The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff

The title is from a remark by one of the characters, Eugenus the Physician, 'We are the lantern bearers, my friend for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind.' The effort to maintain what the protagonists see as the light of civilisation against Saxon barbarians is central to the plot of the book. In the sequel, beginning three days later, the viewpoint shifts from Aquila to Arthur. According to Sutcliff, 'my books are for children of all ages, from nine to ninety.' Within the loosely connected Eagle of the Ninth series, The Lantern Bearers is first of the specifically ' Arthurian' works. On the other hand, it is 'officially a children's book' while its sequel Sword at Sunset is 'officially an adult book'. Reviewers tend to regard it as appropriate for a slightly older readership than its predecessors. Issues of loss, estrangement, and loyalty are more complicated, pulling main characters in conflicting directions. Its themes are more complex than in the first two Marcus books. At the same time it is the fourth of eight books sometimes called the Eagle of the Ninth series (1954 to 1997). Lantern Bearers is the third of four books sometimes catalogued as the Marcus series (1954 to 1963), inaugurated by The Eagle of the Ninth. Sutcliff won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. 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). The Lantern Bearers is a historical novel for children by Rosemary Sutcliff, first published by Oxford in 1959 with illustrations by Charles Keeping.

The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff