Month: March 2014

Rosemary Sutcliff’s orphans Beric, Jestyn, Randall, Hugh not for Katherine Rundell’s top 10 orphans in children’s books

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

  Rosemary Sutcliff historical and children’s book and novel Blood Feud coverOutcast by Rosemary Sutcliff hardback coverKnight's Fee IllustrationBrother Dusty Feet historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff original UK cover

Sadly (and perhaps remissly) Katherine Rundell – winner of the Blue Peter book award 2014 for best story – did not include any of Rosemary Sutcliff’s characters in her recent ’10 of the best orphans’ at The Guardian’s children’s books site. She might have chosen Beric in Outcast, Jestyn in Blood Feud, Randall the dog-boy in Knight’s Fee, Hugh Copplestone in Brother Dusty-Feet. (And what are the  others I have forgotten?).

She chose:

  1. Mowgli, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
  2. Cinderella
  3. Cat Chant, Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
  4. Anne, Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery
  5.  Alex Rider, Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
  6. Harry, Harry Potter by JK Rowling
  7.  Lyra, His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
  8. Sophie, The BFG by Roald Dahl
  9. Peter, Peter Pan by J M Barrie
  10. The Fossil Sisters, Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

Source: Katherine Rundell’s Top 10 Orphans

The Eagle (of the Ninth) | A celts-and-centurions film?

Anthony Lawton4 Comments

Tahar Rahim as a prince of The Seal People in The Eagle film 2011

There is a  brief mention of The Eagle film from Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth in an article by Jonathan Romney about actor Tahar Rahim who played The Seal Prince.

Strangest of all was the Celts-and-Centurions swashbuckler The Eagle, for British director Kevin Macdonald. Rahim played the Seal Prince—shaven-headed, covered from head to foot in loam, and speaking ancient Gaelic.

Prompted by Feona Beoney  on Twitter, I am much taken with the new label ‘celts-and-centurion swashbuckler’, especially the celts-and-centurion phrase (although ‘swashbuckler’ is perhaps not right, since it reeks of pirates and the sea!). Better than sword(s) and sandal.

The Eagle: Poster of the film of Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth

Source: Tahar Rahim: ‘I’ve always refused to play terrorists’ | The Observer.

The Witch’s Brat by Rosemary Sutcliff | One of 10 must-read children’s books | Telegraph

Anthony Lawton4 Comments

To mark World Book Day 2014 yesterday, Richard Davies of AbeBooks.co.uk chose ten ‘must-read’ children’s classics that can be bought secondhand for less than £1 each. One was The Witch’s Brat by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Famous for her historical fiction and retelling or myths and legends, Sutcliff transports readers to 12th century England in The Witch’s Brat, the tale of Lovel the outcast.

Lovel, the crippled hero of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s The Witch’s Brat, is driven from his village in a shower of stones after his grandmother’s death. (The) novel (is) … crammed with careful period detail and research, the painstaking catalogues of herb-lore brought grippingly to life by the characters to whom they bring such danger.

Writing for The Guardian in 2011 Imogen Russell Williams explored the enchantments of witch fiction. Of The Witch’s Brat  she wrote:

 … Lovel, the crippled hero of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Witch’s Brat, is driven from his village in a shower of stones after his grandmother’s death.  Both novels are crammed with careful period detail and research, the painstaking catalogues of herb-lore brought grippingly to life by the characters to whom they bring such danger.

The other titles in the top ten were: Read More »