Rosemary Sutcliff

Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote "for children of all ages from eight to eighty-eight". Indeed, some of her novels were specifically written for adults . Born 14 December 1920 to George Ernest Sutcliff and his wife Elizabeth in East Clandon, Surrey, she spent her childhood in Malta and various naval bases where her father, a... Royal Navy officer, was stationed. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young, and thus used a wheelchair most of her life. Due to her chronic illness, Sutcliff spent most 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. Sutcliff's early schooling was constantly interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition.
more