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A review by morgandhu
Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutcliff
3.0
When I was young, I read all of the books written by Rosemary Sutcliff that I could find, but that was a very long time ago, and I do not remember if this novel, Dawn Wind, was among them.
It is one of her young adult novels, and thus not a particularly challenging read, but it is still a solid historical novel, with a personable young hero and an interesting time to tell a story in.
Roman Britain is almost gone, yielding to the incursions of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Owain, a young British boy orphaned in battle, finds a young British girl, Regina, the survivor of a sacked Romano-British city. Together they try to escape to Gaul, but the girl falls ill, and to buy her a place in a household where she will be cared for, sells the only thing he has (other than his father's ring, which he buries rather than give it into Saxon hands) - his freedom.
Sutcliff's account of Owain's life as a thrall among the Saxons gives light to the events and customs of the period, as he witnesses the rise to power of Aethelbert of Kent and the arrival of Augustine of Hippo in Britain. And there's a happy ending, too.
It is one of her young adult novels, and thus not a particularly challenging read, but it is still a solid historical novel, with a personable young hero and an interesting time to tell a story in.
Roman Britain is almost gone, yielding to the incursions of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Owain, a young British boy orphaned in battle, finds a young British girl, Regina, the survivor of a sacked Romano-British city. Together they try to escape to Gaul, but the girl falls ill, and to buy her a place in a household where she will be cared for, sells the only thing he has (other than his father's ring, which he buries rather than give it into Saxon hands) - his freedom.
Sutcliff's account of Owain's life as a thrall among the Saxons gives light to the events and customs of the period, as he witnesses the rise to power of Aethelbert of Kent and the arrival of Augustine of Hippo in Britain. And there's a happy ending, too.