| Title | : | Sword at Sunset |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0812588525 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780812588521 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 498 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1963 |
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 braiding of ancient legend, fresh research, soaring imagination and hypnotic narrative skill comes a novel that has richly earned its reputation as a classic.
Sword at Sunset Reviews
-
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. -
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! -
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. -
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 -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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! -
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. -
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. -
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.
-
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. -
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.
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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. -
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 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. -
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.
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DNF 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 -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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!
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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. -
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.
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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 really liked this Book. Am a huge fan of historical fiction and this is one of the finest books of that genre I have ever read. Ms. Suttcliffe has a beautiful style of writing. You feel as if you have lived the story.
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All the hallmarks of a great novel by Sutcliff are here: fast-paced and unflinching battle scenes; a keen eye on the weather and landscape; desperate lives finding hope where they can… While close to Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, Sutcliff creates a humanist narrative where transcendent magic is largely explained by cultic practice, and the practicalities of holding a failing culture together weave in and out of the principal characters’ motivations.
This is a far cry from the late medieval retellings: c5th Britain, and Rome has retreated, leaving fragments of structure and cultures, disused forts and half ruined palaces. Artos, Sutcliff’s Arthur, is acclaimed Caesar with “a tattered cloak.. almost, but not quite, of the imperial purple.” It is up to a complex alliance of Romano-British leaders to try and hold out against Saxon encroachment and internal treachery in the hope that every small victory allows “something to survive.” We know how this will end: Arthur is betrayed by his son and dies in the arms of Bedevere, here known as Bedwyr, Sutcliff’s version of the “ill-formed knight.”
What she gives us is essentially a story of hope, trust, and the contrary expressions of despair and betrayal, played out at a political and a personal level. The principal character, Artos, makes a mistake early in his life which casts a deep shadow over his relationship with Guenhumara his wife, his friends - and which will cost him his life. The internal struggle of Artos is laid bare for us to see, even where the man himself is incoherent or incapable. These agonising ambiguities form the psychological backbone to the rise and fall of the protagonist amid the tatters of Roman Britain.
Sutcliff’s nods towards her own books (notably the rest of what is now known as the Eagle of the Ninth series but also Sun Horse Moon Horse) are engaging, even puzzling, and show her trying to create a coherent narrative stretching back into a confused period in history. Bleaker than The Lantern Bearers (yet clearly related to it) and more brutal especially in its depiction of violence towards women and the bloodiness of battle, Sword at Sunset is nonetheless a story of hope for dark times, one of the most enduring myths of Britain re-presented in a believable and engrossing fashion by a major storyteller. -
I read this to distract myself from my problems and it did for whole nanoseconds at a time. But on the whole, this was a disjointed and overly descriptive retelling of the King Arthur legend told by a dying Arthur (here called Artos). Just when Artos had the time to write or tell his incredibly lengthy and detailed tale while gasping his last, I don't know. This was one of those books that I don't know why I bothered finishing. The teeny-tiny print didn't help matters any, either.
Sutcliff tells this as a historical novel and cuts out any reference or appearance by Merlin. It's amazing how much this story suffers from a distinct lack of magic. Yes, there are characters who believe in magic but no actual magic. There is a tribe of short, slightly built Brits called the Little Dark People or elves, but they are more like Native Americans than what we would normally think of as elves.
It's hard not compare this with Jack Whyte's Arthurian saga retelling as historical novels, although Sutcliff's approach preceded Whytes by decades. There are many elements of the last gasps of the Roman Empire in both, although Whyte is heavily into the Roman Empire thing in his first two books. By the time Arthur and a distinctly soldierly Meriln appear, the sun has set on the Empire.
Both books have long passages about horses, but Sutcliff's passages are more memorable, in my opinion. Sometimes the horses are even named and given a brief color description or are mentioned as ponies instead of drafters. I gave the book an extra star just for the horse bits, although they do not take up a majority of the book.
I see this is book five of the Dolphin Ring Saga. I've never read any of the other books in the saga and really don't intend to, so I do not know if I would have appreciated this book more if I read the previous books in the series.
My copy has a different cover than what's listed as Goodreads. Here's a link to it:
https://www.risingshadow.net/library/... -
The name King Arthur evokes mystery, dark swirling mists of the ancient past, love triangles, and haunting myths. All these are present in Rosemary Sutcliff’s Sword at Sunset, as the dark ages descend on a once-civilized island, threatened with invasion and deserted by Rome. But, if the darkness can just be held at bay for a while, perhaps a bright enough lamp will be lit to see the land win through to a more secure future.
In a modern world threatened all too frequently by darkness of its own, this novel of the past rings with lots of curious echoes. The writing is beautifully evocative, bringing times and places to vivid life, from city to mud hut, from fortress to mountain to cave. The people too come to life—barbarians with their own form of honor, allies with their own deceits, and hopes springing eternal when the thing hoped for is lost.
Sword at Sunset if a powerfully human novel, a vivid evocation of the place where myths are born, and a haunting reminder of a calling to care, not just to win. All the mythical characters are here, rendered greater by their humanity. And the echoes of loss make the presence of hope’s tiny flame all the more poignant.
There is hope. And this is a wonderful novel of hope.
Disclosure: I read this as a child and reread it recently. It’s one of those wonderful novels that doesn’t just stand the test of time, but steps over it into the future.
