Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow illustrated Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow: A Tale of Two Roses is set during the Wars of the Roses (1453-1487). These were a series of civil wars between the houses of Lancaster and York who were fighting for the English throne. It is both a historical adventure novel and a romance novel. It first appeared as a serial in 1883 with the subtitle "A Tale of Tunstall Forest". The Paston Letters were Stevenson's main literary source for The Black Arrow.