Rosemary Sutcliff's most well known books such Eagle of the Ninth or any of her other books set in Roman times, were never quite my cup of tea, wonderful though they were.I preferred her stories set in later periods of history. Simon took place during the English Civil War and one I remember enjoying very much, but my favourites were those which took place during the Tudor period. There was The Queen Elizabeth Story about a little girl Perdita Pettle and how she achieves her dearest wish to see Queen Elizabeth I, and Brother Dusty Feet the story of a company of players traveling around England.
The one I love the most is The Armourer's House. It is set in the reign of Henry VIII and tells the story of a little girl called Tamsyn 'she was like any other little girl except that she had one unusual passion: she loved ships. This is the story of how she goes to live with a family of cousins in London where she discovers that her cousin, Piers, shares her love for the sea'. The vivid portrayal of life in the hustle and bustle of Tudor London is simply magical and, to add to my enjoyment of this book, it is illustrated by one of my favourite children's illustrators, C Walter Hodges, of whom I have already written. I had been trying to track down a copy of The Armourer's House, with dust jacket for some time, as my copy seemed to have mysteriously disappeared when I located the precise one I wanted on Alibris and on Friday it dropped on my desk at work, all the way from New Zealand.
I have been gloating over it this morning and here is a picture I have just taken so, hopefully, you will see why I love this edition so much
