Many modern readers are stymied by his (approximate) reproduction of 15th-century dialogue but for me, this was actually easier to understand than the Scots dialect of Kidnapped and the nautical terminology of Treasure Island. Of the three major adventure novels, I like this one the best, though that's not a majority position. I've been a Stevenson fan from childhood, and have read all four of his major novels (and a number of his short stories). His portrayal of the two main female characters has won praise (which I agree with) even from one of the more negative reviewers of the book and I'd say that the male characters are no less round and three-dimensional.

All of the major and many of the secondary characters are sketched with wonderful vividness and depth and regardless of which side they're on, or whether they're 'good' or 'bad,' they're genuinely nuanced. Stevenson's gift for adroit, lifelike characterizations is very much on display here. But the adventure and romance elements aren't all it offers there's genuine moral and psychological growth on the part of the main character. Since this is the kind of thing I can eat up with a spoon, its appeal to me isn't hard to understand. The whole mix is written in good Romantic style, with its frank appeal to emotional engagement from the reader. It also involves derring-do, disguise and concealed identity, outlaws, secret passages and peepholes, elements of mystery, treachery and mortal danger. The Goodreads description is somewhat sensationalized but the plot does indeed involve war, murder (past and present), revenge, shipwreck, and love which, if not exactly 'forbidden,' certainly has a lot of obstacles.

Obviously, it did! Some might say I'm too prodigal with five-star ratings but based on my sincere enjoyment of it, I couldn't give it less. (A lot of it I consciously remembered much of it I recalled once reminded, and some of it was like a new book to me.) I'd wanted for some time to reread it, both so as to write a better-informed review and to see if my youthful liking for it held up under the scrutiny of an adult perspective and more experienced taste. This was a reread for me, but my previous experience of the book was back in junior high school.

The black arrow a tale of the two roses