The Black Arrow begins not with a bang, but with a twang, a hiss, and the smack of a well-aimed shaft. The taks was written in two months and originally serialized in seventeen weekly installments by amagazine caned young Folks. Stevenson is credited with coining an affectionately pejorative phrase for historical romnances of Black Arrow’s sort. He called them tushery in reference to the use of archaic exclamations such as ‘Tush！’ by the characters.

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A fierce war rages between two powerful and bitter rivals: on one side the House of Lancaster; on the other the House of York. The prize? The crown of England! Young Richard Shelton finds himself torn in his loyal ties. Should he serve the interests of his villainous master? Or throw in his lot with the dashing outlaw Ellis Duckworth and his band known as the Black Arrow? Richard must decide wisely, for his fate--and the fate of England--hangs in the balance...

An exciting portrait of England during the War of the Roses, The Black Arrow is a breathless adventure of battle, intrigue, deception, kidnapping, spies, rogues, heroes, and villains.