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

Rosemary Sutcliff’s books a “phenomenal introduction to literature”

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Katie A Green commented on an internet review of  The Eagle:

I’ll admit, I started loathing this film from first glance at movie-image re-printed books, as a from-early-childhood lover of the novel (and no great Tatum enthusiast). Then I saw it.

And loved it for the exact same reasons you’ve described: the rather refreshing old-fashioned approach, as well as the complete lack of overwrought CGI, and the way the muddy landscape is truly a character force of its own. It was a much more damp and rather less romantic world than Gladiator portrayed, I felt. I ended up seeing it three times– not because it was the Best Movie Ever, but because for me the “escape” into a completely raw and physical world (where relationships are defined by touch and strife and distance) was as deeply refreshing for me the Pandora of Avatar was for larger audiences …
Source: The Eagle (review) | MaryAnn Johanson’s FlickFilosopher.com.

I asked Katie if I could reproduce the comment above, and as well as saying yes – as you can see – she wrote:

I’ve been to this site a few times, in fact. Her books were not only a phenomenal introduction to literature for me (I read The Eagle of the Ninth when I was eleven), but shaped my later interests and academic paths. I read Y Goddin and studied Anglo-Saxon Literature at Oxford – because of The Shining Company. Because of Sun Horse Moon Horse, Outcast, The Lantern Bearers – the list goes on.

More than anything, I hope the motion picture brings some of her out of print books back into print. It is the rare writer, these days, who bring Sutcliff’s beautiful prose and deep comprehension of human nature to “children’s” literature.

We will be working hard to encourage some of those book back into print. I will keep you posted here!

Readers on Rosemary Sutcliff as a ‘friend’

Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Comments about Rosemary Sutcliff from facebook

Manda Scott in The Independent newspaper on the ‘power and pleasure of epic fiction’

Anthony LawtonLeave a comment

Anne, a regular reader and commenter of this blog, as well as Google, has pointed me towards n a fascinating article which builds upon the impact on her of the work of Rosemary Sutcliff,  Manda Scott (who has been hailed by The Times as ‘one of Britain’s most important crime writers’; and who like Rosemary Sutcliff has written of Romans and Boudica) reflects in The Independent newspaper on the ‘power and pleasure of epic fiction’.

I was eight years old when I read The Eagle of the Ninth, but it opened doors that have never closed. I was captivated not so much by Marcus Aquila and his quest for the lost eagle of his father’s legion, but by Esca, the captured Briton, and the barbarian tribes that lived north of Hadrian’s Wall. They were wild, savage and magical; they spoke to seals, to horses, to hounds and conducted shamanic ceremonies that were closed to outsiders. I was an outsider and hated being so.

Source: Rome recast for today as Eagle of the Ninth is adapted for big screen | The Independent.

Rosemary Sutcliff inspired Bob Williams-Findlay at school

Anthony Lawton4 Comments

Rosemary Sutcliff inspired  Bob Williams-Findlay, who is himself a writer, as he explains in a brief but touching post he left today :

I was a teenager when I read The Eagle Of The Ninth and it inspired me to both read and write. I told my teacher I wanted to be a writer, but being a disabled person, I doubted I would succeed. Not too long after the school had a visitor, it was Rosemary. I had my answer and I still have the passion for writing. In my opinion Rosemary is up there with the best.

Rosemary Sutcliff and World Book Day

Anthony Lawton3 Comments

World Book Day logoRosemary Sutcliff, who sadly died in 1992, would surely have supported World Book Day, which is today March 5th; and World Book Night. In the UK, a survey purports to reveal teenagers’  favourite children’s books and favourite characters now and in the past. Unless it is a proofing error, clearly the poll is seriously flawed because Rosemary does not feature! SO, to mark World Book Day maybe you regular readers of this blog, indeed whoever you are if you find your way here, would like to put matters right and ‘comment’ here at this post about why you love Rosemary Sutcliff’s writing, your favourite Rosemary Sutcliff book, and your favourite character of hers, and why?