Through a Dark Mist
1991 novel by Marsha Canham
Through a Dark Mist is a 1991 historical fiction novel by Canadian author Marsha Canham, the first instalment of her "Medieval" trilogy inspired by the Robin Hood legend set in 13th-century England. The story centers on the rivalry and enmity between two brothers each claiming to be one man – Lucien Wardieu, Baron De Gournay. The heroine, Lady Servanne de Briscourt, finds herself caught in the middle when she is betrothed to one but falls in love with the other. The novel was published by Dell Publishing in 1991.
Canham was a lover of the Robin Hood legend since viewing the interpretation seen in the Errol Flynn films. For many years she had desired to write her own version but thought it rather "brazen" to try to rework such a famous story into her own words. Canham only decided to create it after experiencing a recurring dream about a damsel in distress being rescued by two bowmen; a friend convinced her to translate the idea into a book, and after further research, she decided to make Through a Dark Mist about a new invented character who could conceivably have been the father of the famous outlaw.
Plot summary
In the forests of Lincoln, England, the young widow Lady Servanne de Briscourt is journeying to marry her powerful betrothed, Lucien Wardieu, Baron de Gournay. While en route to his castle Bloodmoor Keep, Servanne's entourage is waylaid; she and her old maid are taken captive by forest outlaws led by the Black Wolf of Lincoln, a man claiming to be the true Lucien Wardieu. His associates include kindly former monk Alaric FitzAthelstan, the mischievous dwarf Sparrow, and the secretly female Gillian "Gil" Golden.
The public source identifies “Through a Dark Mist” as 1991 novel by Marsha Canham. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dark, Mist and novel.
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Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16169511. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1991.
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This entry incorporates text from “Through a Dark Mist” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.