Rosemary Sutcliff
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Rosemary Sutcliff (December 14, 1920 - July 23, 1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. Although she is considered a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults, she herself once commenting that she wrote "for children of all ages from nine to ninety."
Born in Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother who was a grand storyteller, from whom she learned the many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into her many works of historical fiction. Rosemary didn't learn to read until she was 10, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. Many attribute her writing's vivid imagery to the powers of observation she attained when she was confined as a youth.
Her career as a writer began in 1950 with "The Chronicles of Robin Hood". She found herself (her words) when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with "Tristan and Iseult". In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
Rosemary lived the majority of her adult life in in Arundel, Sussex with her dogs, and in 1975 was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contributions to Children's Literature.
Books
Eagle of the Ninth series
- The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
- The Silver Branch (1957) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- The Lantern Bearers (1959) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Frontier Wolf (1980)
- Sword at Sunset (1963).
- Dawn Wind (1961) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Three Legions (1980) is an omnibus edition containing the first three books.
Arthurian novels
- The Sword and the Circle (1979)
- The Light Beyond the Forest (1979)
- The Road to Camlann (1981)
Other children's novels
- Chronicles of Robin Hood (1950)
- The Queen Elizabeth Story (1950) illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
- The Armourer's House (1951)
- Brother Dustyfeet (1952)
- Simon (1953) illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
- Outcast (1955) illustrated by Richard Kennedy
- The Shield Ring (1956)
- Warrior Scarlet (1957) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Lady in Waiting (1957)
- Rider of the White Horse (1959)
- Knight's Fee (1960) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Bridge Builders (1960)
- Beowulf: Dragonslayer (1961) illustrated by Charles Keeping; retells the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf
- Beowulf (1961)
- The Hound of Ulster (1963) illustrated by Victor Ambrus; retells the story of the Irish hero Cúchulainn
- The Mark of the Horse Lord (1965) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- The Flowers of Adonis (1965)
- A Saxon Settler (People of the Past series) (1965)
- The Chief's Daughter (1967)
- The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cool (1967)
- A Circlet of Oak Leaves (1968)
- The Witch's Brat (1970)
- Tristan and Iseult (1971)
- The Truce of the Games (1971)
- Heather, Oak, and Olive Contains three dramatic stories: "The Chief"s Daughter," "A Circlet of Oak Leaves," and "A Crown of Wild Olive" (originally published as "The Truce of the Games") (1972)
- The Capricorn Bracelet (1973) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- The Changeling (1974) illustrated by Victor Ambrus
- We Lived in Drumfyvie (1975) with Margaret Lyford-Pike
- Blood Feud (1976) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Sun Horse, Moon Horse (1977)
- Shifting Sands (1977)
- Song for a Dark Queen (1978); retells the legend of the Celtic Queen Boudica
- Eagle's Egg (1981)
- Bonnie Dundee (1983)
- Flame-colored Taffeta (1986)
- The Roundabout Horse (1986)
- A Little Dog Like You (1987) illustrated by Victor Ambrus
- The Best of Rosemary Sutcliff - "Warrior Scarlet", "The Mark of the Horse Lord" and "Knight"s Fee", in one volume. (1987)
- The Shining Company (1990)
- The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup (1993) illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. Also serialized in Cricket Magazine.
- Black Ships Before Troy (1993) illustrated by Alan Lee; retells the Iliad Also serialized in Cricket Magazine.
- Chess-dream in the Garden (1993)
- The Wanderings of Odysseus (1995)
- Sword Song (1997) published posthumously
Non-fiction
- Rudyard Kipling (1960) a Monograph
- Heroes and History (1966) illustrated by Charles Keeping
- Blue Remembered Hills (1983), an autobiography
Novels for adults
- Blood and Sand (1987)
External links
- [Interview with Rosemary Sutcliff]
- [Rosemary Sutcliff: A Historical Novel Society Appreciation]
- [Blogsite of Anthony Lawton, Rosemary Sutcliff's godchild and literary executor]
- [Blogsite in appreciation of Rosemary Sutcliff, run jointly by an active member of the Historical Novel Society and a professional archaeologist]
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