Robin Hood in popular culture Robin Hood novel, standing at almost half-a-million words, is Pierce Egan the Younger's "Robin Hood and Little John; or, The Merrie Men of Sherwood Forest" (serialised 1838-1840). As in "Ivanhoe", Robin is a Saxon, although he is not actually outlawed in the novel until nearly the end of the first book. The novel traces Robin's life from birth to death. Egan's text was translated into two French books, "Le prince des voleurs (The Prince of Thieves)," and "Robin Hood le proscrit (Robin Hood the Outlaw)", by Alexandre Dumas, between 1863–64. Dumas' works were then retranslated back into English by Alfred
Robin Hood in some later stories as an alias of Marian. The earliest preserved script of a Robin Hood play is the fragmentary "Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham" This apparently dates to the 1470s and circumstantial evidence suggests it was probably performed at the household of Sir John Paston. This fragment appears to tell the story of Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne. There is also an early playtext appended to a 1560 printed edition of the Gest. This includes a dramatic version of the story of Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar and a version of the first part