Maid Marian

Maid Marian,
a medieval romance by Peacock largely written 1819 , published 1822 . It features Robin Hood , Maid Marian , Friar Tuck , and Prince John , while lampooning institutions such as the monarchy and the Church in the post-Napoleonic era. The irreverent treatment of Prince John's government also mocks the idealized medievalism newly fashionable among conservative propagandists, artists, and historians. Peacock wrote Maid Marian at a time when he had fallen under the spell of the new Italian opera of Rossini , Bellini , and Donizetti . Many scenes already seem cast as duets or quartets, and the book was later adapted as a popular operetta.