First copy - Sword at Sunset

'Sword at Sunset' is Rosemary Sutcliff's take on a historical 'King' Arthur. Consequently, this novel is set in 5th century AD Britain, where Roman rule has come to an end, and British Artos rises to power.

This (see below) is the cover of my first copy of 'Sword at Sunset' I was 12 or 13 and waiting to be signed up for the Adult Library so I could get a copy of this book by inter-library loan, as my library didn't have a copy on the shelves. Somehow I'd found out about its subject matter (this was in the days before the Internet, so I don't know how) and knew I wanted to read it. But, just before I got into the adult library, this copy appeared on the Library's 'Sale' shelf. Couldn't believe it! It cost me the princely sum of 25p. I now have a more pristine copy, which I keep in a cupboard, but this is my 'original' ex-library and pretty battered copy :-)


Sword At Sunset, UK, Hodder & Stoughton, Hardback, 1963