The Armourer's House
by Rosemary Sutcliff
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If only she'd been born a boy, Tamsyn would never have been sent away to Uncle Gideon's - the armourer's - house when her grandmother died. She could have stayed by the wild sea that she loved with her Uncle Martin, the ship merchant. But instead, she is bound for busy, bustling Tudor London, and the armourer's house, far from the coast and far from her beloved ships. Homesick and lonely in the loud family of cousins, it isn't until she meets the strange old Wise Woman that Tamsyn is finally show more promised her "heart's desire"... show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This is one of those children’s books that adults can also enjoy. This one did, anyway.
Set in the 1530s, Tamsyn leaves one uncle’s house to move in with another. This new (to Tamsyn) uncle also has a wife, four children, and a dog living with him, so it’s a hard adjustment for Tamsyn, who’s eight when we first meet her.
We get to see how Tamsyn interacts with her ‘unknown’ relatives. She grows closest to the eldest child, Piers, who’s quiet but kind.
It’s mainly harmonious, but when conflict arises between Tamsyn and the only other girl, we see the heroine stand up for herself in no uncertain terms:
“‘If you say another word, Beatrix Caunter,’ shrieked Tamsyn, suddenly turning bright pink with fury, ‘I’ll hit you show more with my sugar pig – and it’s all sticky.’”
Think twice, therefore, before messing with Tamsyn.
She’s a delightful character. She and the rest of the cast are all vividly portrayed.
Only downside to the novel is the excess detail when plenty of opportunity was at hand to include drama and dialogue. I know it’s for children, but when I was a boy, I wanted things to happen and to hear characters talking, same as I do now, and now as then, I get bored with lengthy narration. It took me a while to get into the book because drama, dialogue, and action were absent. I would’ve given up reading except I’ve read this author’s works before and knew it’d be worth continuing.
Overall, it’s a pleasant tale that's well worth reading. show less
Set in the 1530s, Tamsyn leaves one uncle’s house to move in with another. This new (to Tamsyn) uncle also has a wife, four children, and a dog living with him, so it’s a hard adjustment for Tamsyn, who’s eight when we first meet her.
We get to see how Tamsyn interacts with her ‘unknown’ relatives. She grows closest to the eldest child, Piers, who’s quiet but kind.
It’s mainly harmonious, but when conflict arises between Tamsyn and the only other girl, we see the heroine stand up for herself in no uncertain terms:
“‘If you say another word, Beatrix Caunter,’ shrieked Tamsyn, suddenly turning bright pink with fury, ‘I’ll hit you show more with my sugar pig – and it’s all sticky.’”
Think twice, therefore, before messing with Tamsyn.
She’s a delightful character. She and the rest of the cast are all vividly portrayed.
Only downside to the novel is the excess detail when plenty of opportunity was at hand to include drama and dialogue. I know it’s for children, but when I was a boy, I wanted things to happen and to hear characters talking, same as I do now, and now as then, I get bored with lengthy narration. It took me a while to get into the book because drama, dialogue, and action were absent. I would’ve given up reading except I’ve read this author’s works before and knew it’d be worth continuing.
Overall, it’s a pleasant tale that's well worth reading. show less
Inscription on front board: St. Michael's School Otford, 2d prize for French awarded to Donald Ban.
Na de dood van haar grootmoeder gaat Tamsyn naar Londen om bij haar oom Gideon en tante Deborah te gaan wonen. Ze was liever bij haar oom Martin, die scheepsbouwer is, gebleven, maar een man alleen wordt niet geschikt geacht om een meisje op te voeden.
Tamsyn heeft tijd nodig om zich in Londen thuis te voelen, maar haar neef Piers helpt haar.
Piers zou graag naar zee gaan, maar zijn oudere broer is nooit meer thuisgekomen nadat hij naar zee ging, dus Piers moet blijven om zijn vader op te volgen.
Rosemary Sutcliff is één van mijn lievelingsschrijfsters, maar dit boek is wat vlak, het verhaal kabbelt door naar een wat voorspelbaar einde.
Tamsyn heeft tijd nodig om zich in Londen thuis te voelen, maar haar neef Piers helpt haar.
Piers zou graag naar zee gaan, maar zijn oudere broer is nooit meer thuisgekomen nadat hij naar zee ging, dus Piers moet blijven om zijn vader op te volgen.
Rosemary Sutcliff is één van mijn lievelingsschrijfsters, maar dit boek is wat vlak, het verhaal kabbelt door naar een wat voorspelbaar einde.
Oct 15, 2008Dutch
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Author Information
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Rosemary Sutcliff was on born December 14, 1920 in East Clandon in Surrey, England. As a child she had Still's Disease, a form of juvenile arthritis. The effect of this led to many stays in hospital for painful remedial operations. She ended her formal education at fourteen, and went to Bideford Art School. She passed the City and Guilds show more examination and worked as a painter of miniatures. She felt cramped by the small canvas of miniature painting and turned to writing. Her first two books, The Chronicles of Robin Hood and The Queen Elizabeth Story, were published in 1950. Her other works included The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, Sword Song, and the autobiography Blue Remembered Hills. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association for The Lantern Bearers in 1959 and the annual Horn Book Award for Tristan and Iseult in 1971. She won inaugural Phoenix Award in 1985 for The Mark of the Horse Lord and again in 2010 for The Shining Company. In 1975, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to children's literature, and was promoted to be a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992. She died on July 23, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Het huis met de dolfijnen
- Original title
- The armourer's house
- Original publication date
- 1951
- People/Characters
- Tamsyn Caunter; Piers Caunter
- Important places
- London, England, UK
- First words
- Tamsyn Caunter stood on the doorstep of the little grey house and watched the grey sky above the treetops, and shivered in the grey March wind that seemed somehow colder than any wind she had ever known before.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And Tamsyn's tulip on the window-sill, that the Wise Woman had said would flower at Christmas and bring her her heart's desire, stood joyously a-tiptoe, with its scarlet petals held wide, wide open to the stars and the pealing bells.
- Original language*
- Engels
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 199
- Popularity
- 163,903
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- Dutch, English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 10
