The Rider of the White Horse (1959)

While Rosemary Sutcliff's writing is always good -- she knows just how to pick out the bright and dark points to illustrate a scene with graceful simplicity: maybe the light of a fire flickering, maybe a moth fluttering around a candle, maybe the treasured glasses that are remnants of an earlier time filled with wine for once... -- it turns out I'm not that interested in this period, or at least, not in her attempts at writing this period. It hardly seems likely that a Sutcliff book failed to keep my attention, but it's unfortunately true.

I'm giving it three stars anyway, because it's Rosemary Sutcliff and therefore always a pleasure to read. ( )

There’s going to be quite a bit of Sutcliff on the rest of this list. Rider on a White Horse was brand-new to me and oh-so-good. Set during the English Civil War, it followed General Thomas Fairfax, of the Parliamentary forces, and his wife Anne. While I actually tend to be more on the Royalist side myself, this was a nuanced and balanced account and both Thomas and Anne Fairfax emerged as moderate and extremely sympathetic characters. ( )

the historical background is thoroughly researched, its an evocative picture of a fascinating period of British history, with a sense of place as well as of time. And an absorbing love story and easy to read. One of my favourite historical novels. ( )

This is how research in historical fiction should be presented: detailed, informative, but unobstrusive and secondary to the story. Rosemary Sutcliff is known primarily for her children's stories, but this fictional account of Sir Thomas Fairfax during the English Civil War is a thoroughly mature and serious portrait of history and of a marriage (his wife, Anne, is a courageous and selfless heroine). It also helps that a section of the book is set in my home town! ('Pity poor Bradford', indeed!) ( )