Does the Arthurian legend hold essential truth for difficult times? | Yes, said Rosemary Sutcliff in 1991

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

Original Hardback cover Rosemart Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset Arthurian historical novelSome two decades ago, Rosemary Sutcliff, author of best-selling historical novel Sword at Sunset, suggested that :

“The Arthurian legend contains an essential truth, and I think at present we’re awfully uncertain of our future.Therefore we feel a kind of kinship for the Dark Ages; and I think for this reason we feel in a way the need for something to back us up, in the same way as Arthur ‘lights up’ the Dark Ages. We have a need for an archetype of some sort to pull us together, to get us through this, to spread light into the darkness until we can get through to a better world.”

Perhaps true of our times now as much as twenty years ago?  Read More »

Are Rosemary Sutcliff’s books a conscious series? No it just happened

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

Interesting post today from Anne at the ‘You Write!’ tab (uo at the top) on this site, about the connectedness and origins of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s stories and books of historical fiction.

Readers have often wondered if Rosemary Sutcliff had the whole Aquila family sequence already mapped out when she wrote Eagle of the Ninth, so I thought it might be of interest to note her emphatic reply when asked about this:Read More »

Not Warhorse but The Roundabout Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff

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Sunflower is a special roundabout horse. Although made from wood, he has real feelings and Jenny is a very special girl. When she rides Sunflower, something magical happens. A little story from Rosemary, but I love it. And I have always thought there was animated film also struggling to get out ….
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Is Prime Minister David Cameron’s approach to Europe informed by reading Rosemary Sutcliff?

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In my more fanciful moments I find myself wondering whether, in his dealings with Europe, David Cameron may have taken some inspiration from Carausius in Rosemary Sutcliff‘s historical novel The Silver Branch?  (Rosemary Sutcliff’s uncle Harold Lawton did live out his later years in Peasemore, the Berkshire village Cameron grew up in … but then we would all do well, politicians in particular, to remember that in all matters correlation is not cause ! )

“If I can make this one province strong—strong enough to stand alone when Rome goes down, then something may be saved from the darkness. If not, then Dubris light and Limanis light and Rutupiae light will go out. The lights will go out everywhere”. Carausius stepped back, dragging aside the hanging folds of the curtain, and stood framed in their darkness against the firelight and lamplight behind him, his head yet turned to the grey and silver of the starry night.

More posts about The Silver Branch on this site, and a summary of the story here

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)