The spellbinding storytelling in the historical novels of Rosemary Sutcliff

Margaret Meek paid tribute to Rosemary Sutcliff in her 70th year with an insightful reflection on her personality and her work. (Margaret Meek wrote a monograph about Rosemary Sutcliff in the 1960s).

The sharing of storytelling that writers do with readers is the dialogue of imagination. Rosemary Sutcliff lives, grows and acts and suffers in her stories. The worlds created in her imagination have had to stand in for the world of much everyday actuality. From her therefore we can learn what the imagination does, and how it allows us all to explore what’s possible, the realm of virtual experience. Read More »

Lesser pleasures of parenthood

Fugitive Ink blog by Barendina Smedley  tackles issues of politics, art and literature “from an unapologetically idiosyncratic, vaguely High Tory perspective.”

Amongst the lesser pleasures of parenthood should be numbered the opportunity, not only to re-visit the favourite books of one’s own early childhood  … but also … the opportunity to encounter as an adult the children’s books one missed in childhood. Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth very much a case in point.

She goes on to write a long, fascinating piece about her reading of the novel – but I would have called this one of the greater pleasures of parenthood!

… nothing worth reporting… (Diary, 30/4/88)

April 30th Saturday. Nothing worth reporting

… the soft ‘Growingrain’ will be good for the gardens … (Diary, 29/4/88)

April 29th Friday. Jeremy rang up last night and is coming to see us on Sunday. Very grey and dreary day such as we haven’t had in quite a while, but the soft “Growingrain” will be good for the gardens. Feeling very dozy all day and swimmingheaded. But have had a couple of good ideas for Catraeth, and got a bit of work done.

© Anthony Lawton 2012

(Revised 30/4/2012, replacing my ?Catharts with suggested-in-comments Catraeth)

… got a new TV installed … (Diary, 28/4/88)

April 28th Thursday. Got a new TV installed, just a bit strange with the controls, but it certainly gives a very good picture.

© Anthony Lawton 2012