Rosemary Sutcliff‘s writing about violence and war, described by The Independent (UK) newspaper obituary on her death in 1992:

…  Sutcliff had an exceptional ability to describe the complexity of army strategies and the details of combat as well as to capture the emotions of fighting on any scale. Her war scenes are intense, convincing and apparently unrestrained, walking a delicate tightrope which prevents them from lapsing into the bloodthirsty. Sutcliff was never sadistic or cruel. She did not whitewash war or violence, but she did not relish it either. She recognised it as part and parcel of our past.

• Full text of obituary of Rosemary Sutcliff here