… the vital spark of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s books, from The Eagle of the Ninth onwards, is the total imaginative penetration of the historical material. The books seem to be written from the inside, so that the reader’s identification with the chief character carries him further into the felt life of the time than many other books which are made up of the skilful but detached articulation of the fruits of research. One feels that Rosemary Sutcliff is less concerned to write historical narrative than to reconstruct, in the child’s response to her creative imagination, a strong feeling for and involvement with the people of this mist-bound, huddling, winter-dark island at the periods when the invaders came, Romans, Saxons, Norsemen.
This magic has certain recognizable elements; Read More »
Month: February 2011
Rosemary Sutcliff once voted Top Twenty 20th Century authors
Reviewing past posts, I am reminded that thirty years ago in 1981, British publishers announced their choices for the top 20 (then) living British writers. Rosemary Sutcliff was among them. At the time, the chairman of the selectors said:
In a storehouse so rich, there are far more than twenty good , even great, writers. What we have tried to do is select authors whose record of publication has provided them with critical acclaim and public recognition.
She ‘beat’ onto the list such distinguished people (who were not in the top 20) as Robert Graves (the poet and novelist), J.B. Priestley (who had a 60-year literary career), Alan Sillitoe, Kingsley Amis, Muriel Spark, Dick Francis and Daphne du Maurier. Lord Snowdon took a picture which for copyright reasons I cannot post. I must track down the original list (can anyone help?).
Rosemary Sutcliff children’s book classic The Eagle of the Ninth reviewed by Brian Alderson
Rosemary Sutcliff, was provided by the time when the Roman Empire was crumbling at the edges with (says critic and children’s book expert Brian Alderson):
a complex of subjects of great dramatic potential: civilising discipline set against tribal barbarities, the servants of Empire with an allegiance also to a homeland within its borders, the selfless devotion, on either side of the equation, to causes and to overarching human relationships (and even those between man and beast) … Read More »
Japanese film maker Hayao Miyazaki loves Rosemary Sutcliff books
Rosemary Sutcliff‘s books are loved by Hayao Miyazaki, who is one of Japan’s foremost living fantasy film-makers. In the 1980s and 90s his animations were huge hits at the Japanese box-office. Princess Mononoke was the biggest-earning Japanese film ever. Miyazaki is on record as a fan of the historical novels of Rosemary Sutcliff. Miyazaki’s films have been noted for their strong, self-reliant heroines, so I dream of him adapting Song for a Dark Queen!
Book Awards won by Rosemary Sutcliff
I am trying to make accurate my list of all book awards Rosemary Sutcliff was given or nominated for. This is my summary so far: can readers help me expand and improve it?
- 1959: The Carnegie Medal, The Lantern Bearers
- 1968: The Hans Christian Andersen Award, nominated
- 1971: Zilveren Griffel – The Silver Pencil, in Holland
- 1972: The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Tristan and Iseult
- 1974: The Hans Christian Andersen Award, highly commended
- 1978: The Other Award, Song for a Dark Queen (A children’s book award focusing on anti-sexist, anti-racist titles in the UK).
- 1985: The Phoenix Award, The Mark of the Horse Lord
- 2010: The Phoenix Award, The Shining Company
ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF (1920-92) 