Princess of Thieves (Twisted Tales #17) by Mari Mancusi

Title: Princess of Thieves (Twisted Tales #17)

Author: Mari Mancusi

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st April 2024

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: Returning from an extended trip abroad, Maid Marian finds that not much about her beloved England remains the same. Her best friend, Robin, has been banished; her beloved uncle, King Richard, is dead; and the village of Nottingham and its citizens have been impoverished by taxes. With the help of her lady’s maid, Lady Kluck, Marian decides to take matters into her own paws. She is determined to help all the villagers while also solving the mystery surrounding her uncle’s death. Deep in the woods, she finds Robin and his Merry Men. Will they help Marian with her plan or leave her and Lady Kluck to forge ahead on their own?

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The legend of Robin Hood has been told and retold for many centuries, and portrayed in many ways. In the Disney film, he is a fox, and the film is set during the Crusades. The latest in the Twisted Tales series takes this 1973 Disney film, and puts a spin on it: What if Maid Marian was the outlaw? In the movie and the legends, it’s always Robin Hood who is stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, and in the movie, King Richard is off fighting in the Crusades, which has allowed his brother Prince John to take the throne under advisement of the sinister Sir Hiss.

In the novel, Maid Marian has returned from studying in Paris, to find her beloved England in turmoil. She’s been told her uncle, King Richard was murdered when he arrived back from the Crusades, and her childhood friend, Robin of Locksley has been outlawed. Not only that, but Marian is also horrified to find that the Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John are taxing the animals so much that they can’t afford food or rent – and this had led to several animals fleeing to join Robin in Sherwood Forest. Marian decides to do something. Prince John has no need of all that gold, and so she starts to help the villagers in whatever way she can, stealing from right under Prince John’s nose, and as she does, becoming embroiled in the mystery of what really happened to her uncle. She is helped by Lady Kluck, her nursemaid who has a few secrets of her own. And this is where the action in the novel kicks off, because it turns everything we know about Robin Hood from legends and the Disney movie on its head.

Instead of being the main character at the centre of the action, Robin Hood is relegated to the sidelines as Maid Marian takes centre stage and uses her advantage and position in the castle to do whatever she can, and help those in need. In doing so, the story of Robin Hood becomes a feminist story as Maid Marian is the central character, fighting for social change just as Robin does in the original Disney movie. It’s refreshing to see Maid Marian in a central role, where she uses her knowledge and what people assume about her to put her plans in place, and in doing so, we get to see her in a new light – something that the movie this book is based on left out. I thought this was cleverly done, and it ensured that the relevant points of the movie were used as well, but in very different ways. Mari did this so these changes suited Maid Marian and the context of the story.

I liked that we learned more about Marian and her life, and got to see what she was capable of doing, and of learning – she wasn’t just a pretty lady or princess waiting to be saved. She was the one doing the saving, and this is what I loved about the novel, and do love about the Twisted Tales series – is that we get a different perspective on the movies we love and of all the ones I have read, this one is one of my favourites. I loved that rebellion was part of Marian’s life, and that she was able to work with the animals who still believed in King Richard, and the culmination of Marian finding out the truth, and who she could trust in the castle, who might be able to help or look the other way, showed that there are many ways to be part of helping people, that sometimes, playing the system, as Marian did, is how we can enact change. Sometimes it is subtle, and sometimes it is more direct, but what is important is the way we try – the way Marian worked to make change and uncover the truth.

This was a great addition to the Twisted Tales series, and gives a different perspective to the Robin Hood legend.