For award-winning, internationally-acclaimed author Rosemary Sutcliff (1920-92). By Anthony Lawton: godson, cousin & literary executor. Rosemary Sutcliff wrote historical fiction, children's literature and books, films, TV & radio, including The Eagle of the Ninth, Sword at Sunset, Song for a Dark Queen, The Mark of the Horse Lord, The Silver Branch, The Lantern Bearers, Dawn Wind, Blue Remembered Hills.
In the light of today’s (29th June) entry in Rosemary Sutcliff’s 1988 diary, I went back to her novel The Shining Company. Rosemary, my godmother and cousin, kindly gave me and my family a copy when the US edition was published. She reveals her preference for it in the letter she enclosed (which I had forgotten!)
Meant to say the cover artist was Charles Mikolaycak. As well as SC he did the cover art for the Sunburst editions of “Eagle of the Ninth” (see picture above), “Silver Branch” and “Tristan and Iseult”.
Looking at Mikolaycak’s work, you can clearly see the influence of the artists from the Golden Age of Illustration period.
http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/kerlan/mikolaycak_1.php
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There’s a bit about Walter Crane here, Anthony, with a few pictures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Crane#Paintings_and_illustrations
Here’a a useful site featuring artists associated with the Golden Age of Illustration which might give you an idea of the sort of work they did.
http://spiritoftheages.com/Golden_Age_of_Illustration_Collection.htm
I’m sure some of these illustrations would have been familiar to RS from books she read in her childhood- which brings me back to why she might have found the style of this cover appealing. There were several Sutcliff titles with covers done in a rather similar manner – I remember this one for “The Eagle of the Ninth”
http://www.tower.com/eagle-ninth-rosemary-sutcliff-paperback/wapi/100045947
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The cover is very appealing, isn’t it? It has a retro look reminiscent of work from the Golden Age of Illustration, like that of Walter Crane or John McKirdy Duncan.
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Tell me more of these….
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