In a children’s literature class in my first year of graduate school, I discovered Rosemary Sutcliff. She was an astonishingly fine writer of books for young people about ancient Britain. My favorites are three that cover the last Romans to leave Britain, the violence of the Saxon invasions, and finally a growing hope for peace and safety: The Eagle of the Ninth, The Lantern Bearers, and Dawn Wind. I especially love Dawn Wind. In fact, I broke a date one evening so I could stay home and finish the book. My mother never understood but it seemed to me a very reasonable thing to do.
