Poll: New Look Guy of Gisborne

For the first two seasons of Robin Hood, we've had a dark, brooding Guy of Gisborne clad in black leather:



Now, for season three, we get dark and brooding, but with a whole new look:

(photo source: Spikesbint)

So, this month's poll question is...

Guy of Gisborne's new look: Good, Bad or Indifferent?

Poll located over in that thar right-hand column. ------>

Historic Heroes, Contemporary Readers - Part I

The Enchanted Faerie is a historical romance, taking place in the late 1600's. I and my fellow Spinners did a bit of research about that period in time--language and clothing, coins and kings. We wanted our details to be as accurate as possible.

Yet one thing had to remain "un-historical". We were writing for a contemporary audience. Therefore, if we wanted our heroes and heroines to appeal to them, we had to step outside of the pure historical framework and give our characters subtlely contemporary characteristics.

It's an interesting balance. Just how "historical" can one get before one loses the audience? Sure, we think about the language we use (and hope we have avoided vocabulary and grammatical structures that didn't exist until the 20th century) but what about the social mores? We pay homage to them, but do not embrace them fully.

Picking on poor Marian: first of all, if the story of Robin Hood (as told by Foz and Dom) had been an accurate historical event, she would not have been offered the choice of spouse, but Sir Edward would most likely have arranged her marriage for her, preferrably with a man who was of their social class or better.

Pre-Crusades, her marriage with Robin, Earl of Loxley might very well have been arranged. He was a wealthy lord with lands and a title.

Post-war, the matter would have been very different indeed. Robin lost his lands and his title. But all's not lost in Nottingham. There's fresh blood in town, a knight by the name of Gisborne. He may be a lord displaced by Norman conquests, but he is rich, he is ambitious, and he is now in possession of Loxley lands. Not only is he single, he's virile. (And probably the only person in RH that we know for sure is getting any action.)

Gisborne would have wanted to marry the ex-Sheriff's daughter. Sir Edward had position, status and respectability. Sir Edward may have accepted Gisborne's offer. While he may have had no family connections, he was strongly connected to Vasey the current Sheriff, was independently wealthy and looked to soon gain the Loxley lands, if not, eventually, the title.

A knight for a knight's daughter? You betcha. So what if Marian didn't love him? Who cares? Among the gentry and nobility marriages were not contracted for love, but as business arrangements, political alliances and social climbing. If it happened to be a love match, that was a bonus.

When we think of marriage, we think of romance, not business. Even Anna Nicole Smith claimed her marriage to gazillionaire J. Howard Marshall was a love match. But in historical times, everyone--including herself--would have accepted for fact that she married him for money and not bat an eye.

Now, in the 20th/21st Century, pretty much most marriages in the English-speaking Western world are contracted primarily because they are love matches (or at least lust matches, some of them). That is how the average contemporary reader of romance thinks. They want the love. They want that deep post-orgasmic satisfaction of HEA.

So, wanna write an historical romance for a contemporary audience? Get your details as accurate as possible, except for one: drop the costume-nazi concept of marriage as business contracts to second tier and be sure to include the oh-so-very-unhistorical idea of love first and foremost.

It is the one blatantly inaccurate thing you readers will completely forgive you.

I wonder... if Alishandra had given Marian an enchanted faerie, would it have led her to Robin or to Guy?


Next time: A Man's Man vs The S.N.A.G. Does Eleanor of Aquitaine have much to answer for?

As Good As Gold

I'm Heidi Kneale and I write the character Daywen Athalia of Beltane.

I'm one of the several Australians here, but I can also claim an American heritage. (American-Australian?)

I'm primarily a Science Fiction and Fantasy writer, but have a soft spot for Romance. I adore cross-genre work, so The Enchanted Faerie suits me rather well. (Now that I think about it, most of my sold fiction does deal with romance as a major theme. Who'd a thunk?) I also write comedy (with a few award-winning musical comedies under my belt), and this streak towards a subtle chuckle is evident in my story, "As Good As Gold".

I am also responsible for Lachlan the Blacksmith, for which I am very sorry (or not).

As EJ has an understandable fondness for Peter Petrelli, I confess my weakness for Guy of Gisborne (in BBC's Robin Hood), played by the gorgeous Richard Armitage, who makes an excellent romantic hero, in nearly everything he does.

It is interesting watching this BBC series. Unlike Heroes, where anything can happen, Robin Hood is constrained by a pre-existing supertext. We all know about the "Rob From the Rich, Give to the Poor", and that Robin Hood's love interest is one Maid Marian.

With the coming of this latest interpretation of the 800-year-old legend, are our women going ga-ga over weedy little Robin? No, their eyes are firmly upon the baddie, evil Sheriff of Nottingham's lieutenant, Guy of Gisborne.

Gisborne has set his sights on Marian, and for the most part, a significant number of fans are willing to support him in his ambition.

Now, had this been a standalone story without a reputation to live up to, the love story could have easily gone Guy's way.

Why?

1. Richard Armitage plays the character very well. And yes, like Peter Petrelli, Guy gets his shirt off--several times--in the second season. (No peaches, though.)
2. Guy is not a cardb0ard character. Sure, he started out that way, but he certainly didn't end up that way. As episodes progressed, we started seeing a softer side to Gisborne. He's actually kind to women (and honours his late mother). Sometimes he hesitates when faced with a moral dilemma. He forgives the fickle Marian (okay, maybe after burning her house down, but he does apologise for that, and other sins, later).
3. There is the genuine potential for him to turn good, or at least, to free himself from the yoke of the Sheriff, and become his own man. There is no evidence that Guy has been mismanaging Locksley in Robin's absence, nor unduly abusing the tenants. Perhaps his sense of nobility will win out in the end. Maybe he'll convince Marian that, as a man of wealth, means and power (not to mention looks gorgeous in black leather), he'd be an ideal husband.

Or maybe not. The legend of Robin Hood just doesn't go that way.

What a shame. Because Robin is not being portrayed as deep a complex character the way Guy of Gisborne is. Robin doesn't struggle with inner demons. Robin doesn't yearn for the heroine. He and his mates run around Sherwood forest having little-boy adventures and getting in and out of scrapes with a light-hearted pluckiness. What on earth does Marian see in him?

Part of writing a romantic hero is making him appealing, and not just in looks. One must consider his character, motivations, and in the case of historical fiction like The Enchanted Faerie, of a certain position and social status.

Money helps.

As does a burning love, or at least, desire, for the heroine.

Can one believe that Marian and Robin are destined for great love? If one ignores the supertext, their relationship is nothing more than a teenage crush. Those of us with romantic hearts know that there must be more to love than the hormonally-spawned adolescent awkwardness these two display.

We want passion. We want desire. We want near-obsession, and a dead certainty that without the other, life is a bleak and desolate landscape.

So, has anyone explained how the faerie works?