Death of the Corn King

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have For Fans of Sutcliff's Work
Review: The editor's description above gives a concise summary of this book, so I will just offer a reader's impression. Adapted from Barbara Talcroft's graduate thesis, her work is a perfect balance of organized scholarly research, and very entertaining reading. She focuses her study on 3 major themes that run throught Sutcliff's work, set in early Britain: the Sacrificial King, the Maimed King, and the worship of the Goddess. She examines only Sutcliff's novels aimed at young adults, as well as the incomparable 'Sword at Sunset' (in my opinion, the best Arthurian novel ever written). Talcroft's concise analysis and observations about these themes, and how they play out in the characters and storylines, offer a very valuable supplement to Sutcliff's novels.

I agreed completely with Talcroft's appreciation of Rosemary Sutcliff as a writer whose brilliance goes far beyond that of simply a novelist of historical fiction. She illuminates the major influences on Sutcliff's work, notably the classic study of ancient religion "The Golden Bough", and the works of Rudyard Kipling, Sutcliff's favorite writer. Her argument that Sutcliff's genius lies not only in her masterful skills as a writer, but in her talent for helping young adults to appreciate history and their own roots in ancient cultures, is a fine completion to this valuable book.

Rosemary Sutcliff herself reported that she enjoyed this book enormously, noting that she gained fresh insights into her novels, from Talcroft's observations and analysis. So did I, and so will any of Sutcliff's many fans. This book was worth every penny.