The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood first published by Scribner's in 1883, and met with immediate success, ushering in a new era of Robin Hood stories. It helped solidify the image of a heroic Robin Hood, which had begun in earlier works such as Walter Scott's 1819 novel "Ivanhoe". In Pyle's wake, Robin Hood has become a staunch philanthropist protecting innocents against increasingly aggressive villains. Along with the publication of the Child Ballads by Francis James Child, which included most of the surviving Robin Hood ballads, Pyle's novel helped increase the popularity of the Robin Hood legend in the United States. "The Merry Adventures" also had
Friar Tuck to a fast food restaurant called "Friar's Fat Boy". This is a parody of the American restaurant chain Bob's Big Boy and features a statue of Friar Tuck outside of the restaurant similar to the famous Big Boy statue from its real life inspiration. The fictional restaurant returns again in the 2005 Activision published videogame "Shrek Super Slam" as a fighting location. The game even features theme music for the restaurant, which plays in the background of the fight. Friar Tuck is called Brother and later Father Tuck in Angus Donald's "Outlaw Chronicles" series - so named as "there were