The Forestwife - Softcover

Theresa Tomlinson was born in Sussex. The daughter of a vicar, she spent her early childhood in various places in the north of England. As a child she had no interest in writing, but she loved reading. Her main interest was drawing and painting. She attended Hull College of Art, and later trained as a teacher at Hull College of Education. She taught as an infant teacher for five years. Theresa and her husband live in Whitby, North Yorkshire, where Theresa spent her childhood. Over the years she has acquired an outstanding reputation for her historical novels, particularly those, like Wolf Girl, set on the north-east coast of England. Shortlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal and for the Sheffield Children's Book Award, Theresa takes a keen interest in the area where she lives. Recent visits to Turkey have fuelled her enthusiasm for the ancient mythology of that part of the world. Her scrupulous research has resulted in two epic stories, The Moon Riders and Voyage of the Snake Lady.

Gr. 8-12. Using the Robin Hood legends as a springboard, Tomlinson heads deep into the heart of the forest; however, the hero of this story is not the prince of thieves, but Marian, who becomes the benevolent Green Lady of the forest. Rather than marry an elderly widower who stinks of ale, 15-year-old Marian runs away to join the forest folk, who live by their own rules. Among them is her former nurse, Agnes, whose common sense and prowess at healing have earned her the mantle of Forestwife--the wise woman people come to when they are in dire need. Agnes is also the mother of a young outlaw named Robert, whom Marian dislikes at first sight. Several recent novels, Frances Temple's The Ramsay Scallop (Booklist Books for Youth Top of the List 1994) and Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdie (Books for Youth Editors' Choice 1994), offer a view of the Middle Ages from the female perspective, but Tomlinson adds a dimension by primarily populating her world with women characters, including a band of renegade nuns. Cleverly, yet subtly, the author marks the extra burdens that women had to bear in a society that was fair to few of its subjects. But this is a very personal story as well, and a voyage of discovery for Marian, who finds the mother she thought was dead and a true love in Robert. In an ending that's underplayed, Marian must forfeit her wished-for role of wife to Robert for the role of Forestwife when Agnes dies. A rich, vibrant tale with an afterword that describes how various legends were braided into the story. Ilene Cooper