The Lost Diary of Robin Hood’s Money Man
The tenth Lost Diary – a real milestone! Robin Hood has always been an enormously popular figure, but was he real? The mad middle-ages will feature in this real account of his life.It’s Sherwood Forest and one man is looking after the nation’s money. No, not Robin Hood, but his money man – Leonard du Somoney [Len d for short] While Robin robs the rich, someone has to control it before it’s doled out to the poor. Friar Tuck, Maid Marian and that evil Sheriff of Nottingham will naturally make guest appearance as well as Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades, knights, castles, dungeons . Plenty of information about the measly middle ages as well as the odd joke or two about robin’ banks!The Sherwood Forest Visitors’ Centre is the second most visited tourist attraction outside London, after Alton Towers. There is an enormous amount of interest in Robin Hood worldwide, but particularly amongst children in England.
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsChildren's Books in 1999
HarperCollinsChildren's Books An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
77-85 Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
Text copyright © Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore 1999
Illustrations copyright © George Hollingworth 1999 Cover illustration copyright © Martin Chatterton 1999
Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore and illustrator assert the moral right to be identified as the authors and illustrator of the work.
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Source ISBN: 9780006945918
Ebook Edition: © MARCH 2014 ISBN: 9780007571567 Version: 2014-11-11
Contents
Many people believe that the famous English outlaw, Robin Hood, is merely a legendary figure. They argue that he only ever existed as a character in stories, plays and songs.
However, this recently discovered Lost Diary proves beyond doubt that Robin Hood did exist.
The diary is written by Leonard du Somoney, Robin Hood’s financial advisor in Sherwood Forest (presumably his branch manager). It details how Robin Hood became an outlaw. It also provides records of the Third Crusade and inside views of Richard the Lionheart and his brother John.
This diary (like so many other Lost Diaries) was found by Barlow and Skidmore. They were truffle>* hunting in Sherwood Forest with their pet pig, Percy, when the pig was drawn towards a giant oak tree. Instead of finding truffles, Percy dug up a pink pottery piggy bank. Breaking open the pig (the pottery one), Barlow and Skidmore discovered the following Lost Diary. There were also hundreds of pages of accounts, but the publishers thought these accounts were far too boring to put in this book (although the company accountant thought they were jolly interesting and made a riveting good read).
Instead, the editors chose the most interesting diary entries for publication. For the first time ever, we have a unique day-to-day record of life in Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood and his band of outlaws robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. At last, we can see the Merry Man behind the legend.
>*A truffle is an expensive fungus, not to be confused with trifle which is not found in forests except after very messy picnics.
I’m starting a new job tomorrow. As a Norman gentleman, and the son of a knight, I shouldn’t have to work at all – but I’m the youngest son, so I don’t get to inherit any money even if there was any, which there isn’t because my dad has spent it all. So when I saw that Earl David of Huntingdon was looking for a Steward, I sent him my reference.
Earl David said he was looking for a crooked, underhand smart-alec to manage the Huntingdon estates. He said I was just the sort of chap he needed (I think he meant that as a compliment). My new boss has got a red face and gout and he does a lot of shouting, but he’s not a bad old buffer.
Now I’m working for an earl, I thought I’d better catch up with what’s been happening to the Royal Family.
The story so far:
King Henry, the Godfather of the Plantagenet clan>*, owns the largest kingdom in Europe, stretching from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. However, his power-mad sons want a piece of the action. Henry puts his boys on ice and gives them some castles to play with, but locks up his scheming wife Eleanor.
