The Armourer's House

Last updated

The Armourer's House
The Armourer's House cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Rosemary Sutcliff
Illustrator C. Walter Hodges
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Historical novel
Publisher OUP
Publication date
1951
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages235 pp
ISBN 0-19-277027-6

The Armourer's House is a children's historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and first published in 1951.

Contents

It is set primarily in London during the reign of King Henry VIII. It is Sutcliff's third book, and is acknowledged by her as being 'a little too cozy and a little too sweet,' being part of what she refers to as her 'apprenticeship phase of writing. [1] ' and will likely read as more of an outright children's novel than most of her later works. Though unrelated to the Eagle of the Ninth series connected by the Dolphin Signet ring, this novel features Sutcliff's first use of Dolphin imagery in her storytelling.

Plot summary

The story revolves around a 10-year-old girl named Tamsyn, who has been orphaned and is being raised by her uncle, a shipowner in Bideford. She is brought to live in London by another uncle, who works as a swordsmith, or armourer, being the owner of the house after which the novel is titled.

Tamsyn is a dark-complected girl, contrasting with the entirely red headed family which has taken her in; showing Sutcliff's reoccurring themes of outsiders, belonging, red heads, and light vs. dark. She is homesick for her West Country life, but slowly adapts to London city life and being part of a larger family. Through the novel she witnesses Morris dancers on May Day; visits the market in Cheapside, the Billingsgate Fish Market, and the Royal Dockyard in Deptford. She watches King Henry VIII and his current queen Anne Boleyn proceed up the Thames in his royal barge, transiting from his palace in Greenwich to his palace in Westminster. The mother of the house tells them the tale of Tam Lin on Halloween, which parallels the theme of a girl who struggles to pursue her dreams.

She watches tall ships at the docks, consistently showing a strong interest in sailing, which she shares with one of the Armourer's sons, Piers. Both Piers and Tamsyn dream of sailing away and exploring the word, adventuring with the backdrop of the Age of Exploration. Piers is restrained by being bound as an apprentice to his father, while Tamsyn is restrained by being a girl.

The oldest son, who had been thought drowned, returns to the family on Christmas Eve while they are home singing Christmas Carols. This frees Piers from his obligation, so he is welcomed to sail with the ship-owning uncle in the coming spring. Tamsyn is overjoyed, as he has promised to bring her along when he is older and becomes master of a ship.

Language

The language employed by Sutcliff in the novel as described by Gillian Lathey "resembles nothing so much as that of a 1950s; middle-class British family. Archaisms ... add a patina of historical romance to the reinforcement of familar [sic] values." [2]

Reception

Kirkus Reviews saw The Armourer's House as "A gay portrait of London in the days of Henry VII... " and "one exuberant adventure after another" with "The pictures by C. Walter Hodges ... endowed with a warmth that complements the stories." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Sutcliff</span> English novelist (1920–1992)

Rosemary Sutcliff was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novels were specifically written for adults. In a 1986 interview she said, "I would claim that my books are for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheapside</span> Street in the City of London

Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where it becomes Poultry, is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and Bank station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's tube station and square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billingsgate Fish Market</span> Fish market in Poplar in London, England

Billingsgate Fish Market is located in Poplar in London. It is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was originally established. In its original location in the 19th century, Billingsgate was the largest fish market in the world.

<i>The Eagle of the Ninth</i> 1954 childrens novel by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Eagle of the Ninth is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall.

<i>The Witch of Blackbird Pond</i> Book by Elizabeth George Speare

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late 17th-century New England. It won the Newbery Medal in 1959.

<i>Sword at Sunset</i>

Sword at Sunset is a best-selling 1963 novel by Rosemary Sutcliff. One of her few historical novels written specifically for adults, it is her interpretation of the legend of King Arthur.

<i>The Boleyn Inheritance</i> 2006 novel by Philippa Gregory

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel The Other Boleyn Girl, and one of the additions to her six-part series on the Tudor royals. * The novel is told through the first-person narratives of – Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn, who was mentioned in The Other Boleyn Girl. It covers a period from 1539 until 1542 and chronicles the fourth and fifth marriages of King Henry VIII of England.

<i>Dawn Wind</i> Historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff

Dawn Wind is a historical novel for children and young adults written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1961 by Oxford University Press, with illustrations by Charles Keeping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahere</span>

Rahere, or Raher or Raherius, was an Anglo-Norman priest and monk. He was a favourite of King Henry I and is most famous for having founded the Priory of the Hospital of St Bartholomew in 1123.

<i>Warrior Scarlet</i> 1958 historical adventure novel for children by Rosemary Sutcliff

Warrior Scarlet is an historical adventure novel for children by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Charles Keeping and first published in 1958. It is set in Bronze Age Britain, approximately 900 BCE, and takes place in and around the South Downs in England.

William II of England has been depicted in various cultural media.

<i>Simon</i> (Sutcliff novel)

Simon is a children's historical novel written by Rosemary Sutcliff, first published in 1953. It is set during the First English Civil War, primarily focusing on the final campaign of 1645-1646 in the West Country and shows the effect of the conflict on two friends, who find themselves on opposite sides.

<i>Sun Horse, Moon Horse</i>

Sun Horse, Moon Horse is a historical novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1977.

<i>Black Ships Before Troy</i>

Black Ships Before Troy: The story of the Iliad is a novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Alan Lee, and published (posthumously) by Frances Lincoln in 1993. Partly based on the Iliad, the book retells the story of the Trojan War, from the birth of Paris to the building of the Trojan Horse. For his part Lee won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognizing the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject.

<i>Lady in Waiting</i> (novel)

Lady in Waiting is a historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and first published in 1957.

<i>Tristan and Iseult</i> (novel) 1971 book by Rosemary Sutcliff

Tristan and Iseult is a children's novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and was first published in 1971. A re-telling of the ancient legend, it received the Boston-Globe Horn Book Award in 1972, and was runner-up for the 1972 Carnegie Medal.

<i>The Sword and the Circle</i>

The Sword and the Circle, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a children's novel written by Rosemary Sutcliff and was first published in 1981. The story is a retelling of the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. According to her own statements in the introduction, The Sword and the Circle follows the myths and folktales of King Arthur, crediting inspiration primarily from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur; other sources include Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, English ballads, and Irish folktales. She contrasts this telling of the King Arthur story with her previous novels, The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset, which were more an attempt to connect with a concrete historical figure behind the folktales.

<i>The Shield Ring</i>

The Shield Ring is a historical novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1956. It is the last in a sequence of novels, chronologically started with The Eagle of the Ninth, loosely tracing a family of the Roman Empire, then Britain, and finally Norse-Britain, who inherit an emerald seal ring bearing the insignia of a dolphin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felix Felton</span> British actor, director, composer and author

Robert Forbes Felton, known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author.

<i>Knights Fee</i> (novel) 1960 childrens novel by Rosemary Sutcliff

Knight's Fee is a children's historical novel written by Rosemary Sutcliff, first published in 1960. It is set in and around the South Downs in England, near the towns of Steyning and Arundel in West Sussex and covers the period 1094–1106, some 30–40 years after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

References

  1. Historical Novel Society: Rosemary Sutcliff
  2. Fiona M. Collins; Judith Graham (2012). Historical Fiction for Children: Capturing the Past. Routledge. p. 33. ISBN   9781315069333 . Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  3. "Zia". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Media LLC. 15 June 1952. Retrieved 29 May 2015.