Month: February 2011

Rosemary Sutcliff writing about war and violence ‘intense, convincing, apparently unrestrained’

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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.

De Adelaar Van Het Negende | The Eagle of the Ninth | Dutch original edition

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This is the cover of the 1965 Dutch version of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s acclaimed children’s novel The Eagle of the Ninth. Inside are the same beautiful illustrations by C. Walter Hodges that are evident in all the early editions of the novel. This particular illustration is of Marcus and his Legion, ‘The Fourth Gaulish Auxiliaries of the Second Legion’, breaking formation in their battle with a British tribe.

(Adaptation  of earlier post)

‘Vivid and real’ | Rosemary Sutcliff’s writing | Brian Keaney

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Rosemary Sutcliff's famous novel was first published in the UK in 1954
UK hardback 1954 cover

Of Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth, writer  Brian Keaney commented on Goodreads:

First published in 1954, The Eagle Of The Ninth was once to be found in every children’s library in the UK. For the last fifteen or twenty years, however, Rosemary Sutcliff’ has been somewhat forgotten as the solid, carefully written style of her books has given way to fiction that thrusts itself more brazenly upon its readers.

Hearing that there was a film coming out in 2011, I thought I would renew my acquaintance and I am very glad that I did. Based upon the mystery of the fate of the Ninth Legion which marched from its station in what is now York some time around AD 117 and was never seen again, this is the story of a young Roman soldier, the son of a centurion of that ill-fated legion, who sets out some eight years later to discover his father’s fate, it is a terrific read.

Rosemary Sutcliff makes the world of Roman Britain as vivid and real as if it were still standing to this day. Her characters are strongly drawn and her observation of nature is wonderfully well conveyed in tightly-written prose. This is a delight to read and a timeless classic

The Eagle (2011) ” … an anti-Gladiator movie?” | The Warden’s Walk | Movie Review

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The novel The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff, is one of blogger David Urbach’s favourite authors: “I desperately wanted to see this (film The Eagle). Been waiting for it for years”. David has commented previously here on this Rosemary Sutcliff blog, and writes his own intriguing The Wardens Walk, with reviews of fantasy and sci-fi books, movies, and webcomics. He writes a long, thoughtful analysis of The Eagle. He starts his key thoughts section:

In some ways, The Eagle is sort of an anti-Gladiator movie. The scale is realistic and human rather than epic. The locales are tangibly real instead of glitzy CGI. The heroes do not engage in superstar posturing, do not splatter their enemies’ blood at every opportunity, and do value honor and mercy over revenge. It may not be as thrilling or spectacular as Gladiator, but it’s more internally consistent, and, in its own way, wiser and more heartening.

His recommendation is:

Not a perfect movie, but very good and rather unique. For those who like movies about ancient Rome and period adventure stories, yes. Also, if you saw Gladiator (2000) and thought “Well that’s fun, but I wonder what it all really looked like,” then you should see this movie. The Eagle should appeal to movie-lovers who are frustrated with the way modern action movies prefer to ignore story and character in favor of rushing from bloody killing to bloody killing. It’s an exciting adventure that really does care about the characters and their relationship

And after a detailed analysis, in ‘quick conclusion’ he comments:

…  despite some flaws with ‘Shaky Cam’ and a bare-bones script, The Eagle is an exciting and beautiful-looking adventure, with a strong sense of place and themes that are wiser and more unique than are usually found in period Hollywood movies.

Oblicza Kultury – Trylogia Orzeł! – Rosemary Sutcliff

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The Eagle of the Ninth in PolandKolumna ludzi wśród gór posuwała się naprzód jak błyszczący, srebrzysty wąż, cętkowany szkarłatnymi płaszczami i grzebieniami oficerów. (…) Mgła ścieliła się naokoło nich i w końcu ich zasłoniła, jakby przeszli do innego świata.

Dziewiąty Legion wyruszył ku mglistym rubieżom północnej Brytanii i więcej go nie widziano. Cztery tysiące żołnierzy przepadło bez wieści, a razem z nimi ich sztandar.

Marek, rzymski centurion, postanawia zgłębić tajemnicę zaginionego legionu, którym przed laty dowodził jego ojciec. Udaje się więc na śmiertelnie niebezpieczną wyprawę w nieznane strony, zamieszkane przez wrogie plemiona. Nikt nie spodziewa się, że kiedykolwiek wróci…

„Dziewiąty Legion” został okrzyknięty jedną z najwspanialszych książek młodzieżowych XX w. i sprzedał się na świecie w nakładzie przeszło miliona egzemplarzy.
Source: Oblicza Kultury – Trylogia Orzeł! – Rosemary Sutcliff już 23 lutego!.