Rosemary Sutcliff (1920–1992)
Author of The Eagle of the Ninth
About the Author
Rosemary Sutcliff was on born December 14, 1920 in East Clandon in Surrey, England. As a child she had Still's Disease, a form of juvenile arthritis. The effect of this led to many stays in hospital for painful remedial operations. She ended her formal education at fourteen, and went to Bideford show more Art School. She passed the City and Guilds examination and worked as a painter of miniatures. She felt cramped by the small canvas of miniature painting and turned to writing. Her first two books, The Chronicles of Robin Hood and The Queen Elizabeth Story, were published in 1950. Her other works included The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, Sword Song, and the autobiography Blue Remembered Hills. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association for The Lantern Bearers in 1959 and the annual Horn Book Award for Tristan and Iseult in 1971. She won inaugural Phoenix Award in 1985 for The Mark of the Horse Lord and again in 2010 for The Shining Company. In 1975, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to children's literature, and was promoted to be a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992. She died on July 23, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Rosemary Sutcliff
The King Arthur Trilogy: 'Sword And The Circle', 'Light Beyond The Forest', 'Road To Camlann' (1999) 270 copies
The Best of Rosemary Sutcliff: Warrior Scarlet, the Mark of the Horselord, Knight's Fee (1987) 76 copies
The Eagle of the Ninth: A BBC Radio 4 Full-cast Dramatisation (BBC Radio Collection) (1999) 12 copies
Writing a Historical Novel 1 copy
Dawn Wind, Outcast, The Mark of the Horse Lord [3 volumes of Rosemary Sutcliff's works] (1961) 1 copy
The Man Who Died At Sea 1 copy
Blutfehde 1 copy
Wettkampf in Olympia 1 copy
Flowering Dagger 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1920-12-14
- Date of death
- 1992-07-23
- Burial location
- West Sussex
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- East Clandon, Surrey, England, UK
- Place of death
- Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Arundel, Sussex, England, UK
Surrey, England, UK
Malta
London, England, UK - Education
- Bideford Art School
- Occupations
- novelist
children's book author - Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Officer ∙ 1975)
Order of the British Empire (Commander ∙ 1992) - Short biography
- Rosemary Sutcliff was born in England and spent her childhood in Malta and various other naval bases at which her father, a Royal Navy officer, was stationed. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a young age and used a wheelchair most of her life. She left school at age 14 and entered Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years. She worked as a painter of miniatures and began her published writing career in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. Her best-known work, The Eagle of the Ninth, was published in 1954. Although she was considered primarily a children's author, much of her work also appeals to adults. Sutcliff won many awards for her writing, and is published worldwide. She never married.
Members
Discussions
The Eagle of the Ninth in Folio Society Devotees (April 2023)
British Author Challenge January 2023: Rosemary Sutcliff and Fred D'Aguiar in 75 Books Challenge for 2023 (February 2023)
Rosemary Sutcliff in Roman and Dark Ages Britain (November 2018)
Book Discussion: Arthurian Themed Read *Spoiler Free* in The Green Dragon (March 2008)
Reviews
This is a very short but interesting novella. The setting is of a grandfather telling his grandchildren how while as a Roman standard-bearer he came to marry their grandmother. Since it is just a glimpse into the grandfather's life there isn't much history or background set up but if you are familiar with Rosemary Sutcliff's books or the history of Roman Britian it will be easy to follow.
It interesting that I felt like I was reading from the "baddie's" perspective. In the lead up to the Battle of Mons Graupius my loyalties lay completely with the Caledonians not the Romans.
- "The Roman victories came not by their strength but by our weakness... Now we stand together as one People, and we are strong!"
Like all Rosemary Sutcliff books this novella is packed full of trivia titbits and even a cameo from the Ninth Legion!… (more)
It interesting that I felt like I was reading from the "baddie's" perspective. In the lead up to the Battle of Mons Graupius my loyalties lay completely with the Caledonians not the Romans.
- "The Roman victories came not by their strength but by our weakness... Now we stand together as one People, and we are strong!"
Like all Rosemary Sutcliff books this novella is packed full of trivia titbits and even a cameo from the Ninth Legion!… (more)
I read it in one evening while sitting on the edge of my seat the entire way. Brilliant! 10 out of 10, would recommend.
1 
ChariseH | 15 other reviews | May 25, 2024 |
ChariseH | 15 other reviews | May 25, 2024 | 
Three instances of women that have bare breasts.
Lists
THE WAR ROOM (4)
Ambleside Books (1)
The Trojan War (1)
Elevenses (1)
Books Read in 2015 (12)
Female Author (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Monastic life (1)
Books with Twins (1)
Comfort Reads (1)
Which house? (1)
Folio Society (3)
Roman Britain (3)
Best Young Adult (2)
Sonlight Books (2)
Five star books (2)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 82
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 19,680
- Popularity
- #1,106
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 298
- ISBNs
- 678
- Languages
- 21
- Favorited
- 78
This book would be perfect for 8 -12 year olds, wholesome, beautifully written and characters that were very easy to feel attached to.