Category: Warrior Scarlet

Rosemary Sutcliff and the South Downs

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Award winning children’s novelist Rosemary Sutcliff lived most of her life in Sussex. Some of her stories are set in the county and mention the South Downs, a large protected area of Sussex countryside. I discovered that she is in the ‘featured writers’ section of www.southdownsonline.org, along with H.G Wells, Rudyard Kipling and Virginia Woolf.

For much of her adult life she lived in Walberton. The remains of Iron Age forts, Roman villas and Norman castles in the county inspired her to set many of her stories in Sussex.

Warrior Scarlet is set in the Iron Age. Some of the action takes place near Cissbury Ring. At one point, the hero, Drem, fails his test to become a warrior and is sent off to be a shepherd. Sheep on the Downs were looked after in a very similar way until about 100 years or so ago. The South Downs Society paid for the restoration of a traditional wheeled shepherd’s hut in 1980 and for a shepherd’s room in 1989, both at the Weald and Downland Museum.

In The Witch’s Brat the hero is thrown out of his tribe and walks along the South Downs to Winchester. Here he finds shelter in the New Minster, better known as Winchester Cathedral. He ends up in London where he helps with the setting up of St. Bartholomew’s hospital.

Rosemary Sutcliff a favourite author of Philip Reeve

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

The Eagle of the Ninth and Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff are two of best-selling author and illustrator Philip Reeve‘s favourite books, as recounted  on his own website.

… or I could have chosen Knight’s Fee, or The Lantern Bearers, or Sun-horse, Moon-horse, or Frontier Wolf…  Rosemary Sutcliff is one of my favourite children’s authors, and I doubt she ever wrote a bad book, but these were the two I liked best when I was growing up. Read More »

Rosemary Sutcliff children’s book Warrior Scarlet loved by Australian writer C C Humphreys

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

Rosemary Sutcliff, writer of children’s fiction, is named by C.C. Humphreys, author of Vlad: The Last Confession, and several historical novels, as his favourite author. Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia about his favourite books, he listed the classic historical novel Warrior Scarlet and said:Read More »

Science fiction writer Philip Reeve recommends Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth and Warrior Scarlet

Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Philip Reeve fears that the ‘beautiful’ writing of historical novelist Rosemary Sutcliff is in danger of being forgotten. Author of The  Mortal Engines Quartet (someone once called it ‘alternative history’ not ‘science fiction’) and the Larklight in 2009, Reeve wrote in The Daily Telegraph of his fears.

With so many good new books for children being published all the time, I sometimes fear that the classics of my childhood are in danger of being forgotten. So I’d recommend Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novels, particularly Warrior Scarlet and The Eagle of the Ninth – cracking adventures, beautifully written, filled with a profound sense of the British landscape and its past.

According to the curious and enchanting Larklight website,:

Mr Philip Reeve was born and raised in the bustling seaside slum of Brighton. Like all residents of that vile town he fled as soon as he was able, and now lives in a secluded cottage on Dartmoor, where frequent encounters with gigantic house spiders and fruitless efforts to preserve his tweed and serge against the voracious moth have given Mr Reeve a deep understanding of Art Mumby’s plight. He is the author of the bestselling Mortal Engines quartet.

  • For summary of the stories of Warrior Scarlet and The Eagle of the Ninth see here

Source: The Daily Telegraph , July 4, 2009 ; The Guardian, September 30, 2006 Saturday Review p20.

Rosemary Sutcliff obituary (1920-1992) | The Independent newspaper reviews Rosemary Sutcliff life and work

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

Rosemary Sutcliff’s novels ‘set a new standard for children’s historical fiction because of their insight, passion and commitment’ said The Independent in its obituary in 1992 about the famous chidren’s author. Mind you, she wrote for adults too and some  books were marketed as adult historical fiction (like Sword at Sunset which topped the bestseller lists).Read More »