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The Dolphin Ring Cycle #5
Sword at Sunset
This brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century. Artos here comes alive: bold and forceful in battle, warm and generous in friendship, tough in politics, shrewd in the strategy of war—and tender and tragically tormented in love. Out of the interweaving of ancient legend, fresh research, soaring imagination, and hypnotic narrative skill comes a novel that has richly earned its reputation as a classic.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
180 people are currently reading
3164 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Sutcliff
107 books677 followersRosemary Sutcliff, CBE (1920-1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. Although primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults. She once commented that she wrote "for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases 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, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice 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. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases 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, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice 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. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
June 17, 2020
I had not heard of this work or of Rosemary Sutcliff until I found this at a bargain charity shop, and I already had my favourite Arthurian novels and series : Nancy McKenzie's Guinevere books, the Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart , and Benard Cronwell.
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen.
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen.
March 19, 2020
Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king, saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended on Britain. The man behind the myth of King Arthur is brought to life. The Roman legions had left Britain undefended from her enemies. Now Arthur and his band of Companion warriors must protect his people.
Enemies surround Britain
"Everywhere the Barbarians press in; the Scots from Hibernia harry the western coasts and make their settlements in the very shadow of Yr Widdfa of the Snows; the Picts with their javelins come leaping over the Wall; northward and eastward the war boats of the Sea Wolves come creeping in along the estuaries, near and nearer to the heart of our land."
The best defense is offense
‘With three hundred men properly mounted, I believe that I can thrust back the Barbarians at least for a while,’ I said at last. ‘As for saving Britain – I have seen the wild geese flighting this autumn, and who can turn them back? It is more than a hundred years that we have been struggling to stem this Saxon flighting, more than thirty since the last Roman troops left Britain. How much longer, do you think, before the darkness closes over us?’ It was a thing that I would not have said to any man save Ambrosius.
And he answered me as I do not think he would have answered any other man. ‘God knows. If your work and mine be well wrought, maybe another hundred years.’
Plans and tactics
It was Ambrosius who broke the silence, saying thoughtfully, ‘Three hundred men and horses, together with spare mounts. What of baggage?’
‘As little as may be. We cannot be tied down to a string of lumbering wagons, we must be free-flying as a skein of wildfowl. A few fast mule carts for the field forge and heavy gear, two to three score pack beasts with their drivers – those must be fighting men too, when need arises, and serve as grooms and cooks in camp. The younger among us to act as armor-bearers for their seniors. And for the rest, we must carry our own gear as far as may be, and live on the country.’
‘That may not make you beloved of the country on which you live.’
‘If men would keep the roofs on their barns, they must pay with some of the grain in them,’ I said. It was the first of many times that I was to say much the same thing.
Traveling to Spain Artos buys great war horses who will father the steeds of his cavalry
It was on the third day that, as I pushed my way through the crowd at the far end of the sale ground, with Flavian beside me, I found the best horse that I had seen yet. I suppose he had been brought in late, when the best of the others were gone. He was a full black, black as a rook’s wing. There are more bad horses among the black than any other color, but a good black is own brother to Bucephalus. This was a good black, standing a clear sixteen hands at the shoulder, with a good broad head and high crest, power in every line of him, and fire in his heart and loins to beget some of his own kind. But as I stopped to examine him more closely, I saw his eyes. I would have turned away, but the man in charge of him, a bowlegged individual with small twinkling eyes and a lipless gash for a mouth, stayed me with a touch on my arm. ‘You’ll not see a better horse than this in Narbo Martius this year, my lord.’
. . .
‘Hai! Bedwyr, the chieftain would see the Black One’s paces, that he may judge of his mettle,’ said the dealer, and I did not contradict him because, of all foolish reasons, I wanted to see how this young man with the surprising Celtic name handled such a horse.
The horse was of course already bitted and bridled, but not saddled. The boy swept me a swift low bow, and turning, set his hands on the great brute’s shoulders, and next instant was astride the glossy back, and catching the reins out of the dealer’s hands as the great brute began to dance and snort and sidle, swung him out onto the open trampled turf. Watching him as he put the Black One through his paces, I found myself judging the rider’s mettle as well as the horse’s, noting how lightly he handled the savage ‘wolf’ bit, while never for one instant losing the control; and the way the Black One himself, who I was very sure would have been a plunging fury with almost any other man on his back, not only answered to his authority but seemed to enter into the thing with him as they wheeled and circled and changed paces, and came sweeping in a cloud of dust around the full circle of the open space; so that when at last they came to a trampling halt before me, I could have sworn that the horse, as well as the man, was laughing ...
The Saxons advance into a battle field
Far along our own line I heard the shout of command, and our spearmen, yelping their own short sharp battle cry, were running forward down the hill. The few Saxon archers on the flank, unable to see where our bowmen loosed from under cover, turned their own short deadly arrows against the spears – and the moment had come to slip the hounds.
‘Sound me the charge.’
The man beside me set the great horn to his lips, and winded the one long blast that set the echoes flying like startled birds all up and down the valley. From away to the left, almost in the same instant, Bedwyr’s trumpeter took up the note; a great shout rose from our men, and both cavalry wings broke forward, the spears that had been resting upright swinging down as one to the horizontal. I crouched low into the saddle, feet braced into my stirrups against the coming shock, feeling through every fiber of my being the balance of the leveled spear against palm and fingers, hearing the flying thunder of the squadron’s hooves behind me.
We took them on both flanks, and at the full gallop.
They had no chance to form the shield wall; for the first moments of impact it was not battle as I counted battle, but sheer red butchery. But whatever evil may be cried against the Sea Wolves, no man ever yet called their courage in question. Somehow they closed and steadied their ranks; they fought like heroes; their archers stood like rocks though their numbers grew steadily fewer under dark hail of the long British war shafts, and loosed their own arrows without pause into our ranks. The house carls of the center held us with spear and seax long after the light throwing axes were spent; their naked and stained berserkers flung themselves upon our very spearpoints to dirk our horses from underneath. Afterward, I was glad that the thing had after all been a battle and not a massacre. At the time I saw all things through a crimson haze, and felt very little.
We all know the sad end of Arthur/Artos. He gave Britain a short time of civilized life where people still lived in peace, enough time for the poets and harpers to put all his deeds into song for us to remember...
Enjoy!
Enemies surround Britain
"Everywhere the Barbarians press in; the Scots from Hibernia harry the western coasts and make their settlements in the very shadow of Yr Widdfa of the Snows; the Picts with their javelins come leaping over the Wall; northward and eastward the war boats of the Sea Wolves come creeping in along the estuaries, near and nearer to the heart of our land."
The best defense is offense
‘With three hundred men properly mounted, I believe that I can thrust back the Barbarians at least for a while,’ I said at last. ‘As for saving Britain – I have seen the wild geese flighting this autumn, and who can turn them back? It is more than a hundred years that we have been struggling to stem this Saxon flighting, more than thirty since the last Roman troops left Britain. How much longer, do you think, before the darkness closes over us?’ It was a thing that I would not have said to any man save Ambrosius.
And he answered me as I do not think he would have answered any other man. ‘God knows. If your work and mine be well wrought, maybe another hundred years.’
Plans and tactics
It was Ambrosius who broke the silence, saying thoughtfully, ‘Three hundred men and horses, together with spare mounts. What of baggage?’
‘As little as may be. We cannot be tied down to a string of lumbering wagons, we must be free-flying as a skein of wildfowl. A few fast mule carts for the field forge and heavy gear, two to three score pack beasts with their drivers – those must be fighting men too, when need arises, and serve as grooms and cooks in camp. The younger among us to act as armor-bearers for their seniors. And for the rest, we must carry our own gear as far as may be, and live on the country.’
‘That may not make you beloved of the country on which you live.’
‘If men would keep the roofs on their barns, they must pay with some of the grain in them,’ I said. It was the first of many times that I was to say much the same thing.
Traveling to Spain Artos buys great war horses who will father the steeds of his cavalry
It was on the third day that, as I pushed my way through the crowd at the far end of the sale ground, with Flavian beside me, I found the best horse that I had seen yet. I suppose he had been brought in late, when the best of the others were gone. He was a full black, black as a rook’s wing. There are more bad horses among the black than any other color, but a good black is own brother to Bucephalus. This was a good black, standing a clear sixteen hands at the shoulder, with a good broad head and high crest, power in every line of him, and fire in his heart and loins to beget some of his own kind. But as I stopped to examine him more closely, I saw his eyes. I would have turned away, but the man in charge of him, a bowlegged individual with small twinkling eyes and a lipless gash for a mouth, stayed me with a touch on my arm. ‘You’ll not see a better horse than this in Narbo Martius this year, my lord.’
. . .
‘Hai! Bedwyr, the chieftain would see the Black One’s paces, that he may judge of his mettle,’ said the dealer, and I did not contradict him because, of all foolish reasons, I wanted to see how this young man with the surprising Celtic name handled such a horse.
The horse was of course already bitted and bridled, but not saddled. The boy swept me a swift low bow, and turning, set his hands on the great brute’s shoulders, and next instant was astride the glossy back, and catching the reins out of the dealer’s hands as the great brute began to dance and snort and sidle, swung him out onto the open trampled turf. Watching him as he put the Black One through his paces, I found myself judging the rider’s mettle as well as the horse’s, noting how lightly he handled the savage ‘wolf’ bit, while never for one instant losing the control; and the way the Black One himself, who I was very sure would have been a plunging fury with almost any other man on his back, not only answered to his authority but seemed to enter into the thing with him as they wheeled and circled and changed paces, and came sweeping in a cloud of dust around the full circle of the open space; so that when at last they came to a trampling halt before me, I could have sworn that the horse, as well as the man, was laughing ...
The Saxons advance into a battle field
Far along our own line I heard the shout of command, and our spearmen, yelping their own short sharp battle cry, were running forward down the hill. The few Saxon archers on the flank, unable to see where our bowmen loosed from under cover, turned their own short deadly arrows against the spears – and the moment had come to slip the hounds.
‘Sound me the charge.’
The man beside me set the great horn to his lips, and winded the one long blast that set the echoes flying like startled birds all up and down the valley. From away to the left, almost in the same instant, Bedwyr’s trumpeter took up the note; a great shout rose from our men, and both cavalry wings broke forward, the spears that had been resting upright swinging down as one to the horizontal. I crouched low into the saddle, feet braced into my stirrups against the coming shock, feeling through every fiber of my being the balance of the leveled spear against palm and fingers, hearing the flying thunder of the squadron’s hooves behind me.
We took them on both flanks, and at the full gallop.
They had no chance to form the shield wall; for the first moments of impact it was not battle as I counted battle, but sheer red butchery. But whatever evil may be cried against the Sea Wolves, no man ever yet called their courage in question. Somehow they closed and steadied their ranks; they fought like heroes; their archers stood like rocks though their numbers grew steadily fewer under dark hail of the long British war shafts, and loosed their own arrows without pause into our ranks. The house carls of the center held us with spear and seax long after the light throwing axes were spent; their naked and stained berserkers flung themselves upon our very spearpoints to dirk our horses from underneath. Afterward, I was glad that the thing had after all been a battle and not a massacre. At the time I saw all things through a crimson haze, and felt very little.
We all know the sad end of Arthur/Artos. He gave Britain a short time of civilized life where people still lived in peace, enough time for the poets and harpers to put all his deeds into song for us to remember...
Enjoy!
August 22, 2019
Arthur struggles to save Britain
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: May 1, 2008
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Language: English
ASIN: B008NIIA6M
514 pages
This is a realistic, believable retelling of the Arthur legend as historical fiction set in a time after the Romans left Britain and the tribes again fragmented with no central unifying authority to lead them. As Artos the Bear (Arthur) becomes Count of Britain, the tribes are beset with invasion by the Saxons and raids by the Scots and Picts. Artos struggles to unify Britain and save the tribes from themselves while fighting off invaders on every hand. A magnificent warrior, general and leader, he must contend not only with the Britons and the invaders but with himself.
Rosemary Sutcliff was a master of the historical novel and of describing a distant time and place in such a way as to take a reader there with her. As much as I admire her great talent for descriptive writing it may be that she has overdone it a little in this novel. It might be well if the story moved just a little faster. It would also be better if there were fewer hints of real power in pagan gods and religion. Of course the people of that age and place believed in those gods and that is rightly part of the story. However, imbuing those gods and religion with the possibility of actual power beyond the imaginations and delusions of the believers does not improve the story. Even so, this is one of the great novels of Arthur and early Britain.
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: May 1, 2008
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Language: English
ASIN: B008NIIA6M
514 pages
This is a realistic, believable retelling of the Arthur legend as historical fiction set in a time after the Romans left Britain and the tribes again fragmented with no central unifying authority to lead them. As Artos the Bear (Arthur) becomes Count of Britain, the tribes are beset with invasion by the Saxons and raids by the Scots and Picts. Artos struggles to unify Britain and save the tribes from themselves while fighting off invaders on every hand. A magnificent warrior, general and leader, he must contend not only with the Britons and the invaders but with himself.
Rosemary Sutcliff was a master of the historical novel and of describing a distant time and place in such a way as to take a reader there with her. As much as I admire her great talent for descriptive writing it may be that she has overdone it a little in this novel. It might be well if the story moved just a little faster. It would also be better if there were fewer hints of real power in pagan gods and religion. Of course the people of that age and place believed in those gods and that is rightly part of the story. However, imbuing those gods and religion with the possibility of actual power beyond the imaginations and delusions of the believers does not improve the story. Even so, this is one of the great novels of Arthur and early Britain.
April 24, 2020
I had not heard of this work or of Rosemary Sutcliff until I found this at a bargain charity shop, and I already had my favourite Arthurian novels and series : Nancy McKenzie's Guinevere books, the Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart , and Benard Cronwell.
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen.
Merged review:
I had not heard of this work or of Rosemary Sutcliff until I found this at a bargain charity shop, and I already had my favourite Arthurian novels and series : Nancy McKenzie's Guinevere books, the Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart , and Benard Cronwell.
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen.
Merged review:
I had not heard of this work or of Rosemary Sutcliff until I found this at a bargain charity shop, and I already had my favourite Arthurian novels and series : Nancy McKenzie's Guinevere books, the Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart , and Benard Cronwell.
Written in a style that needs concentration and focus to absorb it is nonetheless rewarding and enriching as it places Arthur firmly in the Romano-Celtic tradition dispensing with the anachronistic medieval knight and chivalry affair.
Sutcliff did her research of 4th century Britain well as we read of Artos and his companions (No 'Knights of the Round Table) travelling across Britain to keep the Saxon invaders and the raiding Picts and Scots out. An interesting part here comes from Artos engagement with the Little Dark People, a fascinating race of the original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain , skilled in herblore and mysticism , and fighting for survival against stronger tribes, they do not act aggressively to other people if unprovoked but once they are harmed they become fatal and implacable enemies. Their girls are beautiful but age quickly
Their is no Merlin here, no Grail Quest, Lancelot is absent but his character is filled in with Arthur's close friend and comrade Bedwyr. and here's were the adultery committed with Arthur's Caledonian queen Guinemara comes in.
Very vivid and poetic description of 4th century Britain. Gritty realistic war scenes, strong sense of realism when confronted with love, hate and betrayal Masterful description of how Artos is drugged and deceived into sexual intercourse with his half-sister Ygerna (clealry the one we know in most tales as Morgause or Morgana) and the later arrival in his life of the result of that union and his doom, Medraut, a youth brought up on hatred.
Central to the novel is the struggle by Artos to keep Romano-British civilization alive against the ever encroaching and belligerent Saxon aggressor, Definitely a recommended part of your Arthurian experience- influenced the writings of Jack Whyte and the 2004 KInng Arthur film with Kiera Knightley and Clive Owen
October 2, 2012
Reread for my dissertation -- and all the more bittersweet this time because I knew how everything would play out. It's beautifully written, and it pretty much exemplifies Rosemary Sutcliff's usual shtick about male friendships (and a sepulchral voice that sounds like my dissertation supervisor whispers the words "homosocial bonds"...), to the point where there is actually an explicitly gay couple in the story, and Arthur and Bedwyr's relationship is deep and intense -- perhaps not sexual, but the subtext is there.
Sutcliff handles Guinevere well, too, and I have a lot of love for her version of Gwalchmai, too. But of course for my dissertation I was looking at Cei: a big, larger than life figure who drinks and womanises and is always, always faithful to Arthur, like a big faithful hound. Some of his role from the Cymric stories seems to go to Bedwyr, complete with the betrayal part (in 'Culhwch and Olwen', Cei and Arthur fall out, and that event is referenced in some of the other Cymric material).
Interesting that I'd say this is the closest to a Celtic Cei I've read anywhere outside the Cymric stories, but nonetheless Sutcliff didn't find him interesting enough to do more than reference him as a faithful hound type character without much depth whenever she needed him.
The end is a tragedy, as it should be, with all the dignity Arthur deserves. I cried.
Sutcliff handles Guinevere well, too, and I have a lot of love for her version of Gwalchmai, too. But of course for my dissertation I was looking at Cei: a big, larger than life figure who drinks and womanises and is always, always faithful to Arthur, like a big faithful hound. Some of his role from the Cymric stories seems to go to Bedwyr, complete with the betrayal part (in 'Culhwch and Olwen', Cei and Arthur fall out, and that event is referenced in some of the other Cymric material).
Interesting that I'd say this is the closest to a Celtic Cei I've read anywhere outside the Cymric stories, but nonetheless Sutcliff didn't find him interesting enough to do more than reference him as a faithful hound type character without much depth whenever she needed him.
The end is a tragedy, as it should be, with all the dignity Arthur deserves. I cried.
February 27, 2011
I didn't think I was going to like Sword at Sunset as much as I typically like Rosemary Sutcliff's books, even though it was surely combining two of my favourite things -- Sutcliff's writing and realism, and Arthurian myth. It began slowly, I think, and it was a surprising change of tone for Sutcliff -- her books are mainly written for children (of any age!), but this book had decidedly adult themes, with the incest and more explicit references to sexuality than I'd expected. It's also unusual for her in that it's written in first person, and narrated by Arthur himself.
It also, to my surprise, had a couple of LGBT themes -- a gay couple among Arthur's men, to begin with, and then the relationship between himself and Bedwyr. There's no Lancelot here, and Bedwyr takes that place in many ways, but with more of a shown relationship than I've ever found typical between Arthur and Lancelot. It brought tears to my eyes several times, especially this moment: "I could have cried out to him, as Jonathan to David, by the forbidden love names that are not used between men; I could have flung my arms around his shoulders."
There's nothing explicit about them, at all, but their bond has a profoundness about it, even after hurt and betrayal, that defies easy categorisation.
The relationship between Arthur and Guinevere is also an interesting one, and again one that makes no shortcuts using the existing myth, but builds up something believable alone. His relationship with her, the odd barriers between them, and the attempts to reach each other, and their love that isn't quite enough to bridge that gap... It's all believable.
The whole book takes some pains to be believable, emotionally, and historically. The themes, characters, etc, all seem to have some explanations for how the story could develop later... Bedwyr somewhat in the place that Lancelot takes later, Medraut almost exactly as he will be later, the moment in which Arthur realises how the badge he chooses for battle will be translated into that text which talks about him carrying the image of the Virgin Mary... And they're all aware of how the stories will be magnified, too. It's an interesting way to put it.
Oh, and I forgot to mention it when I first wrote this review, but I was fascinated by Gwalchmai, despite his relatively minor role. It's odd: he isn't related to Arthur (one of the constants of the Arthurian tradition more generally), and though he is a fighter, his main role is that of surgeon. He's also disabled. I don't think I've seen a portrayal of Gawain/Gwalchmai quite like this anywhere else.
It took me a while to get into Sword at Sunset, but it was worth trusting Rosemary Sutcliff and going with it.
It also, to my surprise, had a couple of LGBT themes -- a gay couple among Arthur's men, to begin with, and then the relationship between himself and Bedwyr. There's no Lancelot here, and Bedwyr takes that place in many ways, but with more of a shown relationship than I've ever found typical between Arthur and Lancelot. It brought tears to my eyes several times, especially this moment: "I could have cried out to him, as Jonathan to David, by the forbidden love names that are not used between men; I could have flung my arms around his shoulders."
There's nothing explicit about them, at all, but their bond has a profoundness about it, even after hurt and betrayal, that defies easy categorisation.
The relationship between Arthur and Guinevere is also an interesting one, and again one that makes no shortcuts using the existing myth, but builds up something believable alone. His relationship with her, the odd barriers between them, and the attempts to reach each other, and their love that isn't quite enough to bridge that gap... It's all believable.
The whole book takes some pains to be believable, emotionally, and historically. The themes, characters, etc, all seem to have some explanations for how the story could develop later... Bedwyr somewhat in the place that Lancelot takes later, Medraut almost exactly as he will be later, the moment in which Arthur realises how the badge he chooses for battle will be translated into that text which talks about him carrying the image of the Virgin Mary... And they're all aware of how the stories will be magnified, too. It's an interesting way to put it.
Oh, and I forgot to mention it when I first wrote this review, but I was fascinated by Gwalchmai, despite his relatively minor role. It's odd: he isn't related to Arthur (one of the constants of the Arthurian tradition more generally), and though he is a fighter, his main role is that of surgeon. He's also disabled. I don't think I've seen a portrayal of Gawain/Gwalchmai quite like this anywhere else.
It took me a while to get into Sword at Sunset, but it was worth trusting Rosemary Sutcliff and going with it.
November 24, 2019
An excellent read if you like historical novels. This is a fascinating long novel about the legendary King Arthur. The author purports to tell this version of the Arthurian legend as the 'true' record of Arthur or 'Artos , a story of the real King Arthur or Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king.
Arthur is seen here as brave and strong in battle in battle but a shrewd and wise king as a ruler. He is also shown as a warm and tender lover but "tragically tormented in love" Rosemary Sutcliff is a brilliant writer when dealing with historical fiction. Her novels about Roman Britain are really well worth reading too.
Arthur is seen here as brave and strong in battle in battle but a shrewd and wise king as a ruler. He is also shown as a warm and tender lover but "tragically tormented in love" Rosemary Sutcliff is a brilliant writer when dealing with historical fiction. Her novels about Roman Britain are really well worth reading too.
July 28, 2013
SWORD AT SUNSET
I borrowed Sword at Sunset from my local library in my youth and thought it wonderful. Many years later I found it in paperback and settled down with much anticipation to read it. I put it down after half a chapter, unable to read further because of the densely packed lines, poor paper and blurry print. It was a sore disappointment.
Recently I saw it was available on Kindle and immediately bought it.
Once again I settled down to read it. Again I put it down after one chapter.
This was for a different reason. I was overwhelmed by the artistry and mastery of the writing. I was caught and entranced, swept into a lost time and a tale which I knew would take me beyond myself and my world.
In that first chapter I knew I was in the company of a man with many strengths and many failings. His destiny would forge him into a hero, a shining beacon for his people. He would lead a doomed dream of defiance and hopeless hope.
I gulped and started to read the rest of the book. I could barely put it down.
Rosemary Sutcliff has rewritten the epic of Arthur for the modern age. She chose to place the novel in a time when a character such as Arthur may have lived, the century after the Romans left Britain when the scent and semblance of their power still lingered in towns and palaces and in the hearts and minds of a few.
Artos, the protagonist of Sword at Sunset, was one of the men who held fast to the dream of Rome.
Taking the novel out of the fanciful medieval setting enabled Sutcliff to bridge the gap between the man and the hero. She was able to blend the epic with an intimately personal novel about a man whose dedication to a noble cause could only come at a terrible personal price.
The plot of the novel is superb, the characters fascinating and beautifully realised. I don’t know how she was able to pack so much punch into every line. Her descriptions of the country are wonderful, her insights into the hearts and minds of her characters humane and clear-sighted. She maintains a light but firm grip on a lengthy narrative which spans twenty years and a thousand miles. Her descriptions of love, friendship and the terrors of battle are breathtaking.
I know of no other novel which captivates me so much that I believe I am walking in the world it describes. It is a masterpiece.
I borrowed Sword at Sunset from my local library in my youth and thought it wonderful. Many years later I found it in paperback and settled down with much anticipation to read it. I put it down after half a chapter, unable to read further because of the densely packed lines, poor paper and blurry print. It was a sore disappointment.
Recently I saw it was available on Kindle and immediately bought it.
Once again I settled down to read it. Again I put it down after one chapter.
This was for a different reason. I was overwhelmed by the artistry and mastery of the writing. I was caught and entranced, swept into a lost time and a tale which I knew would take me beyond myself and my world.
In that first chapter I knew I was in the company of a man with many strengths and many failings. His destiny would forge him into a hero, a shining beacon for his people. He would lead a doomed dream of defiance and hopeless hope.
I gulped and started to read the rest of the book. I could barely put it down.
Rosemary Sutcliff has rewritten the epic of Arthur for the modern age. She chose to place the novel in a time when a character such as Arthur may have lived, the century after the Romans left Britain when the scent and semblance of their power still lingered in towns and palaces and in the hearts and minds of a few.
Artos, the protagonist of Sword at Sunset, was one of the men who held fast to the dream of Rome.
Taking the novel out of the fanciful medieval setting enabled Sutcliff to bridge the gap between the man and the hero. She was able to blend the epic with an intimately personal novel about a man whose dedication to a noble cause could only come at a terrible personal price.
The plot of the novel is superb, the characters fascinating and beautifully realised. I don’t know how she was able to pack so much punch into every line. Her descriptions of the country are wonderful, her insights into the hearts and minds of her characters humane and clear-sighted. She maintains a light but firm grip on a lengthy narrative which spans twenty years and a thousand miles. Her descriptions of love, friendship and the terrors of battle are breathtaking.
I know of no other novel which captivates me so much that I believe I am walking in the world it describes. It is a masterpiece.
August 7, 2011
This is, for me, the definitive historical version of the Arthur story, although I do have other favourites - Mary Stewart, Parke Godwin, Jack Whyte, Bernard Cornwell. Rosemary Sutcliff's Arthur is believable. If he existed, this is how he would have been - a Romano-British leader who is passionate about saving the world he lives in, keeping the light going before the dark sets in. For him, this is the Roman way, even after the Romans have gone from Britain. His Companions are very likely the original companions of Arthur in the oldest stories - Cei, Gwalchmai, Bedwyr. Bedwyr, in this one, plays the Lancelot role, because Lancelot didn't enter the mythos till quite late in the piece. The reasons for what happens between the leader's friend and his woman are heart-wrenching and who's to say it didn't happen that way?
There's no Merlin or Camelot in this novel. This Arthur - or Artos, as he's known here - has to be on the move, to protect the land. His Companions can't allow themselves to get tied down.
You can only get the US edition of this book now, but if you don't live there, order it through your local bookshop - it's well worth it!
There's no Merlin or Camelot in this novel. This Arthur - or Artos, as he's known here - has to be on the move, to protect the land. His Companions can't allow themselves to get tied down.
You can only get the US edition of this book now, but if you don't live there, order it through your local bookshop - it's well worth it!
January 27, 2023
This book tells the story of Artos the Bear—or King Arthur, as he is better known. This is beautifully written as a believable version of the myth, shorn of its supernatural elements, but it is no less powerful for the telling.
This is the fourth Rosemary Sutcliff book I’ve read this year. And all four (the others being “Eagle of the Ninth,” “The Silver Branch,” and “The Lantern Bearers”) have been nothing less than magnificent. Which begs the question: How in the name of Artos the Bear did I manage to sleep on RS for all these years?
The likely explanation is that her writings are widely considered (including by the author herself) as Young Adult Literature. But, for the life of me, I have absolutely no idea why. Thematically, the material in these for books is very adult. War, death, violence, enslavement, political strife, and even the very struggle against starvation are constant themes in her books. However others may choose to categorize them, I simply consider them top-shelf Historical Fiction suitable for adult readers of any age.
Sutcliff’s books are masterfully woven stories, written in lovely poetic prose, and are about protagonists struggling to retain honor and duty under the most trying circumstances. They immerse the reader in a too-often forgotten time in history that can be stunningly beautiful and at other times starkly brutal. RS is now among my favorite authors—I am so grateful to have discovered her work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the fourth Rosemary Sutcliff book I’ve read this year. And all four (the others being “Eagle of the Ninth,” “The Silver Branch,” and “The Lantern Bearers”) have been nothing less than magnificent. Which begs the question: How in the name of Artos the Bear did I manage to sleep on RS for all these years?
The likely explanation is that her writings are widely considered (including by the author herself) as Young Adult Literature. But, for the life of me, I have absolutely no idea why. Thematically, the material in these for books is very adult. War, death, violence, enslavement, political strife, and even the very struggle against starvation are constant themes in her books. However others may choose to categorize them, I simply consider them top-shelf Historical Fiction suitable for adult readers of any age.
Sutcliff’s books are masterfully woven stories, written in lovely poetic prose, and are about protagonists struggling to retain honor and duty under the most trying circumstances. They immerse the reader in a too-often forgotten time in history that can be stunningly beautiful and at other times starkly brutal. RS is now among my favorite authors—I am so grateful to have discovered her work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 16, 2021
I am not at all sure how to rate this novel. I know Sutcliff considered it one of her finest; I see it as ambitious, but deeply flawed. It's one of Sutcliff's longest books, but it never seems to have enough space for its characters to breathe, to be human--the setting is grounded, but the cast is reduced to archetypes. And some of those archetypes (Merdraut's innate evil, particularly) aren't Sutcliff's strengths.
It made me cry, though, so I can't deny I found it emotionally engaging by the end.
It made me cry, though, so I can't deny I found it emotionally engaging by the end.
June 13, 2011
If I had read this book as a child, it would have fundamentally changed my life in the way The Dark is Rising did.
I'm not sure I can do credit to "Sword at Sunset." Sutcliff wrote this fundamentally realist version of the Arthur mythos in the fifties, and the degree to which it has apparently influenced all realist and semi-realist Arthurian narratives that follow it is vast. I've read a fair amount of these and other Arthurian books--not that I would call myself an Arthurian per se, more of a habitual enthusiast--and Sutcliff's rendering reads so fundamentally sound that it's clear where later iterations lightly lifted their plot from.
The balance of the Romano-British tradition juxtaposed against the Saxon expansion was masterful. The two key dramatic parts of the Arthurian narrative were kept and for the first time in a decade or more, they actually kept me on the edge of my seat--even knowing what would happen.
If you have the slightest inclination towards the Arthurian mythos, read this. Sutcliff was a master at her craft, and this is her crowning adult reader work.
I'm not sure I can do credit to "Sword at Sunset." Sutcliff wrote this fundamentally realist version of the Arthur mythos in the fifties, and the degree to which it has apparently influenced all realist and semi-realist Arthurian narratives that follow it is vast. I've read a fair amount of these and other Arthurian books--not that I would call myself an Arthurian per se, more of a habitual enthusiast--and Sutcliff's rendering reads so fundamentally sound that it's clear where later iterations lightly lifted their plot from.
The balance of the Romano-British tradition juxtaposed against the Saxon expansion was masterful. The two key dramatic parts of the Arthurian narrative were kept and for the first time in a decade or more, they actually kept me on the edge of my seat--even knowing what would happen.
If you have the slightest inclination towards the Arthurian mythos, read this. Sutcliff was a master at her craft, and this is her crowning adult reader work.
February 11, 2011
Of course I'd read Thos. Malory as a child. But when I found "Sword at Sunset" at sixteen or so, I knew that this was the version of Arthur that I needed. All those people who loved "Mists of Avalon" or "Once and Future King" just...baffled me. Sutcliff's post-Roman Britain was the only Arthurian version I could imagine at all. Spare, harsh, austere, dark...and that vision of the last lingering lights of civilisation and Romanitas being held aloft against the Saxon flood and the inevitable dark. Her Arthur--- Artos, he is, war-leader and cavalryman ---is a figure I can admire. This is fine writing and a vividly told tale, with characters worth caring about. An old, clear favourite.
February 2, 2010
The best "modern" Arthur story I've read. Wish I'd read it forty years ago. About as close to a happy ending as you can hope for given how many of his close friends and relatives were betraying our protagonist.
Not to be confused with historically accurate, you understand, but that's never been a big consideration in Arthur stories. I can sum Rosemary's errors in one word: stirrup. Western Europe still didn't have stirrups when Charles Martel stopped the Umayyads at Tours in 732. Artos couldn't have had them in Britain 400 years earlier. And without stirrups using long spears like Medieval lances is impossible. Hey, it's fiction.
Not to be confused with historically accurate, you understand, but that's never been a big consideration in Arthur stories. I can sum Rosemary's errors in one word: stirrup. Western Europe still didn't have stirrups when Charles Martel stopped the Umayyads at Tours in 732. Artos couldn't have had them in Britain 400 years earlier. And without stirrups using long spears like Medieval lances is impossible. Hey, it's fiction.
February 15, 2009
For those of you who have never read any of Rosemary Sutcliff's books you have missed out on a great youth writer of historical fiction and this in many's mind is her best book and my own personal 2nd best favorite of the Arthurian tales. Her books are about youth but they never write down to her audience. The are almost adult in every way. They all deal with morals and character development.
September 9, 2024
After the brilliant Magnificence that is The Lantern Bearers, this was… meh. For most of the book, it missed the mark, until the redeeming straw in that last chapter.
Getting to reunite with Aquila, Ambrosius, Minnow, and Artos (all from The Lantern Bearers) *thrilled* me. But instead of delight, I was more disappointed. I still loved Ambrosius (especially those first and last scenes with him and Artos, my heart 😭) and Aquila. Flavian was grown up and not terrible (despite some questionable moral choices). But Artos? I’m not sure if I’m more upset or sad. From The Lantern Bearers I thought him one sort of man… only to find out here, he was something else completely. A man quite lacking in morals and overall admirably. Maybe it’s the fact that from a child I’ve always seen Artos (Arthur) as a noble hero, and that belief was dashed through the story. (*cue* “It’s complicated.”)
Unlike The Lantern Bearers which wove in an upward spiral from dark to light, Sword at Sunset creates more of a downward spiral—watching both Artos & Britain’s downfall. We don’t get the full downfall, although it’s coming is hinted as inevitable. Plus, there’s something very heartbreaking about the passage of time and saying goodbye to your favourite characters for the last time before they cross the final sunset. 😭
ALSO. Compared to Sutcliff’s other works with are all very Young Adult friendly, this book is ADULT. Check the content note below for a full list, but I don’t recommend this for those under 18.
I know I sound all doom and gloom, BUT there were some beautiful things about this book they will forever stick with me. Namely, the prose. ‘Tis gorgeous. And I’ve included favourite lines below because even if you never read the book (and I would probably never reread it), the poetic lines like these are worthy of remembering. 💛
Content: comment about Artos having “known” girls often; fade to black when Artos is drugged and seduced to have sex with his half sister (he didn’t know who she was); hint at 2 men in being in a romantic relationship; talk of men having “whores”; wedding night onscreen but nondescript; mentions of women’s shape, curves, and breasts; finding a young girl naked and dead, having been raped repeatedly; casual mentions of sex/premarital relations and having women travel with the Company for the men; children out of wedlock; Artos’s wife & best friend have an affair; quite a bit of violence; animal death
Quotes:
“‘A dream may be the best thing to die for.’”
"’I have roasted chestnuts with the two dearest friends I have, and I have seen the glory of the God beyond gods in a winter sky. That is a good way to spend a parting evening.’”
“Not today, not today, would Britain go down into the dark.”
“‘I remember once, long ago, Ambrosius said to me that if we fought well enough we might hold back the dark for maybe another hundred years. I asked him, seeing that the end was sure, why we did not merely lie down and let it come, for the end would be easier that way. He said: ‘For a dream.’
‘And you? What did you say?’
‘Something about a dream being often the best thing to die for ... I was young, and something of a fool.’
‘Yet when there is no dream left worth dying for, that is when the people die,’ Bedwyr murmured, ‘and there is the advantage to it, that the dream can live on, even when hope dies. Yet hope has its value too.’”
“‘If tomorrow we go down into the Dark,’ Cei said at last, with awe in his deep grumble of a voice as the radiance began to fade, ‘at least we have seen the sunset.’”
“Suddenly I know he is wrong. We have held the Pass long enough—something will remain.
‘There will be more songs—more songs tomorrow, though it is not we who shall sing them.’”
Getting to reunite with Aquila, Ambrosius, Minnow, and Artos (all from The Lantern Bearers) *thrilled* me. But instead of delight, I was more disappointed. I still loved Ambrosius (especially those first and last scenes with him and Artos, my heart 😭) and Aquila. Flavian was grown up and not terrible (despite some questionable moral choices). But Artos? I’m not sure if I’m more upset or sad. From The Lantern Bearers I thought him one sort of man… only to find out here, he was something else completely. A man quite lacking in morals and overall admirably. Maybe it’s the fact that from a child I’ve always seen Artos (Arthur) as a noble hero, and that belief was dashed through the story. (*cue* “It’s complicated.”)
Unlike The Lantern Bearers which wove in an upward spiral from dark to light, Sword at Sunset creates more of a downward spiral—watching both Artos & Britain’s downfall. We don’t get the full downfall, although it’s coming is hinted as inevitable. Plus, there’s something very heartbreaking about the passage of time and saying goodbye to your favourite characters for the last time before they cross the final sunset. 😭
ALSO. Compared to Sutcliff’s other works with are all very Young Adult friendly, this book is ADULT. Check the content note below for a full list, but I don’t recommend this for those under 18.
I know I sound all doom and gloom, BUT there were some beautiful things about this book they will forever stick with me. Namely, the prose. ‘Tis gorgeous. And I’ve included favourite lines below because even if you never read the book (and I would probably never reread it), the poetic lines like these are worthy of remembering. 💛
Content: comment about Artos having “known” girls often; fade to black when Artos is drugged and seduced to have sex with his half sister (he didn’t know who she was); hint at 2 men in being in a romantic relationship; talk of men having “whores”; wedding night onscreen but nondescript; mentions of women’s shape, curves, and breasts; finding a young girl naked and dead, having been raped repeatedly; casual mentions of sex/premarital relations and having women travel with the Company for the men; children out of wedlock; Artos’s wife & best friend have an affair; quite a bit of violence; animal death
Quotes:
“‘A dream may be the best thing to die for.’”
"’I have roasted chestnuts with the two dearest friends I have, and I have seen the glory of the God beyond gods in a winter sky. That is a good way to spend a parting evening.’”
“Not today, not today, would Britain go down into the dark.”
“‘I remember once, long ago, Ambrosius said to me that if we fought well enough we might hold back the dark for maybe another hundred years. I asked him, seeing that the end was sure, why we did not merely lie down and let it come, for the end would be easier that way. He said: ‘For a dream.’
‘And you? What did you say?’
‘Something about a dream being often the best thing to die for ... I was young, and something of a fool.’
‘Yet when there is no dream left worth dying for, that is when the people die,’ Bedwyr murmured, ‘and there is the advantage to it, that the dream can live on, even when hope dies. Yet hope has its value too.’”
“‘If tomorrow we go down into the Dark,’ Cei said at last, with awe in his deep grumble of a voice as the radiance began to fade, ‘at least we have seen the sunset.’”
“Suddenly I know he is wrong. We have held the Pass long enough—something will remain.
‘There will be more songs—more songs tomorrow, though it is not we who shall sing them.’”
September 17, 2010
SWORD AT SUNSET BY ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF: The late Rosemary Sutcliff was a prolific writer from the 1950s through the 1970s, publishing a number of children's books, including the Eagle of the Ninth series and a series of Arthurian novels, as well as over twenty other children's books on historical subjects. She also penned nonfiction works and adult fiction, including Sword at Sunset, originally published in 1963 and re-released on May 1st of this year.
Sword at Sunset features an introduction by Canadian author Jack Whyte, writer of the successful Camulod Chronicles, a nine-book series beginning several generations before Arthur was born. Whyte freely admits that when he first discovered Sword at Sunset it changed his life, which becomes all too clear when one has read both authors. The characterization, the tone, and the painstaking attention to historical detail and accuracy are prevalent in both works, to the point where one might think Whyte owes Sutcliff more than an introduction and homage.
In Sword at Sunset, Sutcliff creates a world where the Roman legions have left Britain, yet the sense of Romanitas remains strong, especially in the noble characters of Ambrosius and Artos the Bear. They retain not just the armor, style of combat, and the Roman military organization, but a superior, almost arrogant sense of belonging to something that was once great and could be again. Sutcliff's early medieval world is not as “dark age” as normally depicted in fiction, but thriving with trade and societal infrastructure across Europe still seemingly intact. Artos the Bear spends the beginning of the book traveling to southern France where he looks to purchase strong breeds of horses to bring back to Britain to create a strong cavalry force to fight against the invading Anglo Saxons and maintain the British control and rule.
While it is not completely clear how Artos the Bear has risen to such great prominence, he nevertheless has the backing of the people, which spurs him on to defeat the Saxons in many battles. Sutcliff introduces many familiar characters from the Arthurian world, though there is no Merlin or Lancelot (the latter originally an addition made by Chrétien de Troyes in the twelfth century), but an important appearance is made by Arthur's incestuous sister Medraut (or Morgan). Sword at Sunset reads like a historical military text with its calculated and descriptive battle scenes that make the world come alive, to the point where the reader may indeed believe such events transpired in the fifth century, leaving the common storylines of romance and chivalry out of the story completely, much as they were in the original time of Arthur.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Sword at Sunset features an introduction by Canadian author Jack Whyte, writer of the successful Camulod Chronicles, a nine-book series beginning several generations before Arthur was born. Whyte freely admits that when he first discovered Sword at Sunset it changed his life, which becomes all too clear when one has read both authors. The characterization, the tone, and the painstaking attention to historical detail and accuracy are prevalent in both works, to the point where one might think Whyte owes Sutcliff more than an introduction and homage.
In Sword at Sunset, Sutcliff creates a world where the Roman legions have left Britain, yet the sense of Romanitas remains strong, especially in the noble characters of Ambrosius and Artos the Bear. They retain not just the armor, style of combat, and the Roman military organization, but a superior, almost arrogant sense of belonging to something that was once great and could be again. Sutcliff's early medieval world is not as “dark age” as normally depicted in fiction, but thriving with trade and societal infrastructure across Europe still seemingly intact. Artos the Bear spends the beginning of the book traveling to southern France where he looks to purchase strong breeds of horses to bring back to Britain to create a strong cavalry force to fight against the invading Anglo Saxons and maintain the British control and rule.
While it is not completely clear how Artos the Bear has risen to such great prominence, he nevertheless has the backing of the people, which spurs him on to defeat the Saxons in many battles. Sutcliff introduces many familiar characters from the Arthurian world, though there is no Merlin or Lancelot (the latter originally an addition made by Chrétien de Troyes in the twelfth century), but an important appearance is made by Arthur's incestuous sister Medraut (or Morgan). Sword at Sunset reads like a historical military text with its calculated and descriptive battle scenes that make the world come alive, to the point where the reader may indeed believe such events transpired in the fifth century, leaving the common storylines of romance and chivalry out of the story completely, much as they were in the original time of Arthur.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
June 25, 2023
I can't believe Sutcliff actually wrote an Arthur book. Wasn't The Lantern Bearers ENOUGH?
This is the continued story of Artos the Bear, a warrior fighting against the waves of Saxon invasion in the wake of Rome's final withdrawal from Britain. It's great.
He's the bastard heir of a once-great house, a fighting man from his youth, who takes his close-knit band of men into battle with high ideals of civilization at stake. There's horse-training and horse-breeding strategy. There's close bonds of loyalty forged under fire. There's the Little Dark People who haunt the wild lands North of the Wall.
And then. And THEN. There's marriage to Guenhumara. And it, too, starts out pretty good.
Honestly, this is Sutcliff's most "grown" book, and it has to be to accommodate the Arthur story. There's incest rape. Gay relationship mention. Adultery. Horrible, traumatic sex scene. There's nothing romantic about any of this. It's just painful. I had to read in big wincing chunks, bracing myself as I went.
The real cascade of Arthurian doom doesn't start until almost the last sixth of the book, which surprised me. I had been ready for it all to go wrong by the halfway point, but for the most part... it didn't. It was ominously foreshadowed from the very beginning, but we had a good run. There were cameos from Aquila, who I really loved seeing from Artos's perspective, and his son Flavian. The dolphin ring was again passed on.
Overall, this book punched me in the solar plexus exactly as I anticipated. I was never going to be able to write about this story coherently. It hurt, but I loved it too.
This is the continued story of Artos the Bear, a warrior fighting against the waves of Saxon invasion in the wake of Rome's final withdrawal from Britain. It's great.
He's the bastard heir of a once-great house, a fighting man from his youth, who takes his close-knit band of men into battle with high ideals of civilization at stake. There's horse-training and horse-breeding strategy. There's close bonds of loyalty forged under fire. There's the Little Dark People who haunt the wild lands North of the Wall.
And then. And THEN. There's marriage to Guenhumara. And it, too, starts out pretty good.
Honestly, this is Sutcliff's most "grown" book, and it has to be to accommodate the Arthur story. There's incest rape. Gay relationship mention. Adultery. Horrible, traumatic sex scene. There's nothing romantic about any of this. It's just painful. I had to read in big wincing chunks, bracing myself as I went.
The real cascade of Arthurian doom doesn't start until almost the last sixth of the book, which surprised me. I had been ready for it all to go wrong by the halfway point, but for the most part... it didn't. It was ominously foreshadowed from the very beginning, but we had a good run. There were cameos from Aquila, who I really loved seeing from Artos's perspective, and his son Flavian. The dolphin ring was again passed on.
Overall, this book punched me in the solar plexus exactly as I anticipated. I was never going to be able to write about this story coherently. It hurt, but I loved it too.
April 18, 2012
This is Standard Arthurian Legend without the Standard and the Legend; Sutcliff grounds her story in the real history and salts it with the grit and pain of real war. The characters' names may not be recognizable (other than Artos and Guenhumara, which are barely so) but the story is familiar. And even the standard story (Arthur betrayed by his son by his half-sister, and by his best friend) is really only a minor part of this story of one man's battle to unite Britain - the tribes and the remnants of Rome - against the Saxon invaders and their allies.
I am also tagging this glbt because one important thread in this book is the story of two of Artos's soldiers who love each other; and there are implications that Artos and Bedwyr (the Lancelot role) may be lovers as well - certainly they are "closer than brothers". But really, the themes are similar to those of Sutcliff's other books, of loyalty and brotherhood, of love for one's country and those who fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you to help you keep it safe, and of keeping the light of civilization burning bright against the barbarian dark.
The writing is magnificent, and my emotions took a beating in this one.
I am also tagging this glbt because one important thread in this book is the story of two of Artos's soldiers who love each other; and there are implications that Artos and Bedwyr (the Lancelot role) may be lovers as well - certainly they are "closer than brothers". But really, the themes are similar to those of Sutcliff's other books, of loyalty and brotherhood, of love for one's country and those who fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you to help you keep it safe, and of keeping the light of civilization burning bright against the barbarian dark.
The writing is magnificent, and my emotions took a beating in this one.
September 22, 2012
Ah, the beauty of a well-written book. While I was reading this, the characters stayed with me, so that as I went about my daily life, I was aware of them there in my mind, as real as the rest of the world around me. Sutcliff has a very powerful writing style; calm, quiet, yet full of strength. This is the story of Arthur fighting the Saxons in post-Roman Britain, yet it is a more realistic Arthur, without the trappings of medieval chivalry that distract us from the hardships of battle. This Arthur is a king who fights for freedom and peace, "the dream that keeps men alive", and in him we see glimpses of our own High King. (Indeed, Sutcliff explicitly refers to the king who must sacrifice himself for his people.) Arthur is a true hero, called to do hard things at a great cost, putting his own interests aside for the sake of others. This is an inspiring story, and I admire the way the author wove together other parts of the legend into this more earthy version.
August 28, 2016
My first taste of Rosemary Sutcliff, and I'm off to read everything she published.
I have read and reread Idylls of the King, The Mists of Avalon and The Once and Future King, but this version of the Arthurian legend--yet another unique take, completely earthbound and set in the grim days of the waning Roman Empire--also rates five stars in my constellation, because I do expect to keep it on my shelf, ready for rainy-day re-reading.
December 1, 2015
Wonderful re-imagining of the legend of King Arthur based on meticulous and realistic historical detail that brings us Arthur (or Artos as he is known in the book) as brilliant warrior and leader but flawed man nonetheless. Sutcliff writes beautiful prose, particularly her descriptions of landscape, and underlying the narrative is a spiritual, mythical element that creates the sense of Artos's fate awaiting him throughout the book.
Read
October 7, 2019DNF at 4%. Ew. No. Incest in first person is not my scene.
Maybe I'll be back, when I'm ready to say goodbye to Sutcliff? Doubtful? But the cover (my cover, not this one!) is pretty gorgeous, and the concept of the plot is intriguing . . .
But WHYYYYYYYYYY
Maybe I'll be back, when I'm ready to say goodbye to Sutcliff? Doubtful? But the cover (my cover, not this one!) is pretty gorgeous, and the concept of the plot is intriguing . . .
But WHYYYYYYYYYY
January 8, 2018
The legend of King Arthur is one that has been retold many times down the centuries. Most are rehashes of the original Morte D'Arthur. Some rise above the crowd and bring a new perspective. For me the best retelling of the classic "chivalrous" legend is TH White's The Once and Future King. But what Rosemary Sutcliffe does with Sword at Sunset is set Arthur (or Artorius as he is here) in a historical context, specifically post-Roman Britain at the time of the Saxon invasions. And it works brilliantly.
Sutcliffe was an accomplished historical novelist, in the main writing so-called "children's books" (but they can happily be read as adult novels. She never talked down to her readership). Sword at Sunset is another link in the chain begun by Eagle of The Ninth, (followed by The Silver Branch, Frontier Wolf and The Lantern Bearers) and tells, in flashback, in Artorius's own words, the story of Artos The Bear, Count of Britain, war leader under the High King Ambrosius, battling to hold together the last remnants of Romano-British Civilisation in Britain, in the face of Saxon invaders. The historical detail is meticulous. This is a book about war, about holding back the darkness for as long as possible, trying to forge a nation out of tribes, princelings and warlords. But into this context Sutcliffe still weaves the parts of the legend we know - the seed of sin that will undo Artos's efforts, the betrayal by those closest to him.
A large part of the book is taken up with his campaigning beyond Hadrian's Wall as he seeks to quell the Scots and forge alliances. It is here he meets and marries Guenhumara (Guinevere). There is sorrow and hardship, laughter and the bond of brotherhood. There may be no round table but there is definitely a band of Brothers.
There is no Camelot here, no Lancelot, no Merlin, but the tale is not lessened by their absence. The sense of doom, of inevitable fate pervades the novel as the old drama plays out. Artorius does indeed become High King but there is no real lasting peace. There are constant battles to be fought.
In the end, the light of civilisation must inevitably succumb to the Saxon hordes, for that is how the history of these Isles is written. We are a people of immigrants - Roman, Saxon, Jute, Angle, Norman....the list goes on. Britain is, and always has been, greater than the sum of its parts and we have never been defined by one race or people. We would do well to remember that now.
Sutcliffe's novel is superb, one of the best retellings of the tale of Arthur and a must for anyone interested in Arthur and what it means to be British.
Hic iacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus.
Sutcliffe was an accomplished historical novelist, in the main writing so-called "children's books" (but they can happily be read as adult novels. She never talked down to her readership). Sword at Sunset is another link in the chain begun by Eagle of The Ninth, (followed by The Silver Branch, Frontier Wolf and The Lantern Bearers) and tells, in flashback, in Artorius's own words, the story of Artos The Bear, Count of Britain, war leader under the High King Ambrosius, battling to hold together the last remnants of Romano-British Civilisation in Britain, in the face of Saxon invaders. The historical detail is meticulous. This is a book about war, about holding back the darkness for as long as possible, trying to forge a nation out of tribes, princelings and warlords. But into this context Sutcliffe still weaves the parts of the legend we know - the seed of sin that will undo Artos's efforts, the betrayal by those closest to him.
A large part of the book is taken up with his campaigning beyond Hadrian's Wall as he seeks to quell the Scots and forge alliances. It is here he meets and marries Guenhumara (Guinevere). There is sorrow and hardship, laughter and the bond of brotherhood. There may be no round table but there is definitely a band of Brothers.
There is no Camelot here, no Lancelot, no Merlin, but the tale is not lessened by their absence. The sense of doom, of inevitable fate pervades the novel as the old drama plays out. Artorius does indeed become High King but there is no real lasting peace. There are constant battles to be fought.
In the end, the light of civilisation must inevitably succumb to the Saxon hordes, for that is how the history of these Isles is written. We are a people of immigrants - Roman, Saxon, Jute, Angle, Norman....the list goes on. Britain is, and always has been, greater than the sum of its parts and we have never been defined by one race or people. We would do well to remember that now.
Sutcliffe's novel is superb, one of the best retellings of the tale of Arthur and a must for anyone interested in Arthur and what it means to be British.
Hic iacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus.
May 17, 2017
I enjoyed this very much, despite it being a story that I knew and knew well how it ends. After all, how many books have been written about King Arthur?!
The tactical skill and maneuvers of the battles were my favourite. They were very satisfying, like the strategy in the battles in Ender's Game. Often when you read about large armies coming together, the focus is on mass confusion and disarray and frustrating incompetence, but not here; whether it was just Artos' instinct as a war leader, or something that remained of his Roman training - who knows, but it was awesome!
The narration is from Artos' viewpoint, and about halfway through I started to notice the amount of description of each moment in time, and it jarred a little - as if it couldn't possibly be Artos who noticed all these things, but the author's eye coming through. I got over that, though. Artos is portrayed as such a skilled commander and judge of human nature, that it isn't surprising he WOULD notice all these little details.
When Artos and his companions grow old, he looks around at the young men of Britain and muses that in his time, young men were braver, larger somehow, and now they are diminished. Rosemary Sutcliff's books are like that to me - a bit larger and greater than what is published today in the same general genre. She can make you feel more - friendship is sweeter and deeper, the deeds of the day are greater and truer and more moving. I had this same feeling at the end of her Eagle of the Ninth - that I had a brief view of a larger, grander capacity of the human heart.
The tactical skill and maneuvers of the battles were my favourite. They were very satisfying, like the strategy in the battles in Ender's Game. Often when you read about large armies coming together, the focus is on mass confusion and disarray and frustrating incompetence, but not here; whether it was just Artos' instinct as a war leader, or something that remained of his Roman training - who knows, but it was awesome!
The narration is from Artos' viewpoint, and about halfway through I started to notice the amount of description of each moment in time, and it jarred a little - as if it couldn't possibly be Artos who noticed all these things, but the author's eye coming through. I got over that, though. Artos is portrayed as such a skilled commander and judge of human nature, that it isn't surprising he WOULD notice all these little details.
When Artos and his companions grow old, he looks around at the young men of Britain and muses that in his time, young men were braver, larger somehow, and now they are diminished. Rosemary Sutcliff's books are like that to me - a bit larger and greater than what is published today in the same general genre. She can make you feel more - friendship is sweeter and deeper, the deeds of the day are greater and truer and more moving. I had this same feeling at the end of her Eagle of the Ninth - that I had a brief view of a larger, grander capacity of the human heart.
October 18, 2015
4.5, rounded up.
Bittersweet coda to the Roman Britain series (though this is not YA), continuing Sutcliff's usual themes of standing against impossible odds, sacrificial leaders, and protagonists chasing after a past that can no longer be revived - this, as it takes place in sub-Roman Britain, makes Arthur/Artos's quest especially have that 'flickering candle in a storm' feeling. The light is almost gone on that world, but as Artos says, not yet, not today. Not so much a gritty retelling as a grounded one: there's no Merlin here, no magic; the only quest is Artos's singleminded desire for a unified Britain, whatever the personal cost. And since this still takes its cues from the major events in the Arthur mythos, he pays plenty.
Probably more rewarding to those with a more thorough understanding of Arthurian legend, but I'm glad I read this. Highly recommended. This is Rosemary Sutcliff at the top of her game.
Bittersweet coda to the Roman Britain series (though this is not YA), continuing Sutcliff's usual themes of standing against impossible odds, sacrificial leaders, and protagonists chasing after a past that can no longer be revived - this, as it takes place in sub-Roman Britain, makes Arthur/Artos's quest especially have that 'flickering candle in a storm' feeling. The light is almost gone on that world, but as Artos says, not yet, not today. Not so much a gritty retelling as a grounded one: there's no Merlin here, no magic; the only quest is Artos's singleminded desire for a unified Britain, whatever the personal cost. And since this still takes its cues from the major events in the Arthur mythos, he pays plenty.
Probably more rewarding to those with a more thorough understanding of Arthurian legend, but I'm glad I read this. Highly recommended. This is Rosemary Sutcliff at the top of her game.
October 1, 2011
Wonderful story of the Celtic warrior that we know as King Arthur. This tale starts with Artos the Bear as a young calvary leader and ends with his last battle where he kills his traitorous son, Merdraut. The reader can very much feel the betrayal of Artos' friendship with the affair of Artos' wife, Guenhumara, and his best friend, Bedwyr (not Lancelot!). This story shows that King Arthur may not have been the very chivalrous and pristine knight that some writers pen him to be within their stories. I love Rosemary Sutcliff, and decided to read this after I read her book "The Eagle of the Ninth". I recommend this book to any reader who loves Celtic Britain or King Arthur!
September 4, 2013
The Sword at Sunset by Mary Renault; in many ways it is almost a companion piece to the Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem (another of my very favourite novels).
Sword at Sunset, like the Eagle in the Snow deals with the very last waning of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, but this time, specifically in Britain. It is also my favourite version of the Arthur story / Arthurian legend.
I don't want to write too much about it and spoil anyone's future enjoyment, but this was one of Rosemary Sutcliff's few adult historical novels and it is superb in every way. Highly recommended indeed.
The best recommendation - I now own 3 copies. It's a book I will always own and always re-read.
Sword at Sunset, like the Eagle in the Snow deals with the very last waning of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, but this time, specifically in Britain. It is also my favourite version of the Arthur story / Arthurian legend.
I don't want to write too much about it and spoil anyone's future enjoyment, but this was one of Rosemary Sutcliff's few adult historical novels and it is superb in every way. Highly recommended indeed.
The best recommendation - I now own 3 copies. It's a book I will always own and always re-read.
December 27, 2013
I found this book at the library one afternoon, sitting lonely on a shelf. It was naked, with no dust jacket and no cover art - just a title. I love Arthurian legend, so I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. It's one of a handful of books I've read twice as an adult. I read it again just to remind myself how good it was. It's a look at Arthur how he really would have been chronologically. There are no pretty pennants blowing from gorgeous castles. It's dirty and grimy and takes you to the heart of what it meant to be Britain and what it may have meant to be Arthur. If you like Arthurian legend, you will like this.
March 31, 2018
3.5 stars
I had a bit of trouble with the character of Artos here - the language Sutcliff gave him is too flowery and poetic for a 4th century war chief who spends most of his time swinging a sword.
However, I really liked Bedwyr.
And I liked the very gritty and realistic feel of the story, there were no fantastic elements of the Arthurian Legend like Merlin or magic or lake ladies... it's a good historical novel though if you want your Arthur with a bit more realism.
As for the emotional impact - the part of a book that makes or breaks it for me - , I'd say so-so. I could not really connect to Artos, but was quite taken with Bedwyr.
I had a bit of trouble with the character of Artos here - the language Sutcliff gave him is too flowery and poetic for a 4th century war chief who spends most of his time swinging a sword.
However, I really liked Bedwyr.
And I liked the very gritty and realistic feel of the story, there were no fantastic elements of the Arthurian Legend like Merlin or magic or lake ladies... it's a good historical novel though if you want your Arthur with a bit more realism.
As for the emotional impact - the part of a book that makes or breaks it for me - , I'd say so-so. I could not really connect to Artos, but was quite taken with Bedwyr.
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