From the time he was a very small boy, Howard Pyle (1853-1911) loved pictures, especially the pictures in storybooks. At the age of twenty-one, Pyle began to contribute illustrations and fables to St. Nicholas magazine and later went on to write and illustrate books for children. His first successful title was The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883). Many more books followed, including Pepper and Salt; or, Seasoning for Young Folk, Otto of the Silver Hand, Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates, and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. He also taught illustration at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and later set up his own art school in Wilmington, Delaware.

Stephen Knight is Distinguished Research Professor in English Literature at Cardiff University, Wales. Educated at the University of Oxford and the University of Sydney, he has written widely on medieval and modern literature, especially on the tradition of Robin Hood. His most recent book is Robin Hood: A Mythical Biography.