The Lantern Bearers (Sutcliff novel)

This article is about the book by Rosemary Sutcliff. For other books and uses of the term, see The Lantern Bearers.

The Lantern Bearers
First edition
AuthorRosemary Sutcliff
IllustratorCharles Keeping
LanguageEnglish
Series
  • Roman Britain;
  • Marcus[1]
GenreHistorical novel, children's adventure novel
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
December 1959
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardcover; paperback)
Pages252 pp (first edition)
OCLC9405024
LC ClassPZ7.S966 Lan[2]
Preceded byThe Silver Branch 
Followed bySword at Sunset 

The Lantern Bearers is a historical novel for children by Rosemary Sutcliff, first published by Oxford in 1959 with illustrations by Charles Keeping. Set in Roman Britain during the 5th century, it is the story of a British Roman's life after the final withdrawal of Roman troops (around 410). Sutcliff won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.[3]

Lantern Bearers is the third of four books sometimes catalogued as the Marcus series (1954 to 1963), inaugurated by The Eagle of the Ninth.[1] At the same time it is the fourth of eight books sometimes called the Eagle of the Ninth series (1954 to 1997). Its themes are more complex than in the first two Marcus books. Issues of loss, estrangement, and loyalty are more complicated, pulling main characters in conflicting directions. Reviewers tend to regard it as appropriate for a slightly older readership than its predecessors.[citation needed] On the other hand, it is "officially a children's book" while its sequel Sword at Sunset is "officially an adult book". According to Sutcliff, "my books are for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."[4] Within the loosely connected Eagle of the Ninth series, The Lantern Bearers is first of the specifically "Arthurian" works. In the sequel, beginning three days later, the viewpoint shifts from Aquila to Arthur.[4]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference isfdb-series was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "The lantern bearers" (first U.S. edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference medal1959 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference taliesin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).