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The Black Arrow
Robert Louis Stevenson
*The Black Arrow* is Robert Louis Stevenson's rousing historical adventure set during England's Wars of the Roses—a tale of young Dick Shelton, secret outlaws, disguise, and revenge in a divided realm. This Scribner edition belongs to the tradition of the Scribner Illustrated Classics, carrying N. C. Wyeth's magnificent paintings, first created in 1916, which turned Stevenson's medieval England into vivid, muscular drama. Stevenson himself rated the book lightly, but generations of readers have loved its pace and swordplay, and Wyeth's plates are among the reasons it endures. The marriage of a master storyteller and a master illustrator makes this less a mere reprint than a small art object. For anyone who loves classic adventure, golden-age illustration, or simply a handsome shelf edition, it's a genuine pleasure to own and open.
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The author
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), the Scottish master of adventure and romance, wrote Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The Black Arrow was serialized in 1883 and, though Stevenson dismissed it as 'tushery,' it has kept a devoted readership.
The book
Set amid the Wars of the Roses, the novel follows Dick Shelton, the mysterious fellowship of the Black Arrow, and his pursuit of justice and love in a treacherous England. This is a Scribner edition featuring N. C. Wyeth's illustrations, painted for Scribner's 1916 Illustrated Classic and reproduced in later printings.
How to read it
As fiction it is minor Stevenson—brisk, plotty, less resonant than his best. But paired with Wyeth's color plates it becomes something more: a showcase of early-twentieth-century American illustration at its height, which is much of why collectors prize these volumes.
For more context
The Black Arrow was among the first half-dozen Scribner Illustrated Classics that made N. C. Wyeth famous, alongside Treasure Island and Kidnapped.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Publisher
- Charles Scribner's Sons
- Place of publication
- New York
- ISBN
- None
- Format
- Hardcover
- Shelf
- Fiction
- Location
- Maine
Scribner edition with N. C. Wyeth illustrations.