The daughter of the House of Loughsley has always tried to do the right thing. Her older brother John is the heir: he takes advantage of his father's aging mind and his sister's upbringing to manipulate, steal, and use the people under his care. Silvie of Loughsley and her best friend Bird, Robert Falconer, escape John's bullying and increasing torture for the forest.
John uses his sister as a pawn and when he tries to sell her off in a humiliating replay of her court debut Silvie and Bird make their temporary forest camp a permanent home. Along the way, they meet Little Jane: a girl who has been expelled from her home after being found pregnant. Jane cannot imagine a future of shame at this child forced upon her and she tries to kill herself - only to be stopped by Silvie and Bird.
The trio becomes the basis of a revolution fighting against John of Loughsley and his bullies as they suck the life from Sylvie's home and people. Sylvie knows if she returns to John's care and submits to his demands his abuse the people dependent on the lords of Loughsley will not change. She questions herself, but with Bird's encouragement takes a stand against her brother's established authority. As John and his cohort try to stop her, Sylvie and her growing band in the forest protect the common people.
Cornwell's Robin Hood retelling swaps the key characters' gender to tell the story of Loughsley in a new way. Jane is not the only character who faces suicide and even Sylvie faces the fear of socially inappropriate and unwanted advances. The Forest Queen incorporates the harsh realities of medieval life and power dynamics in a quick read for mature readers.
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