey, Matilda's confessor. He loves canary wine, songs, and a good fight with his staff. After leaving his abbey he becomes Friar Tuck, chaplain and spiritual peer of the greenwood court.
Is Maid Marian a true story and when was it written?
No, it is a comic romance based on the old Robin Hood ballads and set in the time of Richard the Lionheart. Thomas Love Peacock wrote it in the early nineteenth century, and he added jokes about his own age.
The author
Thomas Love Peacock
1785–1866 · English satirical novelist and poet
Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866) was an English novelist and poet. He was born in Weymouth, Dorset, and died at Lower Halliford, Surrey. His novels include Maid Marian (1822) and Gryll Grange (1861). He worked for the East India Company from 1819 until his retirement in 1856.
“To keep what we have and take what we can.”
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