 | |
| Author | Robert Louis Stevenson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical, Adventure, Romance novel |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons (US) & Cassell (UK) |
Publication date | 1888 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | book |
| Pages | 392 (first edition) |
| Preceded by | serial periodical article |
| Text | The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses at Wikisource |
The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses is an 1888 children's novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is both a historical adventure novel and a romance novel. It first appeared as a serial in 1883 with the subtitle "A Tale of Tunstall Forest" beginning in Young Folks; A Boys' and Girls' Paper of Instructive and Entertaining Literature, vol. XXII, no. 656 (Saturday, 30 June 1883)[1] and ending in vol. XXIII, no. 672 (Saturday, 20 October 1883)[2]—Stevenson had finished writing it by the end of summer.[3] It was printed under the pseudonym Captain George North.[1] He alludes to the time gap between the serialisation and the publication as one volume in 1888 in his preface "Critic [parodying Dickens's 'Cricket'] on the Hearth": "The tale was written years ago for a particular audience..."[4] The Paston Letters were Stevenson's main literary source for The Black Arrow.[5] The Black Arrow consists of 79,926 words.
- ^ a b "Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow in Young Folks Paper – Digital Collections".
- ^ Robert Louis Stevenson, The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Curtis Bigelow and Temple Scott, eds., 10 vols. (Philadelphia: John D. Morris and Company, 1906), 3:xi: "EDITORIAL NOTE Under the title of The Black Arrow: A Tale of Tunstall Forest, by Captain George North, this story ran serially in Young Folks from June 30 to October 20, 1883." Cf. also Colonel W.F. Prideaux, C.S.I., A Bibliography of the Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, (London: Frank Hollings, 1903), 61.
- ^ "With the end of the summer came the last chapter of The Black Arrow and our return to Hyères, where my husband took up other more exciting work" {Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses, Biographical Edition with a preface by Mrs. Stevenson, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905), xii}.
- ^ Stevenson, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses, Biographical Edition with a preface by Mrs. Stevenson, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905), xvii.
- ^ Ruth Marie Faurot, "From Records to Romance: Stevenson's The Black Arrow and The Paston Letters," SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900, vol. 5 (Autumn 1965) 4:677.