Neville, Wildwood - 1855 - Life and Exploits of Robin Hood

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
Front cover of first edition / HTN collection.
Back cover of first edition / HTN collection.

This is among the earliest children's books to consist of prose renderings of the ballads arranged to form a 'life' of Robin Hood. The author includes an introduction in which he touches on his motivation for writing the book. This should be of wider interest:

The volume of ballads termed "Robin Hood's Garland" has been hiterto nearly the only work from which the public of the present day has derived its acquaintance ith the character now under discussion, and these it is well known from their obsolete phraseology and antiquated style are not adapted to the taste of the reading community, with whom even good poetry, to use a term in general use, is below par.

  [p. ii:] What has been long wanted, as a substitute for the Garland, is the matter it contains re-modelled, amplified, and embellished, so as to give life and reality to the characters represented: and that in such a manner as neither to be too extended, and therfore voluminous and expensive; nor too much abridged, and therefore wanting in detail and incident.[1]

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