The Sherwood Ring

*warning: spoilers throughout!*

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope is the story about a newly orphaned young woman named Peggy Grahame who goes to live with her uncle on his ancestral estate. On the way there she meets a nice young English scholar named Pat who accompanies her to the estate. However once they arrive, Peggy's uncle forbids Pat to ever come to the place again. Confused and hurt and on her lonesome, Peggy discovers the secret and intriguing back-story of the estate and her ancestors, a story told by the ghosts of those same ancestors.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved Pope's other book, The Perilous Gard, and was looking forward to reading another story by her. Pope has quite a way with writing. For one thing her romance could hardly be called "romantic" for more often than not her characters despise each other at first before slowly growing to love. It makes for a very interesting read to say the least!

When first starting the book, I wondered why it was called The Sherwood Ring when clearly the main characters last names were Grahame. Then came Peaceable Sherwood, the main antagonist of the story who seems to have no antagonistic bone in his body. He made a very fascinating "bad guy" for he wasn't really "bad" at all, simply working hard for his cause (which was the British side of the Revolutionary War). And he is so polite about it! He is really infuriating and yet, I can see why Barbara Grahame fell in love with him. I very much enjoyed the development of his character, and the characters of those who interacted with him.

Also, I especially liked the cipher. Personally, I would have taken a lot longer than Eleanor and Richard in figuring it out. It was really clever how Pope wrote it and presented it. I had to chuckle when I figured out the cipher Peggy herself wrote.

The ghosts were explained very briefly, and not very scientifically, but by that point I was so caught up in the story that I didn't really care where they came from! They could have been really leprechauns or Ancients or Talking Trees for all I cared! Pope made them real so they were real. She has that way with her stories.

One thing I didn't like about the book, was the fact that I couldn't figure out what time period Peggy's story was set in. It seemed like modern times, with her going on a train, riding in a car, using a telephone, etc. But the way Pope wrote the interactions between the characters, the way they spoke, the way the estate was described, and the way she went back and forth between the 1700s and the present day made my mind feel slightly dizzy in trying to make the switch so often. And then the Independence Day Ball did not help, where they recreated the eighteenth century. The entire book just felt like it should be all in the 1700s (or at least Peggy's side not quite up to the modern era). This could have something to do with the fact that Pope wrote the book first in 1958 (although my version is a revised one published in 1986).

All in all it was a wonderful book with an interesting and gripping story. It's easy to read and I can see people of all ages enjoying it. I definitely recommend it. The mystery was cleverly written (I did not figure out Pat's true name and was mildly surprised when it was revealed), and I love how it comes full circle with the name Sherwood. It was at the end that I fully realized why it was called The Sherwood Ring. Very clever, Miss Pope. Very clever indeed.