Category: Readers

Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Mark of the Horse Lord loved by Cornish writer Anna Maria Murphy

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

I discovered in 2010 that renowned Cornish writer Anna Maria Murphy was a great fan of  Rosemary Sutcliff, author of children’s books and historical fiction. Anna writes for  Theatre, as well as radio.

As a girl and a young woman, Rosemary Sutcliff was my absolute favourite writer and The Mark Of The Horse Lord one of my favourite books of all time. She was unlike any other writer for young people … ahead of her time by generations. She was one of the reasons I wanted to write as a young person … I always wanted to meet her … I wrote to her once, and she sent a lovely reply, but I lost the letter many years ago.

Anna began to write for theatre to avoid playing a dog! Her writing for Kneehigh has included ‘Don John’, ‘The Bacchae’, ‘The Red Shoes’, ‘Tristan & Yseult’, ‘Skulduggery’, ‘Doubtful Island’ ‘Ghost Nets’, ‘Women Who Threw the Day Away’, ‘Telling Tales’, ‘Wild Bride’ (The Shamans) and the film ‘Flight’. She has also written for Theatre Alibi, Platform 4, Brainstorm Films, The Eden Project, and several plays for Radio 4.

(Re-post from 2010, slightly updated)

Villa Molina: Los lobos de la frontera (1980), de Rosemary Sutcliff

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Novela histórica de la saga que Sutcliff escribió sobre el tiempo de dominación romana de Britania. El protagonista vuelve a ser un descendiente de la familia de los Aquila: Un joven oficial que cae en desgracia por una decisión desacertada y es enviado como consecuencia a la frontera escocesa, al mando de unas tropas un tanto asilvestradas.

La trama es bastante sencilla y equilibrada. La autora hace ver que la actuación de los individuos repercute en los grupos sociales, pero también los personajes se ven arrastrados por problemas sociales (y los que eran amigos, por ejemplo, pasan a enfrentarse).

Para chicos (protagonista masculino, aventuras militares, virtudes castrenses…). Me ha gustado bastante. 4/5.

Más reseñas de la saga en este blog aquí, aquí, aquí y aquí. (¡Me ha dado fuerte, eh!)

via Villa Molina: Los lobos de la frontera (1980), de Rosemary Sutcliff.

Translation from Google of this blogpost:

Historical novel of the saga that Sutcliff wrote about the time of Roman occupation of Britain. The protagonist is again a descendant of the family of Aquila: A young officer who falls from grace by a misguided decision and sent as a result of the Scottish border, troops commanded by a somewhat feral. The plot is fairly simple and balanced. The author shows that the impact performance of individuals in social groups, but the characters are drawn by social problems (and they were friends, for example, are to face). For boys (male lead, military adventures, military virtues …). I liked a lot. 4 / 5.  More reviews of the series on this blog here, here, here and here. (I have it bad, eh!)

The ‘Inside A Dog’ blog enthuses about old favourite Rosemary Sutcliff

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Groucho Marx, Sig Ruman and Margaret Dumont

Groucho Marx  once said: ‘Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read!’. Hence one blog about books:  Inside a Dog. The blog’s author recently caught up with The Eagle film in Australia, which prompted him to enthuse about Rosemary Sutcliff  “all over again”.

Today I finally got to see the movie based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle Of The Ninth. That’s made me think about her books all over again – I love them!  I think she’s the greatest writer of historical fiction for children and teens in the twentieth century. In fact, judging by what I’ve read in the last eleven years, maybe the best of this century too.

Source: Rosemary Sutcliff – an old favourite | Inside A Dog.

Web book chat on Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel The Silver Branch

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

Rosemary Sutcliff's The Silver Branch 1957 book coverThe Silver Branch  by Rosemary Sutcliff was chatted about on the web on June 15 (2011). Commenting on the advance notice of this discussion (see below) ‘Annis’ (“The Silver Branch is the bridesmaid of The Eagle of the Ninth trilogy, but my personal favourite”) noted that “there was a recent discussion about the novel at the Historical Fiction Online forum “.  That discussion was kicked off by ‘Parthianbow’, aka historical novelist Ben Kane. He concluded his review (first published here):

The Silver Branch has a much larger list of characters than The Eagle of the Ninth, and this adds to its appeal. As well as Justin and Flavius, we have the genial Carausius, the cold, calculating Allectus, Evicatos, the brooding warrior, and Cullen, the faithful King’s Hound. Last but not least, there is the fierce old matriarch, Great-Aunt Honoria. Every one of these protagonists is simply but splendidly drawn, and their presence successfully enlarges the tale for the reader. Rich images from the first book also reappear: the Aquila signet ring with the carved green dolphin at its heart and the eagle standard that Marcus retrieved in Scotland.

Themes of comradeship and loyalty ― to family and friends, as well as to ideals ― are central to the plotline, and appeal to us all. As always, Sutcliff’s descriptions of the time are vivid and for the most part, extremely authentic. It is this rare ability to draw us completely into ancient times that makes The Silver Branch and her other works such a joy to read. Be sure to read The Eagle of the Ninth first, however!

Rosemary Sutcliff and ‘The Eagle’ landed in The Spectator

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Before heading off to Australia for a few weeks, I wrote about Rosemary Sutcliff and The Eagle at The Spectator Arts Blog. I hope they will not mind me reproducing it here:

This is a good spring for Rosemary Sutcliff: it sees the release of the film The Eagle, which is based on her bestselling 1954 novel The Eagle of the Ninth, which is set in Roman Britain. Were the book published for the first time this year, it might be promoted as a ‘young adult novel’. But that was not an available category in 1954. The novel was promoted as a children’s book, and reviewed as a significant contribution to children’s literature.

It has become a classic of children’s literature, Read More »