16 December 2017

Eagle of the Ninth soon appear on DVD

This blog is honoured to be chosen as a reviewer of the forthcoming DVD of the BBC's 1977 version of the Eagle of the Ninth.  Both Sarah and Sandra will be posting reviews, and they're bound to come up with differing angles.

However, before that, this blog will be posting a series of stills from the production, and also details of a special offer from Simply Media (sellers of the DVD) so watch this space!

5 September 2017

Eric Eller and the Aquila Family at the Green Man Review

 
 Read Eric Eller's interesting consideration of the Aquila Family from the Eagle of the Ninth to Dawn Wind.  He also reviews Sword at Sunset on another page.

31 July 2017

Imagining the pagan past, Marion Gibson

Imagining the past: gods and goddesses in literature and history since the Dark Ages by Marion Gibson, 2013, Routledge


This sounded like a title that should include Rosemary Sutcliff and it does!  There is talk of Kipling and how Sutcliff is influenced by him in her writings.  She appears in the Something Old Something New chapter, under the heading: From Gog to Coventina: god and goddess in folklore, religion and fiction.  


'The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) uses the Romano-British period and its gods to negotiate contemporary issues of generational change, masculine friendship and difference ...' pg 95

There is not a huge amount about Sutcliff, but it is likely that anyone interested in her books will find much to contemplate due to the exploration of the background of the pagan past

Excerpts of the Gibson's work can be found on Google Books.  Contents include: 
  • From Geoffrey of Monmouth to William Camden 
  • Pagan deities from the antiquaries to the Romantics
  • Pagan deities from the first Celtic Revival to the mid twentieth century 
  • Heathen men and northern deities from the Middle Ages to the mid twentieth century
  • Melting the ice gods 
  • Three schools of contemporary god and goddess fiction



28 July 2017

Sutcliff on Pinterest

Anthony Lawton is running a Pinterest page.  Some interesting book jacket shots and photos included.  Beware: Pinterest will not let you view unless you have signed up to the service

17 March 2014

Sword at Sunset: Dan Lentell of Edinburgh 49 reviews the play


Dan Lentell obviously went to see the play on the same evening we went (26th  February).

' ... Sword at Sunset, based on the best-selling 1963 novel by Rosemary Sutcliff, chronicles the career of Artos from his service as a cavalry commander under his uncle, the British high king Ambrosius, through to his donning of the imperial purple as a later-day Caesar. Incorporating Artos’ seduction by his vengeful half-sister Ygerna; his strategic marriage to Guenhumara; his friendships; his battles; successes and failures, James Beagon’s adaptation would be a very tall order for any company ...'

Now read on.

6 March 2014

Sword at Sunset: the full play on Youtube!


This is a recording of the last night of Bedlam Theatre's production on 1st March 2014:

28 February 2014

Sword at Sunset @ Bedlam Theatre - the trailer and last chance to see ...



This YouTube link to the trailer was tweeted by Anthony Lawton when we (Sandra & Sarah) were both actually in Edinburgh to see the play:




We thoroughly recommend the production, but catch it while you can, as today (Friday 28th February) and Saturday (1st March) are the last two days you can see it.  Go see!


21 February 2014

Sutcliff: Appreciation, July 29th 1992

Rosemary Sutcliff -
Appreciation
Times, The (London, England)
July 29, 1992
Author: Mrs Anna Milford
IN THIS 350th anniversary year of the English Civil War no tribute to Rosemary Sutcliff (obituary, July 25) can be complete without mention of The Rider of the White Horse.

This is surely one of the finest historical novels ever written for adults, and one to re-read again and again with increasing pleasure.

Thomas Fairfax fought against his King for the highest motives, and as Lord General commanded the New Model Army at Naseby. The story is told with such conviction and skill that this surely was how Fairfax's contemporaries, among them Cromwell, saw the ``high flying hawk of the North."

Section: Features
Index Terms: Obituary
(c) Times Newspapers Limited 1992, 2003
Record Number: 995099123

OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location):

http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new

sbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F91F52

712EF4EF7&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=25636B4CC9A542FB9EC6D4B96A7A8
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