I am now feeling smug on behalf of @rosemarysutcliff.bsky.social et al from children's historical fiction writing when they stuck to the Roman evidence and got it right. Updating my post on this now! katemacdonald.net/2024/03/12/r...

@rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social . Are you aware that one part of the NHS at least @EMASNHSTrust refuses to accept a ( heartfelt) complimentary comment emailed in after an excellent bit of paramedic help? Ridiculous. I am not filling in a form to compliment paramedic technicians John & Wendy

The ‘temptation” Rosemary Sutcliff once said: “is to try & use everything you’ve found out in…research. That can be fatal, because you…only need to use about 1/10. It’s…like an iceberg…It has to be there, because it gives you the freedom of the period. But you don’t use it.”

I posted on X today: HappyNew Year all ye who actively follow here (X) & love #ReadingRosemarySutcliff. But I will no longer post on this (X) platform with owner Elon Musk—a dangerous self-seeking right-wing ideologue with no regard to facts—actively slurring this country’s democracy & leaders.

🎄 Dec 23 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “Through the centuries, the roots of the oak hold firm.” 🌳📖 Three novellas show how history and myth intertwine across time. #HeatherOakAndOlive

🎄 Dec 22 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “Memory is the thread that stitches our past to our present.” 🖋️⛰️ Sutcliff’s autobiography reveals how her childhood illness shaped her as a writer. And she writes of her love of for Rupert. #BlueRememberedHills

🎄 Dec 21 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “Healing the body is easier than healing the heart.” 🧙‍♂️❤️ A boy with disabilities finds his place in the world through healing arts in medieval England. #TheWitchsBrat #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

🎄 Dec 20 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “A hero’s strength is not in his sword but in his soul.” 🐺⚔️ Cuchulain’s myth told with Rosemary Sutcliff’s skillful realism. #TheHoundOfUlster

On re-reading the Carnegie Medal-winning [1959] #TheLanternBearers by the great Rosemary Sutcliff ….

🎄 Dec 11 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “That is our Shield Ring, our last stronghold; not the barrier fells, but something in the hearts of men.” 🛡️🏔️ Set in Viking-age Cumberland, a tale of resistance and cultural survival against overwhelming odds. #TheShieldRing

Kennings or kenning-like phrases made by the eminent writer of historical fiction Rosemary Sutcliff include: Sun-burned men—#TheEagleOfTheNinth; Sword-bearer—#SwordAtSunset; Shield-wall—#TheShieldRing; Bone-house—#BeowulfDragonSlayer Wolf’s-head —#TheMarkOfTheHorseLord

🎄 Dec 7 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “Sometimes survival itself is an act of courage.” 🐕🍂 In the ruins of Roman Britain, in Dawn Wind, a boy and his dog face a changing world. A haunting tale of endurance and resilience. #DawnWind #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

🎄 Dec 6 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “A man can only be himself when the mask is torn away.” 🐎👑 Set in Iron Age Scotland, a slave becomes a king—but at what cost? Rosemary Sutcliff explores identity and sacrifice in a fine story. #TheMarkOfTheHorseLord

🎄 Dec 5 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “A man belongs where he is loved.” 🌳🏛️ In her historical fiction #kislit Outcast, rejected by both Romans & Britons, Beric searches out where & how to belong in a divided Britain. A story of identity and acceptance. #Outcast

🎄 Dec 4 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “There is no death, only a change of worlds.” 🐴⚔️ Rosemary Sutcliff’s best-seller re-imagines Arthur as a Romano-British war leader. A sweeping tale of the fight to preserve civilisation. #SwordAtSunset #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

“I am Cadwan of the Harp. I am the Singer of Songs & the Teller of Tales. There are, there were, many harpers among the Iceni; but I am Harper to the Queen herself; to the Lady Boudicca …” First line of Rosemary Sutcliff's Song for a Dark Queen- reimagining the story of Boudica #historicalfiction

🎄 Dec 3 | #RosemarySutcliffAdventCalendar2024 “We are the Lantern Bearers, carrying what light we can forward into the darkness.” 🕯️🌌 As Roman Britain falls, one man keeps faith with both his Roman heritage and his British homeland. #TheLanternBearers

Childhood Illness & consequent severe disability shaped writer Rosemary Sutcliff. Juvenile arthritis (Stills disease) left her physically disabled, often confined to bed. This experience gave her a deep empathy for her characters’ struggles, and a keen understanding of pain and perseverance.

‘Enshittification’ denots a process at work in our 2024 world. (cf the other place …) But it’s ugly (tho’ a virtue for the word for an ugly process?). I’ve been inventing alternatives. Any good? Your ideas? *muskification *elonisation *planned elonescence www.theguardian.com/science/2024...

The ‘temptation”,Rosemary Sutcliff once said: “is to try & use everything you’ve found out in…research. That can be fatal, because you…only need to use about a tenth. It’s…like an iceberg…It has to be there, because it gives you the freedom of the period. But you don’t use it.” #writing

Rosemary Sutcliff’s 7/55 stories of #kidlit & #histfic was Outcast (1955)—In Roman Britain, Beric, the red-haired only survivor of a Roman shipwreck is raised by Britons, to face the dangers of two worlds #Outcast #historicalfiction #ReadingRosemarySutcliff #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder

#TheArmourersHouse is out #SunHorseMoonHorse is on the way. Thank you @manderleypress.bsky.social and Isabel Greenberg So much enthusiasm for encouraging #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

Loving #TheEagleOfTheNinth....a nerdy 13 Yr old!

Rosemary Sutcliff’s books in alphabetical order 🧵👇 A Circlet of Oak Leaves (1968) #ACircletOfOakLeaves A Little Dog Like You (1987) #ALittleDogLikeYou A Saxon Settler (1965) #ASaxonSettler Beowulf (1961) #Beowulf Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad (1993) #BlackShipsBeforeTroy

The eminent writer of historical fiction and children’s literature Rosemary Sutcliff re-imagined history of many periods, including Roman Britain, and re-told legends of Ireland,Wales and England. For #ReadingRosemarySutcliff over 55 separate titles …of which some covers👇… See RosemarySutcliff.net

Rosemary Sutcliff in fine literary company....'stand-up' models by @schweizercomics.bsky.social

#TheMarkOfTheHorseLord [1965] by Rosemary Sutcliff is one of her finest books. In 1st-C Britain a freed gladiator impersonates a missing king to depose a usurper Queen. A skilled warrior & horseman, he begins to question his loyalties and the morality of his actions.

5/55 books by Rosemary Sutcliff #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder

Rosemary Sutcliff’s 6/55 books of historical fiction & children's literature was her best-selling The Eagle of the Ninth (1954)—In 2nd century Roman Britain, Marcus searches beyond Hadrian's Wall for the lost Eagle of his father's legion. #TheEagleOfTheNinth #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder

Plus it’s a lovely novel by the great Rosemary Sutcliff The Armourer’s House #TheArmourersHouse #ReadibgRosemarySutcliff

Tiny 2,000 year-old Roman leather baby boot. A mini version of adult footwear. The intricate and delicately tooled uppers would have made this an expensive item. Excavated from the Commanding Officer’s residence at Vindolanda fort near Hadrian’s Wall. 📷 by me #RomanFortThursday #Archaeology

Simon (1953) was Rosemary Sutcliff’s 5/55 published works of historical fiction and children’s literature. It is set against the backdrop of the English Civil War and tells of two close friends, Simon and Amias, who find themselves on opposing sides of the conflict.

Rosemary Sutcliff’s autobiographical Blue Remembered Hills: A Recollection takes its title from A. E. Housman’s poem A Shropshire Lad— “blue remembered hills” evokes a sense of nostalgia, a longing for the past, and a deep connection to memory and place #BlueRememberedHills

“When anybody asks me where I was born … I admit with a distinct sense of apology that I was born in Surrey … I grew up with the feeling that the West Country is the only right and proper place in which to have one's beginnings.” #RosemarySutcliffFirstLines #BlueRememberedHills

Rosemary Sutcliff’s autobiography of her early life is named from an A E Housman poem: ‘Blue Remembered Hills: A Recollection”. She starts with her birth in Surrey … #ReadingRosemarySutcliff #RosemarySutcliffFirstParagraphs #BlueRememberedHills

The little lost cottage in the woods by Denman's Rife had been empty & hearth-cold so long that nobody remembered it was there at all. ... (and) at the hearth end, ragged wings of thatch still clung to the weather-rotted rafters ... #FlameColouredTaffeta #RosemarySutcliffFirstLines

Rosemary Sutcliff's #FlameColouredTaffeta (1986) is set in England in the 1700s. It is the story of a 12-year-old girl living near a smugglers' coast. Her life is changed when people bring a mysterious wounded man ashore.

The places of my growing-up feature in Rosemary Sutcliff’s #FlameColouredTaffeta — Itchenor village in NW of the Manhood; Selsey village at South point; Wittering village in W; Birdham village in NW; Earnley village in W; Chichester city; Chichester Cathedral; Chichester Harbour.

In #BrotherDustyFeet (1952) by Rosemary Sutcliff, along with his faithful dog Argos, 11-yr-old Hugh Copplestone decides to leave his Aunt & Uncle's house after one beating too many. He heads for Oxford to seek his fortune. In the Players he meets jugglers, puppeteers, quack doctors & ballad singers

Brother Dusty-Feet (1952) was Rosemary Sutcliff’s 4/55 published books of historical fiction and children’s literature. In 16th century England, orphan boy Hugh joins a troupe of strolling players. #BrotherDustyFeet #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder

Award-winning author Rosemary Sutcliff made history accessible & exciting for readers of all ages, telling engaging stories. She sparks interest in history & historical times that might otherwise be dry or distant #ReadingRosemarySutcliff #childrensliterature #History #kidlit #historicalfiction

“The Old Shepherd sitting with his face turned seaward and his broad-bladed spear across his knees, seemed as much a part of the downs as did the wind-stunted whitethorn trees along the bank behind him …. “ #RosemarySutcliffFirstLines #WarriorScarlet #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

#TheHighDeedsOfFinnMacCool by Rosemary Sutcliff #ReadingRosemarySutcliff #SutcliffRetellings 📚💙

📚💙 Rosemary Sutcliff’s 3/55 books of historical fiction etc was The Armourer's House—1951. In Henry VIII’s time, orphaned Devonian Tamsyn grows up in her London uncle's armourer household and dreams of the sea. #TheArmourersHouse #histfic #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder

As I set out here on Bluesky, a gentle reminder to readers old and new that the eminent writer of historical fiction & children’s literature is not Rosemary Sutcliff, not Sutcliffe! There is no ‘E’ in her family name #SutcliffNotSutcliffe #ReadingRosemarySutcliff

The Queen Elizabeth Story (1950) was Rosemary Sutcliff’s 2/55 books. Young Perdita encounters Queen Elizabeth I. She gains understanding of the complexities of power, leadership, & the challenges faced by women in positions of authority. #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder #TheQueenElizabethStory

The Chronicles of Robin Hood (1950) was first (1/55) of Rosemary Sutcliff’s published stories. Re-tells the classic tales of Robin Hood, legendary outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. Themes of courage, loyalty, & standing up against tyranny #RosemarySutcliffsBooksInYearOrder