Category: Influence and Inspiration

Posts at rosemarysutcliff.com about about people — especially authors — who were and are inspired and/or influenced by eminent writer Rosemary Sutcliff

Sword in the Circle, Arthurian book by Rosemary Sutcliff, “pretty much formed” the character of A Book Worm blogger

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US Rosemary Sutcliff The Sword and the Circle 1994

The author of the blog  A Book Worm, has posted at the You Write tab on this blog:

My first Sutcliff book was The Sword in the Circle, which I was given while on holiday in Tintagel back in 1985. I was four and it was my first ‘grown-up’ book. I loved it then and love it still. For a decade or so I reread it and the other books that make up the Arthur trilogy, every couple of months.

I loved all of the Sutcliff books I came across but it was this one that pretty much formed much of my character. I still re-read the book from time to time, and it still has the same impact on me now as it did back when I was younger. I will be forever grateful to Rosemary Sutcliff for writing such amazing books. In fact there is a special thank you to here on my blog.

Now might have to just dig out my copy of Blood Feud, haven’t read that one in a while……

Rosemary Sutcliff historical and children’s book and novel Blood Feud cover

That’s not a sand-castle, I’m building a temple to Mithras!

Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Rosemary Sutcliff relished the imagination and creativity of children, as well as the responses of readers (young and old)  to her novels and stories. Brian Alderson, former Children’s Books Editor of The Times, once recalled in an article in Books for Keeps an anecdote which dates from some time after the publication of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. Rosemary recounted to a ‘bevy of librarians’:

‘That’s not a sand-castle,’ said the busy child on the beach, ‘I’m building a temple to Mithras’! Read More »

Self-published science fiction and fantasy writer Rabia Gale influenced as child by historical novelist Rosemary Sutcliff

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

Rabia Gale, who grew up in Pakistan, recently published Shattered:Broken Fairy Tales and spoke at Siri Paulson’s blog of “the three authors whose works influenced me the most as a child”. One was Rosemary Sutcliff; all were  British; perhaps, she mused, because her “biggest source of books was the subscription library run by the British Council”.

Sutcliff is best known for her historical fiction set in Roman Britain. Her protagonists are young soldiers who make heartbreaking decisions in the face of the tide of history, whether it is the inevitable conquest of Britain by the Romans or the subsequent  onslaught of the Anglo-Saxons. Sutcliff is a master at evoking the time and place of her stories. From her, I learned how powerful and poignant a small moment can be, whether it is a woman combing sparks out of her hair, a man crushing a singed moth between his fingers, or a deserter setting ablaze the fires of a lighthouse one last time as Rome abandons Britain.

Source: British Authors I Love | Siri Paulson’s Blog

Rosemary Sutcliff’s Warrior Scarlet is My Favourite Book | Australian author Nansi Kunze

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Rosemary Sutcliff's Warrior Scarlet hardback coverAustralian writer Nansi Kunze wrote at Michael Pryor’s blog about her “favourite book”, Rosemary Sutcliff’s Warrior Scarlet. The author of Dangerously Placed (‘Can a hippy chick, a goth girl in a lab coat and two guys with a taste for blowing things up really help solve the mystery – before Alex becomes the next victim?’) and Mishaps (‘Why does Pen’s name strike terror into the heart of pop princess Sereena? And just how far will Pen go to get what she deserves?’), grew up in both Australia and the UK.

I think I must have been ten when I began to read Rosemary Sutcliff’s books. It was a strange time for me – a confusing and somewhat lonely one. My parents had split up, and we had gone back to England, leaving my friends, my school and the various treasures a ten-year-old deems precious behind in Australia. Read More »