Will in Scarlet is a 2013 retelling of the Robin Hood mythos by Matthew Cody. William, heir to Shackley House, has his life upended when he learned that his father, Lord Shackley, has been captured alongside King Richard during the Crusades. His life is further upended when the Sheriff, a former family friend, follows the path of political expediency, and sides with Prince John and Sir Guy of Gisbourne when the Shackley family refuses to acknowledge Prince John as the rightful ruler, and the ensuing fracas results in the death of his uncle, regent to the lordship. In the course of fleeing, Will is accosted by the "Merry Men" of Sherwood Forest, a group of outlaws, and joins them for survival, eventually allying with Little John, Much, and drunkard Rob, three of the more decent of the outlaws, plotting his revenge against the Sheriff and Sir Guy, taking up the name of Will Scarlet. In the course of attempting his revenge, he recognizes his noble obligation to his people, he starts directing this much smaller band into a more heroic pursuit of robbing the rich to feed the poor, all the while seeking his revenge on Sir Guy.
This novel exhibits the following tropes:
- Actually, That's My Assistant: When Guy of Gisbourne and a crony arrive at the Shackley estate, Will is unimpressed, mocking how Guy is bossing people around like a complete Upper-Class Twit and Fat Idiot while letting his imposing bodyguard glare at people. Will's dismissive feelings quickly change when he's told that Guy is the man he took for a brooding bodyguard and the Upper-Class Twit (a man known as the master of bribes) is the lackey.
- Adaptation Personality Change:
- The Sheriff is less villainous than most adaptations, a commoner who knows that his only chance for survival is to back the current power. He countenances the Merry Man and other bandits as long as they avoid killing people in the forest, and avoid people who have paid protection fees. When Sir Guy begins sacking the surrounding farms, he lays siege to the castle to avoid further depredation.
- Much is a much more cynical, and less cheerful, character than in the adaptations, courtesy of having to disguise herself as a boy to survive.
- Rob, eventually Robin Hood, is a drunkard who only becomes heroic after Will's example. His backstory is that of a common portrayal of Alan O'Dale as the common man forbidden to marry his higher-born love, except that in this case he failed, which drove him to drink.
- In the myths, Gilbert White Hands becomes a loyal member of Robin Hood's Merry Men after they engage in some Friendly Rivalry during an archery contest. Here, he's the Hero's Evil Predecessor.
- Cool Uncle: In the first act of the Robin Hood re-imagining, Geoff Shackley serves as regent of the family estate and the guardian of his nephew Will while his brother is off fighting in The Crusades. Geoff is a decent enough Parental Substitute and has no desire to steal his nephew's inheritance. Instead, he longs for the days when Will's father will make it home safely so he can relinquish his duties as regent and spend more time hunting. Sadly, he finds out the hard way that Anyone Can Die when the family falls out of favor with the Big Bad.
- Do Not Go Gentle: Cruel-hearted scumbag he may be, the witnesses to Gilbert's death respectfully agree that he went down fighting hard against Guy's men.
- The Dreaded:
- Sir Guy of Gisbourne's thuggish appearance is quite unnerving and his reputation for cruelty makes this impression even worse.
Sheriff of Nottingham: That lord is named Sir Guy of Gisbourne, the Horse Knight. A name that in certain parts of the kingdom inspires worry. In the rest, fear.- Bandit chieftain Tom Crooked is a brutal sadist who is known for rarely leaving any survivors of his attacks. He's also willing to act as a mercenary and harm peasants for Guy.
- Killed Offscreen:
- Guy's master of bribes suffers from an abrupt Sickbed Slaying as a Pretext for War, well away from any point-of-view character.
- Hugo Blunt, the Shackley's steward, helps Will escape when Guy of Gisbourne turns on the Shackley's. The next chapter features Will alone and mentions that Hugo was killed in the interlude between chapters.
- Gilbert, the original leader of the outlaws, is found dead in the aftermath of a raid on the outlaws' camp that Will and Much were absent for.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The first family to benefit from Rob and Will's Just Like Robin Hood methods have their house burned down (not while they're inside it) after their Suspicious Spending alerts the authorities to the fact that they have stolen money. Will feels pretty guilty when he finds out.
- Protection Racket: Later in the book, it becomes evident that the Sheriff has allowed the outlaws to live in Sherwood Forest with a tacit agreement that they will avoid killing people, and will not target the people who've paid him protection money. Will and his band are unaware of this arrangement, and disrupt the scheme.
- Old Soldier: Sir Osbert is about sixty, has served the Shackleys since he was Will's age, and is still eager for a fight against people like Guy of Gisbourne. The family members like to joke about just how long Osbert's been a soldier.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: The ending reveals that Mark Brewer, the Sheriff of Nottingham, knows the true identity of Robin Hood's companion Will Scarlet due to a confession from a tortured member of the Merry Men. Will is unaware that Brewer knows about the confession, and wrongfully assumes his identity is safe. However, Brewer doesn't tell anyone due to his former friendship with Will, which also keeps him from posting a reward for Will's death of capture.
- Slouch of Villainy: Tom Crooked's nickname comes from his ruthless and untrustworthy nature, but when John comments that Crooked didn't get his nickname because of his bad posture, he says it in a way indicating that Crooked does, in fact, have bad posture.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Much is the miller's daughter, named as such by her father since, from his (joking) perspective, a female child is worth "nothing much".
