These are Northmen, sheltering from the ravages of the sea, and they first take Jestyn’s cows for their fire, and then take Jestyn himself as a thrall for the slave-markets of Dublin. But one day, when the storms rise quickly off the sea and the herd scatters, Jestyn encounters a group of men very different from any he has yet met. Instead he heads east, towards his mother’s homeland, where he finds work as a cattle-driver. How could I resist?Īfter his mother’s death, the half-British, half-Saxon boy Jestyn is no longer welcome in his father’s native village on the high moors of south-western England. In fewer than two hundred pages, Sutcliff spins a stirring tale of honour, bravery and adventure, the Viking sea road and the golden domes of Byzantium. It was allegedly written for children but, in the tradition of the best children’s literature, it’s equally rewarding to read as a grown-up.
I have a lot of great big thick books lying around at the moment and, while hunting for something short as a kind of palate-cleanser between epics, I unearthed this little novel. After starting my Sutcliff journey with Sword at Sunset, I always intended to read The Eagle of the Ninth next, but things didn’t quite happen as planned.
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