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Sign up todayThe Lantern Bearers
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Learn moreWhen the last of the Roman Auxiliaries leave Britain forever, they abandon the country to internal strife and the menace of invasion by Saxons. These are dark days indeed for Aquila, a young Roman officer who returns to his family villa to find all that he loves destroyed by the invaders. He escapes slavery only to learn that his sister has married a Saxon, and the knowledge fills him with bitterness. It takes many years of hardship and strenuous fighting under the Roman-British leader Ambrosius before Aquila finds a measure of contentment, learned partly from the kind and gentle Brother Ninnias, partly from the loving loyalty of his wife Ness, and partly from an encounter with his sister’s son who is fighting with the enemy. This exciting chronicle, full of stirring incident and bitter conflict, brings to vivid life the turbulent period before the Dark Ages.
Rosemary Sutcliff (1920–1992) was born in Surrey, England. A voracious private reader, she left her regular studies at fourteen to attend art school. In 1950 her first children’s book was published, and from then on, she devoted her time and talents to writing children’s historical novels. Many of her books are set in Roman Britain, a period that particularly interested her. She received the OBE in 1975 and, in 1992, was awarded the CBE. She was still writing on the morning of her death at the age of seventy-two.
Johanna Ward (a.k.a. Kate Reading) is an Audie Award–winning narrator and has received numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine. She is also a theater actor in the Washington, DC, area and has been a member of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company since 1987. Her work onstage has been recognized by the Helen Hayes Awards Society, among others. She and her husband live in Hyattsville, Maryland, with their two children.
Reviews
“A spellbinding historical adventure.”
“This is historical fiction at its best. Post Roman Britain comes alive in this novel. The characters are all believable and no matter how small a part they play they are complete, as is the plot—no strands are left loose.”
“This is an exciting chronicle full of stirring incident and bitter conflict. With her customary skill, Rosemary Sutcliff brings vividly to life the turbulent period of her story, the time when the last of the Romans in Britain were struggling to carry forward what light they could into the Dark Ages that were to follow.”
“A book that rewards careful reading and that tells a good story.”
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