I started writing a review of this retelling of the sad, beautiful story of Tristan and Iseult. And then the review turned into my own retelling. And then it turned into something that I didn't feel quite up to sharing with the world. And so. If you need the bare outlines of the story, here it is...
To be honest, I had high expectations of this, it being written by Rosemary Sutcliffe, but I was somewhat disappointed. One of my favourite books of all time, since childhood, is her re-telling of Tristan and Iseult. I also loved her take on the Arthurian legend. If anyone can put flesh on the bo...
Sutcliff essentially doing in short story what she has done with some of her books, create a family with some sort of family talisman that is passed from generation to generation, and via the family members who now possess the item, tell the tale of Britain in that time. In this case, the talisma...
The Eagle of the Ninth is a story that plods its way through a beautifully detailed setting.Rosemary Sutcliff found her inspiration for The Eagle of the Ninth in two real stories of Roman Britain – one, the legendary (and somewhat historically disputed) disappearance of the Ninth Legion after it ...
This book is relatively short, just 90 pages long. It re-tells the story of Beowulf, a character in the oldest written tale we have, dating back to middle Saxon times. The original story is written in the form of an epic poem of 3182 lines, and was thought to have been first written down in the 8...
SWORD AT SUNSET BY ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF: The late Rosemary Sutcliff was a prolific writer from the 1950s through the 1970s, publishing a number of children's books, including the Eagle of the Ninth series and a series of Arthurian novels, as well as over twenty other children's books on historical s...
This is the story of Drem, a boy of the Bronze Age, who wishes to take his Warrior Scarlet, the kilt that signifies that he is a full, adult member of the Tribe. Alas, he has a withered right arm, so the oddas are against him.Warrior Scarlet is, like most of Rosemary Stucliff's books, beautifull...
WHOEVER HE WAS--WHATEVER HE WAS--SHE WAS ON HIS SIDE!Twelve-year-old Damaris is wise for her years, since she has been raised along the southern English coast where smugglers make frequent runs. She knows not to ask certain questions which will embarrass her father, when she can use her eyes and ...
SHACKLED BY HIS TRAGIC PAST--SHUNNED BY ANCIENT SOCIETYCulture-clash in Roman Britain is presented in an unbiased manner for both Celts (or Picts, judging from the facial tattoes) and Romans in this interesting YA novel. Sutcliff's predilection for ancient times and primitive civilizations result...
It's very noticeable, after reading a few of Rosemary Sutcliff's books in close succession, how her protagonists are never the 'strong' ones. In Song For A Dark Queen, it's narrated by the queen's harper, not one of her warriors or a member of her family or the queen herself. And within the conte...
MAKING A SONG FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!It is 600 AD in Britain, the dawn of the Dark Ages, when the Roman presence was but a memory generations back--an almost wistful time preserved in odd names and stone ruins. Saxon invaders from across the ocean have been steadily encroaching on Celtic Lands--spr...
I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did -- after all, it isn't about Romans, and clearly I like the ones about Romans best -- but it is, surprisingly, really really good, and I will happily recommend it to anyone who wants a YA book about vikings.It's the tale of Jestyn Englishman, a...
I was rooting around my shelves and discovered one lurking in the layer at the back that I'd totally forgotten - Brother Dusty-Feet, by Rosemary Sutcliffe. I think it must have 'fallen off' my old bookshelves into my suitcase when I was visiting my parents a few years back, and I intended to re-r...
If fairy tales were historically accurate, they would read like Dawn Wind. Once upon a time during the Saxon conquest of Britain, there was a boy named Owain who, along with a war hound, was the sole survivor of the battle of Aquae Sulis. While searching for any remnant of the British host, he di...
One of Sutcliff's "earlier kinds" of stories--a small, quiet story with no action and a lot of sense of place, this book is aimed at younger readers than some of Sutcliff's more popular books. The protagonist, Lovel, is disabled and a healer, which makes him not unusual for a Sutcliff protagonist...
Here I am again, reviewing a book written before I was born. This book was another of my finds via 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. [NB: I continue to assume that I am not yet grown up, let alone old, despite evidence suggesting otherwise]. I find that I have read many of ...
by Rosemary Sutcliff Well, Rosemary Sutcliff did it again. In her marvellous way, she spun a beautiful and tragic story out of a fairly obscure historical event. In this case it was the life of John Graham of Claverhouse, also known as Bonnie Dundee. He was Scottish and loyal to James II and ...
