Tag: young adult fiction

1963 Arthurian bestseller Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff reviewed in New York Timesf Review of the Week:

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US paperback cover of Sword at SunsetOn April 5 in  1987 Patricia O’Conner wrote in The New York Times that: “Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novel (Sword at Sunset) reinvents King Arthur, and the result, while far from the accepted legend, is ‘an expression of the purest affection for the Arthur of her heart’ ” as Robert Payne had said in The Book Review in 1963. He had written: ”He is a living presence who moves in a brilliantly lit and fantastic landscape only remotely connected with ancient England. And why not?”. Rosemary loved the fact that it went to the top of the UK adult fiction bestseller lists.

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 »

Rosemary Sutcliff’s award-winning historical novel Song for a Dark Queen reviewed in The Times in 1978

Anthony Lawton2 Comments

Rosemary Sutcliff was astonished but delighted when her novel about Boudicca (often wrongly spelt Boadicea)  – Song for a Dark Queen -won The Other Award for fiction. It was an award for books which were determinedly egalitarian and respectful of women. She was not sure what those responsible for it would have thought of her Telegraph-reading Tory politics. Read More »

The Eagle of the Ninth | Film and Book | Rosemary Sutcliff Review of the Week

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

The Eagle of the Ninth, Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novel and children’s book now being filmed, then only a book , was reviewed by Zbigniew Tycienski  in June 2009. Zbigniew grew up in south-east Poland but settled in Edinburgh, Scotland

One may at first conclude that Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) is a book for boys about men and masculinity. The women of the book inhabit a shadowy, backstage world, of service and mothering, and the hero of the story, Marcus Aquila, only finds an ally in the twelve-year old Cottia because she is not so much a girl as a friendly, faithful dog.Read More »

Kjoek children’s books website in Holland covers Rosemary Sutcliff

Anthony Lawton1 Comment

The lively Dutch website Kjoek! which claims that on it ‘you can find anything about children’s books’, writes about Rosemary Sutcliff here, along with other children’s writers, kinderboekenschrijvers in Dutch I think!   Read More »