Month: March 2014

Rosemary Sutcliff could not read until she was ten or eleven years old

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

Rosemary Sutcliff could not read until she was ten or eleven years old. Certainly aged nine she saw no point!

My mother in her own splendidly unorthodox fashion, taught me at home, chiefly by reading to me. King Arthur and Robin Hood, myths and legends of the classical world, The Wind in the Willows, The Tailor of Gloucester, Treasure Island, Nicholas Nickleby, Kim, Puck of Pook’s Hill, and Little Women, all at more or less the same time. The result was that at the age of nine I was happily at home with a rich and somewhat indigestible stir about of literature, but was not yet able to read to myself. Why, after all, read to yourself when you can get somebody else to read to you?

Historical novelist Rosemary Sutcliff's mother Nessie Lawton 

Source: Donald R. Gallo (1990) Speaking for Ourselves: Autobiographical Sketches by Notable Authors of Books for Young Adults. National Council of Teachers of English.

Dawn Wind (by historical novelist and children’s writer Rosemary Sutcliff) |Reprint reviewed in Historical Novels Review

Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Over at Twitter I am tracking down people who can say #Ireadsutcliff , and their favourite(s). Merrian Weymouth in Australia favours —possibly— Dawn Wind, which was recently reprinted. The Historical Novel Society had this to say of it:

First published in 1961, this reprint keeps its original charm by reproducing the black and white illustrations by Charles Keeping. Dawn Wind represents historical fiction at its best. It was written by an author who delighted readers with her detailed and atmospheric stories. It is equally suitable for both young adult and adult readers. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

The novel starts:

The first paragraph of Rosemary Sutcliff’s Dawn Wind

Might we have had a Rosemary Sutcliff-reading England football captain ten years ago?

Image Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Sol Campbell, in the media today for his autobiography-claim that he might have been England football captain for ten years if he were white, ten years ago recommended Rosemary Sutcliff’s Beowulf. He and other stars of the English Premier League promoted a reading list for children, to try to harness the  power of football to encourage families to […]

The Captive Reader finally finishes reading Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

After “dragging it out as long as (she) could  Claire (The Captive Reader)  has blogged that she has “finally finished reading Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff”.  She writes that “Sutcliff’s memoir of her childhood and early adulthood is delightfully-written but cruelly slim.  I rationed myself, reading only little bits at a time, trying to savour the treat as long as possible”. She goes on:

The danger of childhood memoirs is always that they might descend into that treacly swamp of sentimentality that can only leave the reader feeling queasy and the author, one hopes, embarrassed.  This is decidedly not one of those memoirs.  Sutcliff is affectionate in her remembrances but never boringly nostalgic for days gone by or pitying for the circumstances she faced.  She has a marvellous sense of humour and wonderful eye for detailing, making the reader feel part of the episodes she shares with us.

It was a delight to be reminded of specific passages, such as this one about Rosemary not learning to read and not wanting to (Rosemary Sutcliff could not read until she was about ten):

…I still had my inability to read.  My father now joined the battle, and had small serious talks with me.

‘When you can read to yourself, old girl, you will find a whole new world opening up to you.’

‘Yes, Daddy,’ said I.  Polite but unconvinced.

He resorted to bribery.  I longed to model things.  He bought me a box of ‘Barbola’ modelling clay with all its accompanying paraphernalia, and promised me I should have it when I could read.

‘You can’t go on like this for ever!’ he said.

‘No, Daddy,’ I agreed.  I had every intention of going on like it for ever.

‘Don’t say “No, Daddy”.’

‘No, Daddy.’

The full, enjoyable post is here at The Captive Reader

Banner from The Captive Reader blog