What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dolphin Ring Cycle #6
Dawn Wind
In the sixth century A.D. the Saxons ruled Southern England. After the great battle of Aquae Sulis, Owain, injured, wakes to find his father and brother killed during the fight. On the battlefield the only other living thing is a lean and hungry dog. This story covers the twelve years following the battle and describes the life and adventures of Owain during this time of historic change in the annals of England.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
10 people are currently reading
653 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Sutcliff
106 books665 followersRosemary Sutcliff, CBE (1920-1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. Although primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults. She once commented that she wrote "for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with Tristan and Iseult. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.
Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with Tristan and Iseult. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.
Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
June 8, 2019
Britain, circa 584 A.D.
King Artos has been dead a hundred years, and nothing of Rome remains in Britain beyond the increasingly rare Christian faith and the ruins that dot the countryside. The Saxons are coming.
The Britons made a valiant last rally against the Saxons, but they were crushed. Among them were the father and older brother of fifteen-year-old Owain, who wanted to fight but lay incapacitated for most of the battle. The only survivor of that force, he leaves the corpses and sets off for climes unknown. He is accompanied by a mysterious hound, whom he names simply Dog.
Owain makes a slow journey toward the coast. In a dead city, he and Dog meet Regina, a beggar girl clinging to life through sheer will. She joins them, but when she falls ill, Owain must leave her to heal with one Saxon family while he sells himself to another.
As he grows up, he joins in battle for his homeland—but his homeland is not the same place he knew as a child. Will these people be Saxon or British? Will they be pagan or Christian? Will anything of Arthur and Rome survive the present chaos?
Content Advisory
Violence: A few battle sequences, not gory but still full of death. A man dies after being thrown by a wild horse. Young men pretend to abduct unmarried girls as part of a wedding ritual.
Sex: A beggar girl is almost kidnapped by a group of violent men; rape is never mentioned, but the threat is clearly present. Later on, that same girl runs away from the homestead where she’s been indentured, to avoid becoming a concubine. A cruel young man nurses an obsession with the daughter of a neighboring lord, which he shows by attempting to kidnap her during the faux abduction ritual, and later demanding her hand in marriage even though she’s clearly terrified of him.
Language: Nothing.
Substance Abuse: Typical historically-accurate ale-swilling.
Nightmare Fuel: The opening scene is Owain extracting himself from the corpses of all his kinsmen and friends, who died fighting the Saxons. Later, someone accidentally touches a skeleton in an abandoned house.
Politics & Religion: Sutcliff takes a largely neutral view of the tension between Germanic paganism and Christianity in early medieval Britain. Owain is raised Christian, but occasionally prays to Norse and Roman gods as the years go on.
Conclusions
I’ve been consistently impressed with all the Rosemary Sutcliff books I’ve picked up so far, and Dawn Wind is no exception.
Owain is a plausible, detailed character with a complex inner life. We learn his obvious major concerns—his frustrated patriotism, his mourning for his family, and his fierce loyalty to Regina—while also picking up details, like his consistent compassion for animals and his drifting between religions, that a lesser author might have skipped.
Regina, unlike most of the women in this series so far, is in a lot of the story. She’s believably skittish, admirably tenacious, and surprisingly kind. Her and Owain’s relationship is subtle, warm, and eminently shippable.
The supporting cast are all vivid, from Priscus and Priscilla in their forlorn farmhouse, to Brani with his green eyes aglitter with vengeance. When I first read the name “Vadir” I wanted to make a Star Wars joke, but soon I was so swept up in his part of the tale that I completely forgot.
This fictional treatment of the historical St. Augustine of Canterbury was a bit heavy on subjective analysis—Owain concludes that the Archbishop had courage, faith, and zeal, but lacked compassion, after watching the man at a diplomatic meeting for a few hours. That said, I found this Augustine absolutely intriguing and wish he had been in more of the book.
And what evocative scenes this story has! From Owain stumbling over the corpses of his people and finding Dog…the unnamed refugee girl clutching her cage full of doves…Regina and the little blue songbird…the olivewood fire…Owain burying the dolphin ring…the ruined temple of Silvanus…the shipwreck…the incident with the silver horse, who receives St. Augustine’s blessing…it really enthralled me.
My only gripe with this book is that it feels a little too long compared to the precision of The Eagle of the Ninth or The Lantern Bearers.
Warmly recommended.
King Artos has been dead a hundred years, and nothing of Rome remains in Britain beyond the increasingly rare Christian faith and the ruins that dot the countryside. The Saxons are coming.
The Britons made a valiant last rally against the Saxons, but they were crushed. Among them were the father and older brother of fifteen-year-old Owain, who wanted to fight but lay incapacitated for most of the battle. The only survivor of that force, he leaves the corpses and sets off for climes unknown. He is accompanied by a mysterious hound, whom he names simply Dog.
Owain makes a slow journey toward the coast. In a dead city, he and Dog meet Regina, a beggar girl clinging to life through sheer will. She joins them, but when she falls ill, Owain must leave her to heal with one Saxon family while he sells himself to another.
As he grows up, he joins in battle for his homeland—but his homeland is not the same place he knew as a child. Will these people be Saxon or British? Will they be pagan or Christian? Will anything of Arthur and Rome survive the present chaos?
Content Advisory
Violence: A few battle sequences, not gory but still full of death. A man dies after being thrown by a wild horse. Young men pretend to abduct unmarried girls as part of a wedding ritual.
Sex: A beggar girl is almost kidnapped by a group of violent men; rape is never mentioned, but the threat is clearly present. Later on, that same girl runs away from the homestead where she’s been indentured, to avoid becoming a concubine. A cruel young man nurses an obsession with the daughter of a neighboring lord, which he shows by attempting to kidnap her during the faux abduction ritual, and later demanding her hand in marriage even though she’s clearly terrified of him.
Language: Nothing.
Substance Abuse: Typical historically-accurate ale-swilling.
Nightmare Fuel: The opening scene is Owain extracting himself from the corpses of all his kinsmen and friends, who died fighting the Saxons. Later, someone accidentally touches a skeleton in an abandoned house.
Politics & Religion: Sutcliff takes a largely neutral view of the tension between Germanic paganism and Christianity in early medieval Britain. Owain is raised Christian, but occasionally prays to Norse and Roman gods as the years go on.
Conclusions
I’ve been consistently impressed with all the Rosemary Sutcliff books I’ve picked up so far, and Dawn Wind is no exception.
Owain is a plausible, detailed character with a complex inner life. We learn his obvious major concerns—his frustrated patriotism, his mourning for his family, and his fierce loyalty to Regina—while also picking up details, like his consistent compassion for animals and his drifting between religions, that a lesser author might have skipped.
Regina, unlike most of the women in this series so far, is in a lot of the story. She’s believably skittish, admirably tenacious, and surprisingly kind. Her and Owain’s relationship is subtle, warm, and eminently shippable.
The supporting cast are all vivid, from Priscus and Priscilla in their forlorn farmhouse, to Brani with his green eyes aglitter with vengeance. When I first read the name “Vadir” I wanted to make a Star Wars joke, but soon I was so swept up in his part of the tale that I completely forgot.
This fictional treatment of the historical St. Augustine of Canterbury was a bit heavy on subjective analysis—Owain concludes that the Archbishop had courage, faith, and zeal, but lacked compassion, after watching the man at a diplomatic meeting for a few hours. That said, I found this Augustine absolutely intriguing and wish he had been in more of the book.
And what evocative scenes this story has! From Owain stumbling over the corpses of his people and finding Dog…the unnamed refugee girl clutching her cage full of doves…Regina and the little blue songbird…the olivewood fire…Owain burying the dolphin ring…the ruined temple of Silvanus…the shipwreck…the incident with the silver horse, who receives St. Augustine’s blessing…it really enthralled me.
My only gripe with this book is that it feels a little too long compared to the precision of The Eagle of the Ninth or The Lantern Bearers.
Warmly recommended.
October 8, 2020
Dawn Wind opens after the Battle of Aquae Sulis in the late 6th century in which the Saxon invaders decisively defeat the British and take over their country. Owen, a young British lad, is the only survivor, along with a dog, which he names “Dog,” that becomes his steadfast companion. The story follows Owen’s journey to adulthood as he befriends Regina, a young girl who survived the Saxon sacking of her town, and goes into voluntary slavery with a Saxon family to prevent her from coming to harm.
Sutcliff presents another moving story in her chronicle of British history from the Roman through the Viking periods. I’ve been rationing these books for reading because I don’t want the series to end. But I only have two or three left to read. When I’m finished, I guess I’ll start in reading her other books, perhaps the series about King Arthur.
Sutcliff wrote her books for children, but they’re great adult fare too.
Sutcliff presents another moving story in her chronicle of British history from the Roman through the Viking periods. I’ve been rationing these books for reading because I don’t want the series to end. But I only have two or three left to read. When I’m finished, I guess I’ll start in reading her other books, perhaps the series about King Arthur.
Sutcliff wrote her books for children, but they’re great adult fare too.
March 20, 2020
Reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyy torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one.
The prose, as always, was lyrical & gorgeous, the characters were vivid and the themes memorable, but ... I really didn't like the middle of the book and I ended up doing a ton of skipping. Which always lessens my enjoyment. Even though I was WILDLY IN LOVE with the first 8 chapters and the last 3 or so.
The first eight chapters, as I say, were exactly to my taste. Just Owain and Regina and the Dog, wandering about, foraging for food. A quiet, contemplative, "lone wolf" survival story, asking what happens when the great battles are over, the cities and farms have been laid waste, and orphans and outcasts are left picking up the pieces. I live for this stuff, okay??? Any story about what happens on the margins of war automatically has my attention. And survival tales are ALWAYS fascinating. So when it seemed the whole book would continue in this vein, I was like "YAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS."
Here's where Rosemary Sutcliff made (in my estimation) a big mistake.
She shoves Regina off-screen--literally, offscreen, for the remainder of the book--and plunks Owain down in a new household, with a whole host of new characters whom I don't have a reason to care about.
And then she's like, "don't worry, kids, now we're gonna gear up for a NEW war and MORE battles!!!" whereupon I groaned a great groan and wailed aloud, "I THOUGHT THIS BOOK WASN'T ABOUT BATTLES!"
I mean, I understand what she was aiming for, in a broad sense, forcing Owain, the Roman-British survivor, to bond with his Saxon enemies. Showing the beginnings of a new, blended society, a new peace between two very different cultures. A "dawn wind blowing." Beautiful theme, beautiful message, I readily admit. But a) she didn't have to toss Regina aside in order to show that; Owain and Regina could've ended up on the same Saxon farm; and b) I just feel like the second half of the book got way too ... busy, with all these new subplots and political questions and family intrigues 'n stuff. In particular, I was absolutely NOT A FAN of everything regarding Vadir and the Dog and Lilla and the white horse and that whole royal mess. It was gross, and cruel; and I felt Sutcliff was *ahem* 'reveling' in the cruelty a bit much for my liking.
Word to the wise, kiddos: if you kill a dog in your book, there are a LOT of readers who will remember it, and will not forgive you.
Alsoooooo: While I appreciated that Owain came through (or tried to) for Lilla in the end, he still had some Noticeably Callous Thoughts about her and her arranged-marriage-to-a-grade-A-jerk predicament which made me go, "wow, you monster." Like, seriously, Owain. NOT the way to endear yourself to the readership. *solemnly shakes head*
Finally, I would like it noted that, from my point of view, Rosemary Sutcliff idealizes the Roman Empire to a somewhat worrying degree, and I can't condone that kind of thinking.
Yet, in the final chapters, Sutcliff's skills really shone through once more, as she described the quiet "truce" building between the Saxons and the Britons, and arranged Owain and Regina's reunion with an emotional poignancy that was nothing less than brilliant. #shipppppp Furthermore, I gotta say, going by the quality of the scenery & descriptions ALONE, Dawn Wind might be her best book yet. Because these descriptions were Truly Cinematic.
Not my personal favorite of her novels, but still, quite a treat.
The prose, as always, was lyrical & gorgeous, the characters were vivid and the themes memorable, but ... I really didn't like the middle of the book and I ended up doing a ton of skipping. Which always lessens my enjoyment. Even though I was WILDLY IN LOVE with the first 8 chapters and the last 3 or so.
The first eight chapters, as I say, were exactly to my taste. Just Owain and Regina and the Dog, wandering about, foraging for food. A quiet, contemplative, "lone wolf" survival story, asking what happens when the great battles are over, the cities and farms have been laid waste, and orphans and outcasts are left picking up the pieces. I live for this stuff, okay??? Any story about what happens on the margins of war automatically has my attention. And survival tales are ALWAYS fascinating. So when it seemed the whole book would continue in this vein, I was like "YAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS."
Here's where Rosemary Sutcliff made (in my estimation) a big mistake.
She shoves Regina off-screen--literally, offscreen, for the remainder of the book--and plunks Owain down in a new household, with a whole host of new characters whom I don't have a reason to care about.
And then she's like, "don't worry, kids, now we're gonna gear up for a NEW war and MORE battles!!!" whereupon I groaned a great groan and wailed aloud, "I THOUGHT THIS BOOK WASN'T ABOUT BATTLES!"
I mean, I understand what she was aiming for, in a broad sense, forcing Owain, the Roman-British survivor, to bond with his Saxon enemies. Showing the beginnings of a new, blended society, a new peace between two very different cultures. A "dawn wind blowing." Beautiful theme, beautiful message, I readily admit. But a) she didn't have to toss Regina aside in order to show that; Owain and Regina could've ended up on the same Saxon farm; and b) I just feel like the second half of the book got way too ... busy, with all these new subplots and political questions and family intrigues 'n stuff. In particular, I was absolutely NOT A FAN of everything regarding Vadir and the Dog and Lilla and the white horse and that whole royal mess. It was gross, and cruel; and I felt Sutcliff was *ahem* 'reveling' in the cruelty a bit much for my liking.
Word to the wise, kiddos: if you kill a dog in your book, there are a LOT of readers who will remember it, and will not forgive you.
Alsoooooo: While I appreciated that Owain came through (or tried to) for Lilla in the end, he still had some Noticeably Callous Thoughts about her and her arranged-marriage-to-a-grade-A-jerk predicament which made me go, "wow, you monster." Like, seriously, Owain. NOT the way to endear yourself to the readership. *solemnly shakes head*
Finally, I would like it noted that, from my point of view, Rosemary Sutcliff idealizes the Roman Empire to a somewhat worrying degree, and I can't condone that kind of thinking.
Yet, in the final chapters, Sutcliff's skills really shone through once more, as she described the quiet "truce" building between the Saxons and the Britons, and arranged Owain and Regina's reunion with an emotional poignancy that was nothing less than brilliant. #shipppppp Furthermore, I gotta say, going by the quality of the scenery & descriptions ALONE, Dawn Wind might be her best book yet. Because these descriptions were Truly Cinematic.
Not my personal favorite of her novels, but still, quite a treat.
May 10, 2019
This is a reread and a childhood favorite, a book I first read in 6th grade, checked out from my elementary school library. (Which rather surprises me now, as this book is VERY dark, especially at the start.) I then managed to buy a discarded hardcover of Dawn Wind from my hometown library in the mid-90s. I probably haven't read it in... gosh, at least fifteen years, but it's moved around the country with me.
Rosemary Sutcliff's historical fiction had a big impact on me as a writer. She writes deep, engrossing works, and really delves into detail. Perhaps too much detail for some readers, but I can geek out over this stuff. This book takes place as Britain falls to Saxon invaders. Owain is at that final, fateful battle with his father and brother. He is the lone survivor--human survivor, anyway. He finds a dog, dubbed Dog, who becomes his steadfast companion. They wander for a while before returning to the city where the war host gathered, to find the Roman-British inhabitants have fled before the Saxon forces. There, he finds a girl just slightly younger than him. Regina was a beggar even in better times, and together they scrape by to survive. But as they follow a fantasy of fleeing to Gaul, Regina falls terribly ill. For a chance of saving her, Owain turns to enemy Saxons, selling himself into slavery so that Regina can get the aid she needs.
One thing I always loved about this book is that every character is nuanced. There are helpful and horrible Britains, and kind and horrendous Saxons. It does a great job of showing the full spectrum of humanity, though Owain is certainly an example of goodness and purity. If this book were an RPG, he'd be a lawful good paladin in training. He readily sacrifices years of his life in order to help others--and does this more than once. As a kid, I accepted this ideal and embraced it. At age 39, his extreme altruism strikes me as unlikely in reality, but not impossible, certainly.
I really enjoyed this reread. Also, until inputting this book on Goodreads, I had no idea this was considered part of the same series as several other of Sutcliff's books that I read ages ago. Now I want to seek out the ones I've missed and reread the others.
Rosemary Sutcliff's historical fiction had a big impact on me as a writer. She writes deep, engrossing works, and really delves into detail. Perhaps too much detail for some readers, but I can geek out over this stuff. This book takes place as Britain falls to Saxon invaders. Owain is at that final, fateful battle with his father and brother. He is the lone survivor--human survivor, anyway. He finds a dog, dubbed Dog, who becomes his steadfast companion. They wander for a while before returning to the city where the war host gathered, to find the Roman-British inhabitants have fled before the Saxon forces. There, he finds a girl just slightly younger than him. Regina was a beggar even in better times, and together they scrape by to survive. But as they follow a fantasy of fleeing to Gaul, Regina falls terribly ill. For a chance of saving her, Owain turns to enemy Saxons, selling himself into slavery so that Regina can get the aid she needs.
One thing I always loved about this book is that every character is nuanced. There are helpful and horrible Britains, and kind and horrendous Saxons. It does a great job of showing the full spectrum of humanity, though Owain is certainly an example of goodness and purity. If this book were an RPG, he'd be a lawful good paladin in training. He readily sacrifices years of his life in order to help others--and does this more than once. As a kid, I accepted this ideal and embraced it. At age 39, his extreme altruism strikes me as unlikely in reality, but not impossible, certainly.
I really enjoyed this reread. Also, until inputting this book on Goodreads, I had no idea this was considered part of the same series as several other of Sutcliff's books that I read ages ago. Now I want to seek out the ones I've missed and reread the others.
April 1, 2017
{2.5 stars}
In general this was boring. Okay, so I like descriptions, so that really wasn't the problem. I think it was the setting...I'm just not used to it and there needed to be a tad more dialogue. But still, I enjoyed the last 100 pages the best and I'm glad things ended happily, although it took long enough for it to happen! There were several parts I did enjoy, but it still was one of those books that I had no trouble setting aside after one chapter. Since I've heard other good things about this author I'm willing to give her another try.
In general this was boring. Okay, so I like descriptions, so that really wasn't the problem. I think it was the setting...I'm just not used to it and there needed to be a tad more dialogue. But still, I enjoyed the last 100 pages the best and I'm glad things ended happily, although it took long enough for it to happen! There were several parts I did enjoy, but it still was one of those books that I had no trouble setting aside after one chapter. Since I've heard other good things about this author I'm willing to give her another try.
March 6, 2016
Ah, I'll always love Sutcliff so much. She is such a good writer, and it doesn't get old saying how beautifully and understatedly powerful her writing is. "Dawn Wind" started a bit slow, and took me a good while to get through (especially in the first half), but I'm half inclined to think it was my fault because I've been in a bit of a reading slump. Nonetheless the last third of the book had a heightening of suspense, and the conflict felt real. It was a quiet novel, in many ways, but I learnt a lot from its history. I also love Owain's character - his faithful service and muted courage was my favourite thing! Sutcliff really knew how to write her male characters, I think :). Also I appreciated the reference to Augustine and the Christian Church in this story, and seemed to see a bit of the history playing out in ordinary characters.
As always, Sutcliff's most powerful weapon is her use of description and understated power in the very ordinary moments. She does it amazingly!
As always, Sutcliff's most powerful weapon is her use of description and understated power in the very ordinary moments. She does it amazingly!
October 25, 2010
Dawn Wind is the fifth in the sequence of historical novels dealing with the collapse of Roman-Britain that began with The Eagle Of The Ninth. Set in the sixth century it tells the story of Owain, the sole British survivor of a battle near Bath and his struggle to come to terms with the complete destruction of his culture.
As usual with Rosemary Sutcliff, there's a powerful sense of place, and of the changing face of the natural world. The writing is compact and masterful in its use of salient detail to evoke a vanished world. The central characters of Owain and Regina, the girl he befriends in the ruins of the once-proud city of Viroconium, are strongly drawn and the reader cannot help but be drawn into this compelling story of individual lives caught up in a great historical tide.
This is historical fiction at its very best.
As usual with Rosemary Sutcliff, there's a powerful sense of place, and of the changing face of the natural world. The writing is compact and masterful in its use of salient detail to evoke a vanished world. The central characters of Owain and Regina, the girl he befriends in the ruins of the once-proud city of Viroconium, are strongly drawn and the reader cannot help but be drawn into this compelling story of individual lives caught up in a great historical tide.
This is historical fiction at its very best.
October 19, 2021
Fourteen year old Owain has survived the last great battle between the British and the Saxons. Three generations after The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset, the heroic hopes of the British are extinguished, and with Dog, the young war-hound that joins him, Owain makes his way across a southern Britain occupied by the invaders. But this is not a great escape story: it is hard to recount the story without spoilers, but he meets Regina, a young girl, and they travel together with a growing friendship until their paths separate tragically. I really hadn’t expected the events at this juncture, or that Owain would not be able to rescue his friend, but the pace slows here, and Owain, sold as a slave, must make a life in a little Saxon farmstead where he grows into adulthood. “Only, while one is young,” a old fellow-thrall advises him, “there is always the hope that one day something will happen; that one day a little wind will rise...” The hopelessness of this central section is breathtaking: it almost seems possible Owain will grow old in his thraldom.
Sutcliff is at her stunning best setting this. Owain makes the most of his life, gaining his master’s trust and the affection of the household, but the reader cannot escape his sense of loss, which increases with each turn. It is late in the narrative - half way through - that Owain’s chances begin open up, but even here change is slow at first; after all, he is at the forefront of the changes that will, over the coming centuries, bring the two warring factions together.
All the gold-star effects of Rosemary Sutcliff’s writing are here: superb landscape writing, heart-wrenching moral dilemmas, and brilliant use of the archaeology. She uses acute insights to explore complex themes of loyalty, loneliness and what it means to belong, as Owain is caught by longing to leave and his understanding of how the Saxon family have come to need him.
This is a vivid story, full of fascinating detail and emotional twists right up to the last pages.
Sutcliff is at her stunning best setting this. Owain makes the most of his life, gaining his master’s trust and the affection of the household, but the reader cannot escape his sense of loss, which increases with each turn. It is late in the narrative - half way through - that Owain’s chances begin open up, but even here change is slow at first; after all, he is at the forefront of the changes that will, over the coming centuries, bring the two warring factions together.
All the gold-star effects of Rosemary Sutcliff’s writing are here: superb landscape writing, heart-wrenching moral dilemmas, and brilliant use of the archaeology. She uses acute insights to explore complex themes of loyalty, loneliness and what it means to belong, as Owain is caught by longing to leave and his understanding of how the Saxon family have come to need him.
This is a vivid story, full of fascinating detail and emotional twists right up to the last pages.
December 26, 2021
The Dawn Wind is a fabulous book primarily because of the virtues of Owain, the main character. He gives away years of his life out of honor, even though his own desire is to return to a young girl he was forced to leave. The story begins with Owain waking up on a battlefield that he fought upon with his father, brothers, and his father's army, but he soon finds that no one else survived the battle except for one wounded war dog.
This is my favorite book.
This is my favorite book.
June 26, 2022
A friend forewarned me this book was the quiet sort of book, for which I am glad. Else my expectations would have been somewhat disappointed as this book is very quiet and slow compared to the high adventure and high stakes of Rosemary Sutcliff's other novels.
That's said, here are my explanations for the high rating.
This book is quiet. It begins in the very depths of despair, and much of the book is simply trodding along in what I found very relatable in circumstances of normal life. And yet, as Sutcliff brings this story to its climax, she ends on a resounding theme of hope. The light that has gone out in the Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset at last is returning. "The dawn has yet to come, Owain, but a dawn wind is blowing."
Secondly, despite Sutcliff being an atheist, her portrayal of very Christian themes and the coming of St. Augustine of Kent made me very happy. I didn't care for her portrayal of Augustine himself, but everything else was *chef's kiss*.
Now, the complaints about the Saxon farms and Regina. I found it very lifelike and accurate, especially to the time period. During the Dark Ages, people seldom traveled unless need required it. For Regina, who hates traveling, to do so on her own, it makes no sense. As for Owain, he has an oath to fulfill and he will not abandon it, as we see time and time again. Plus, from my own personal experience in the modern day, I've often had very dear people suddenly drop out of my life and not return until years later, if at all.
As for the slow plot. Owain is a man of integrity. For Sutcliff to portray the everyday struggle of plodding along and wanting change to come but fearing such changes will never happen is something that resounded greatly with me and I felt SEEN on these pages. So often life is like this and I'm glad one of her books shows this very realistic struggle. Owain stays with the Saxons because of an oath. And eleven years is indeed a long time. Even if they are or were the enemy, bonds of loyalty of a sort will be forged.
Lastly, the whole between two worlds theme so heavily present in this book which is also in my debut inspired by Sutcliff made me quite happy birthday. As you can see, I have so many feels and thoughts about this book that will take quite some time to sift through. But I loved it. It's unlike Sutcliff's usual writing, but it hit very close to home. Beautiful, beautiful story. A dawn wind is coming!
That's said, here are my explanations for the high rating.
This book is quiet. It begins in the very depths of despair, and much of the book is simply trodding along in what I found very relatable in circumstances of normal life. And yet, as Sutcliff brings this story to its climax, she ends on a resounding theme of hope. The light that has gone out in the Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset at last is returning. "The dawn has yet to come, Owain, but a dawn wind is blowing."
Secondly, despite Sutcliff being an atheist, her portrayal of very Christian themes and the coming of St. Augustine of Kent made me very happy. I didn't care for her portrayal of Augustine himself, but everything else was *chef's kiss*.
Now, the complaints about the Saxon farms and Regina. I found it very lifelike and accurate, especially to the time period. During the Dark Ages, people seldom traveled unless need required it. For Regina, who hates traveling, to do so on her own, it makes no sense. As for Owain, he has an oath to fulfill and he will not abandon it, as we see time and time again. Plus, from my own personal experience in the modern day, I've often had very dear people suddenly drop out of my life and not return until years later, if at all.
As for the slow plot. Owain is a man of integrity. For Sutcliff to portray the everyday struggle of plodding along and wanting change to come but fearing such changes will never happen is something that resounded greatly with me and I felt SEEN on these pages. So often life is like this and I'm glad one of her books shows this very realistic struggle. Owain stays with the Saxons because of an oath. And eleven years is indeed a long time. Even if they are or were the enemy, bonds of loyalty of a sort will be forged.
Lastly, the whole between two worlds theme so heavily present in this book which is also in my debut inspired by Sutcliff made me quite happy birthday. As you can see, I have so many feels and thoughts about this book that will take quite some time to sift through. But I loved it. It's unlike Sutcliff's usual writing, but it hit very close to home. Beautiful, beautiful story. A dawn wind is coming!
March 4, 2011
Dawn Wind isn't my favourite of the series so far, but it is a lovely read, even though the British people that Sutcliff has written about up to this point in the series are dying out, even though the light that Artos and his men tried to protect is going out. It still focuses on British people, but more and more now the Saxon people are important, and given lives and feelings. I always half-expect Aquila's sister's son's family, from The Lantern Bearers, to somehow show up, with some story to hold onto about a dolphin ring... But not so far, at least. Still, a member of the family still carries the ring, for most of the story.
It's a story about keeping faith, really, even between Britons and Saxons, but at the end, between Briton and Briton. It isn't exactly heart-warming -- separation by slavery isn't the stuff of Hallmark cards -- but it's touching, and effectively written.
It's a story about keeping faith, really, even between Britons and Saxons, but at the end, between Briton and Briton. It isn't exactly heart-warming -- separation by slavery isn't the stuff of Hallmark cards -- but it's touching, and effectively written.
November 27, 2019
I loveth. Owain is a dear & deserved better in everything.
November 5, 2015
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.
June 1, 2022
This story takes place in Britain at the beginning of the VII century.
Owain is just old enough to join the army fighting the Saxons, and when he wakes up after the battle he realizes that they have lost it, and that his father and brother are dead on the field. He travels back to the old Roman town and finds it deserted. But when he traps a hare and is roasting it in a courtyard, a young girl arrives, attracted by the smell. Regina has been hiding in the town, and the two children join in their efforts to survive. After a few weeks, they realize that they need to leave the abandoned town and plan to reach Gaul. But Regina becomes ill during their travel, and Owain sells himself as a thrall to a Saxon man in exchange for food and care for her. Continuing alone with his new master, it will be many years till Owain and Regina meet again, and the book follows only Owain in his new life and a long path to freedom and hope.
Owain is just old enough to join the army fighting the Saxons, and when he wakes up after the battle he realizes that they have lost it, and that his father and brother are dead on the field. He travels back to the old Roman town and finds it deserted. But when he traps a hare and is roasting it in a courtyard, a young girl arrives, attracted by the smell. Regina has been hiding in the town, and the two children join in their efforts to survive. After a few weeks, they realize that they need to leave the abandoned town and plan to reach Gaul. But Regina becomes ill during their travel, and Owain sells himself as a thrall to a Saxon man in exchange for food and care for her. Continuing alone with his new master, it will be many years till Owain and Regina meet again, and the book follows only Owain in his new life and a long path to freedom and hope.
July 19, 2021
This works excellently as a coda to Sword at Sunset, showing the dawn to match Arthur's blazing sunset.
As a stand-alone work, it's an engaging read if not Sutcliff at the top of her game. It's in many ways a very quiet book; it's not an accident that it opens not with a battle scene, but with the silent aftermath of battle. There are few set pieces. It's the story of how people (and peoples) change gradually, over years, decades, centuries. Owain isn't without agency, but his choice, every time he makes one, is the less dramatic one: to stay, to wait, to care for others, to tend the land. It's a pleasant change of pace from a lot of historical adventure fiction.
The least effective strand of the book is unfortunately also set up to be something of its climax. Sutcliff said in an interview once "The Middle Ages I am not at home in. I am interested in them and love to read about them, but I can't write about them, or practically not at all. I think it is because I can't take the all-pervasiveness of religion which has a stranglehold on life." This is not (obviously) set in the Middle Ages, but it is a book in which Christianity plays what should be an integral role and yet somehow never feels essential to the characters; Owain's Christianity is very pasted-on indeed, despite being a life-long belief system, and Augustine of Canterbury's arrival at the end has little to do with faith and much with politics. Perhaps that's the point--but I can't help but feel that if Sutcliff had a deeper feeling for religion, it could have been both.
One surprise: as in almost all Sutcliff books there is a character with a physical disability, but here (for the first time I've seen it and perhaps the only time across her entire writing career) that character is the villain. It's so out-of-character for Sutcliff that I kept expecting him to make a heel turn, but no, he goes out in the same spirit in which he comes in: proud, strong, and unapologetically unwilling to bind himself to rules and conventions. I wish she'd written more about the choices she made there; in many ways he's the most interesting person in the book.
As a stand-alone work, it's an engaging read if not Sutcliff at the top of her game. It's in many ways a very quiet book; it's not an accident that it opens not with a battle scene, but with the silent aftermath of battle. There are few set pieces. It's the story of how people (and peoples) change gradually, over years, decades, centuries. Owain isn't without agency, but his choice, every time he makes one, is the less dramatic one: to stay, to wait, to care for others, to tend the land. It's a pleasant change of pace from a lot of historical adventure fiction.
The least effective strand of the book is unfortunately also set up to be something of its climax. Sutcliff said in an interview once "The Middle Ages I am not at home in. I am interested in them and love to read about them, but I can't write about them, or practically not at all. I think it is because I can't take the all-pervasiveness of religion which has a stranglehold on life." This is not (obviously) set in the Middle Ages, but it is a book in which Christianity plays what should be an integral role and yet somehow never feels essential to the characters; Owain's Christianity is very pasted-on indeed, despite being a life-long belief system, and Augustine of Canterbury's arrival at the end has little to do with faith and much with politics. Perhaps that's the point--but I can't help but feel that if Sutcliff had a deeper feeling for religion, it could have been both.
One surprise: as in almost all Sutcliff books there is a character with a physical disability, but here (for the first time I've seen it and perhaps the only time across her entire writing career) that character is the villain. It's so out-of-character for Sutcliff that I kept expecting him to make a heel turn, but no, he goes out in the same spirit in which he comes in: proud, strong, and unapologetically unwilling to bind himself to rules and conventions. I wish she'd written more about the choices she made there; in many ways he's the most interesting person in the book.
April 17, 2018
"Life is fierce and harsh to the young, but gentler when one grows old. Only while one is young there is always the hope that one day something will happen- that one day a little wind will rise..."
Precise, visual writing with words that alighted on my heart. The characters were vividly described and the story flowed naturally.
Owain's encounters and his responses to them really resounded with me and the way they were portrayed have made this story a renarkable one.
Would love to read the books in the same series.
Precise, visual writing with words that alighted on my heart. The characters were vividly described and the story flowed naturally.
Owain's encounters and his responses to them really resounded with me and the way they were portrayed have made this story a renarkable one.
Would love to read the books in the same series.
October 16, 2021
I adore this book.
May 17, 2022
I love all of Rosemary Sutcliff's book and this is no exception. A beautifully written, elegaic story, which takes you straight back to dark-age post-arthurian Britain with a believably main character you can't help rooting for.
December 30, 2014
"Not the dawn yet, but the dawn wind stirring" This iconic quote from the book really sums up the story, and throughout the whole book, we see the "little wind", as Uncle Windreth tells the protagonist Owain, though we never quite reach the dawn. I found that throughout the book, I kept expecting something to happen, but I eventually (ok, in the last chapter) realized that no, it is the story of Owain's life (a chunk of it, at least) and there isn't some grand "Thing" that will happen. I'll get over with my complaints about the book first (why it didn't get 5 stars):
The whole book is shrouded with an air of melancholy. It is a beautiful melancholy, but it isn't really an uplifting book. Actually, the air was similar to the Lord of the Rings. I liked it, but would have also liked a few more positive things too.
The description was also overdone (ahem...not like I do that) and the description of battles and historical things often just went over my head. The book was supposed to be about Owain,
and I became confused at times because it seemed to be focusing too much on the Saxons and the wars and things. Also near the end, the old Briton Einon Hen talks to Owain about the "wind" to do with the spread of Christianity, which Owain wasn't really a part of (the confusion was that I thought he would play a more major role in this). There were parallels with this and Owain's life, but I think more should have been focused on his own journey. Also, with regards to Owain's freedom, he keeps on wanting to get away from his duty at the Saxon home, but it has become his home, and he is too blind to see that he cares for the family there and they care for him, and when he finally does leave, it is just even more depressing, because he could have had a good life there. Yet that's also what is good about him too (now transitioning to the good things about the book). Owain is an amazing character to follow. He has an indomitable courage and a strong sense of wanting to be free. Yet as we see many times in the book, when he is a thrall and then not a thrall (but still bound to Beornwulf's household), he doesn't even know what he'll do when he's actually free. But it's a longing for something higher than what he has in life, and that is something that sets him apart from most of the other characters. This book is also a love story, but not a love story at the same time. I won't give away the end, but the way it was done was just perfect, and very subtle, so you almost didn't even know it was until the end.
I felt like the plot needed more as I read it, but at the end when we come in full circle (you'll see if you read the book), I thought, "No, this is good. No more is needed." And I also got that sort of "Oh," feeling at the end; not "Oh!" or "Oh?" but just "Oh, yes, that's it. It's over. But I'm changed from reading this." In a good way, I think, though much of that is to do with wondering about what is to come, with Owain's life and with the Britons and Saxons. We're stirring in the dawn, and it only just breaks at the end of the book.
There were also many absolutely beautiful and haunting descriptions such as this one: "faint wraiths of mist lay across the levels, the thorn trees rising knee-deep out of them, but overhead the sky was clear, and the young moon floated like a curved feather above the woods."
There are so many beautiful scenes, such as when the Saxon King Haegal gives his sword to be burned with the body of his friend Beornwulf, and Owain later sees him with a commoner's sword. You really have to read it to get the impact of this though.
So I would recommend this book to people to people who like beautifully written historical books that make you think, but aren't heavy on the plot.
The whole book is shrouded with an air of melancholy. It is a beautiful melancholy, but it isn't really an uplifting book. Actually, the air was similar to the Lord of the Rings. I liked it, but would have also liked a few more positive things too.
The description was also overdone (ahem...not like I do that) and the description of battles and historical things often just went over my head. The book was supposed to be about Owain,
and I became confused at times because it seemed to be focusing too much on the Saxons and the wars and things. Also near the end, the old Briton Einon Hen talks to Owain about the "wind" to do with the spread of Christianity, which Owain wasn't really a part of (the confusion was that I thought he would play a more major role in this). There were parallels with this and Owain's life, but I think more should have been focused on his own journey. Also, with regards to Owain's freedom, he keeps on wanting to get away from his duty at the Saxon home, but it has become his home, and he is too blind to see that he cares for the family there and they care for him, and when he finally does leave, it is just even more depressing, because he could have had a good life there. Yet that's also what is good about him too (now transitioning to the good things about the book). Owain is an amazing character to follow. He has an indomitable courage and a strong sense of wanting to be free. Yet as we see many times in the book, when he is a thrall and then not a thrall (but still bound to Beornwulf's household), he doesn't even know what he'll do when he's actually free. But it's a longing for something higher than what he has in life, and that is something that sets him apart from most of the other characters. This book is also a love story, but not a love story at the same time. I won't give away the end, but the way it was done was just perfect, and very subtle, so you almost didn't even know it was until the end.
I felt like the plot needed more as I read it, but at the end when we come in full circle (you'll see if you read the book), I thought, "No, this is good. No more is needed." And I also got that sort of "Oh," feeling at the end; not "Oh!" or "Oh?" but just "Oh, yes, that's it. It's over. But I'm changed from reading this." In a good way, I think, though much of that is to do with wondering about what is to come, with Owain's life and with the Britons and Saxons. We're stirring in the dawn, and it only just breaks at the end of the book.
There were also many absolutely beautiful and haunting descriptions such as this one: "faint wraiths of mist lay across the levels, the thorn trees rising knee-deep out of them, but overhead the sky was clear, and the young moon floated like a curved feather above the woods."
There are so many beautiful scenes, such as when the Saxon King Haegal gives his sword to be burned with the body of his friend Beornwulf, and Owain later sees him with a commoner's sword. You really have to read it to get the impact of this though.
So I would recommend this book to people to people who like beautifully written historical books that make you think, but aren't heavy on the plot.
June 8, 2012
I'd give this one 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up, because, Sutcliff. The light of civilization has gone out, but there is a hint of new light on the horizon; the Saxons have defeated (most of) the Romano-British, but there is hope for a new civilization from the best of the Saxons and the remnants of the British. Interestingly, Owain (the narrator) explicitly considers and rejects Christianity as that light, or rather, he sees that Christianity is only part of it, not the whole.
Once you get past the light and darkness metaphors, there is an absorbing story of loyalty and honor, of being alone and out of place in a strange world and having to find and maintain one's identity, of staying true to what is important, and of course of dogs and horses and a whole lot of scenery porn: basically, everything Sutcliff. Owain's thralldom recalled Aquila's in The Lantern Bearers, and as that was my least favorite part of that book, I was not as entranced by this as I might have been; or maybe it's just that I prefer the British to the Saxons.
ETA: After starting another Sutcliff that is clearly more of What I Like, I'm scaling back my generous rating. I certainly liked this book, but to me it is not a 4-star book.
Once you get past the light and darkness metaphors, there is an absorbing story of loyalty and honor, of being alone and out of place in a strange world and having to find and maintain one's identity, of staying true to what is important, and of course of dogs and horses and a whole lot of scenery porn: basically, everything Sutcliff. Owain's thralldom recalled Aquila's in The Lantern Bearers, and as that was my least favorite part of that book, I was not as entranced by this as I might have been; or maybe it's just that I prefer the British to the Saxons.
ETA: After starting another Sutcliff that is clearly more of What I Like, I'm scaling back my generous rating. I certainly liked this book, but to me it is not a 4-star book.
November 29, 2012
I have three tiers of Sutcliff novels: those which I love to distraction (*****), those I love (****), and those which I enjoy (***). (We won't talk about Warrior Scarlet).
This falls into the second category. The protagonist didn't draw me in as with some of the others, and I'm not as madly in love with the setting and premise as I am for "Frontier Wolf" or "Blood Feud," but I deeply enjoyed it, and Owain's love interest Regina is one of the most interesting (and least queenly and dignified) Sutcliff women. Alas for my likelihood of loving the book to distraction, she was mostly offscreen.
But it's probably the most nuanced treatment I've seen Sutcliff give both Saxons and organized religion, and worth reading for that alone. The antagonist is oddly fascinating, in a frustratingly unresolved way. And I did like Owain and care about his situation, although not to the degree I do my favorites.
On the less positive side, there's not much action, less nature porn than I'd like, Owain's situation as a Saxon thrall is rather stifling in a quietly soul-killing way and not my favorite thing to read about, and Regina spends the majority of the book offscreen, likely being more interesting than Owain, but we'll never know because Sutcliff generally didn't find women as interesting to write about.
This falls into the second category. The protagonist didn't draw me in as with some of the others, and I'm not as madly in love with the setting and premise as I am for "Frontier Wolf" or "Blood Feud," but I deeply enjoyed it, and Owain's love interest Regina is one of the most interesting (and least queenly and dignified) Sutcliff women. Alas for my likelihood of loving the book to distraction, she was mostly offscreen.
But it's probably the most nuanced treatment I've seen Sutcliff give both Saxons and organized religion, and worth reading for that alone. The antagonist is oddly fascinating, in a frustratingly unresolved way. And I did like Owain and care about his situation, although not to the degree I do my favorites.
On the less positive side, there's not much action, less nature porn than I'd like, Owain's situation as a Saxon thrall is rather stifling in a quietly soul-killing way and not my favorite thing to read about, and Regina spends the majority of the book offscreen, likely being more interesting than Owain, but we'll never know because Sutcliff generally didn't find women as interesting to write about.
May 29, 2011
I'm reading these chronologically out of order, and it's a bit of adjustment to jump back and forth into these transitional periods of time in early (recorded) British history. This shows, basically, the establishment of the frontier of Wales that stayed effectively intact into modern British history. Sutcliff's thesis in this book was an investigation of the commingling of the settling Northern European groups with the remaining Romano-British peoples in the first few hundred years after Rome's withdrawal--and while that stated sounds dry, this is anything but.
The real gift Sutcliff has is her ability to develop complex emotional interplay with great deftness and subtlety. The feelings her character Owain struggles with are as much individual as they are on a grand, state-level scale. I can't praise her enough.
Additionally, I watched the two series "A History of Ancient Britain" and "A History of Celtic Britain" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xchyf) last month, and while my appetite has been whet all my life for anglophilia, the coinciding of watching that amazing series with these amazing books has just completely captured my attention.
This Dolphin Ring cycle will gain a permanent groove on my bookshelf, of that I'm certain.
The real gift Sutcliff has is her ability to develop complex emotional interplay with great deftness and subtlety. The feelings her character Owain struggles with are as much individual as they are on a grand, state-level scale. I can't praise her enough.
Additionally, I watched the two series "A History of Ancient Britain" and "A History of Celtic Britain" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xchyf) last month, and while my appetite has been whet all my life for anglophilia, the coinciding of watching that amazing series with these amazing books has just completely captured my attention.
This Dolphin Ring cycle will gain a permanent groove on my bookshelf, of that I'm certain.
March 17, 2008
I absolutely loved this book! Rosemary Sutcliff uses a perfect blend of history with just a small dash of fantasy in her books. Even though most of her books were written for children and you'll find them shelved with children/young adult books, I think that the reading level is a lot higher.
July 18, 2022
'...British gone wild, like dogs that run away to hunt in the woods.’
Owain felt clammily sick. To be here in the dark hiding from Saxon raiders was no more than physical danger; to be here hiding from one’s own kind, broken men turned wolf pack, was a hideous thing, an uncleanness like leprosy. [p. 77]
Reread after finishing Dark Earth, which also depicts life in the ruins of a Roman city after the Romans have left. I hadn't read Dawn Wind since at least 2005, and had forgotten much of the plot: the scenes in the crumbling remains of Viroconium are actually only a small part of the story.
Owain is fourteen when he wakes on a battlefield surrounded by the dead: he's survived the battle, but the British lost and his father and brother are both amongst the corpses. Accompanied by a war-hound whom he names 'Dog', Owain heads north with some thought of returning to the lands he knew. He falls sick on the road, and is cared for by a retired potter and his wife: but, unwilling to stay with them, he continues his journey and ends up in abandoned Viroconium, where he meets Regina, a louse-ridden and emaciated girl who begs for a share of his dinner.
The two eventually decide to head south, hoping to reach Gaul, but Regina contracts a fever and Owain trades his freedom so that she can be cared for by a Saxon family. He accompanies his new master, Beornwulf, to a farm on the south coast, and finds himself making a life there: the children like him, he still has Dog, and he's bonded with the magnificent white stallion that will likely be tribute to the King. And he fights alongside the Saxons, and they accept him as one of the war-band...
An understandably bleak book, with Owain convinced that Britain is finished and the lights have gone out, that the Saxons have won and that, when he fights as one of them, he is fighting not for anything, but only against. Owain is not free, but he has a better life than many thralls: Beornwulf likes and trusts him, he is treated well, and he finds some inspiration in the words of the Welsh envoy, Einon Hên, who speaks of a glowing future for Britain: 'not the dawn as yet, but I feel the dawn wind stirring'.
Owain's emerald ring, which becomes a plot point in itself, shows that he is a descendant of Marcus Flavius Aquila (from The Eagle of the Ninth) and more recently Aquila who was Artos's advisor in The Lantern Bearers: but this novel is set a century after Artos' victories, and the memory of Rome is faint. Still, Owain is heartened in a very dark moment by the discovery of a mosaic in an old shrine:
...he scraped and scrabbled on, the loose black soil formed by the drifted leaves of a hundred summers crumbling easily away under his fingers. In a little, he had cleared a medallion surrounded by a delicate border of ivy leaves and berries, and was looking at the half-length figure of a girl with a bird in one hand and a blossoming branch in the other. Part of the border had been destroyed by the roots of something that had grown through it, but the little figure was perfect, delicately charming and full of joy.[p. 165]
More comfort there than in his notional Christian faith, though the latter does bring him face to face with Augustine, not yet sainted and eager to raise his church in Saxon lands.
As in Dark Earth, there's a post-apocalyptic feel to this story: the lights have gone out, outlaws roam the land, all that was civilised and beautiful lies in ruins. And yet there is hope, and love, and found family. I found Owain's story rather darker than Isla's narrative, perhaps because he is so alone, or perhaps because the stories and roles available to him, as a man, are very different.
Fulfils the 'involves a second chance' rubric of the 52 books in 2022 challenge.
January 31, 2021
I just finished rereading Dawn Wind. I first read it in 1961, so that’s 60 years between readings. I’m pretty sure that’s a record for me.
I like this novel a lot. As usual with Rosemary Sutcliff, it’s a bit sad and elegiac, but in general the book has a peaceful, accepting and non-conflictual mood, and a lovely tearful happy ending. (Really not a spoiler to say this.) Almost every single person in the book is kind, thoughtful and decent. OK, there’s just one mean bastard in the story, but I think he’s just in there so the book isn’t too soporific or cloying.
I’m British (actually English too - readers of Sutcliff will know that those are two very different identities.) This book, like others in the series, suggests how these identities might have begun to meld together in the late Roman and the Anglo-Saxon period. Another thing about being a British reader of Sutcliff is how beautifully she characterizes the wildlife and the countryside. Admittedly, we no longer have wild boars in England.
The high point of the novel is when King Ethelbert of Kent welcomes St. Augustine and his monks to England. They’ve been sent by Pope Gregory to convert the English. This is the section where Rosemary Sutcliff’s politics are revealed. She was a Whig, believed in progress and Protestantism, so was quite skeptical of the pope and the Roman church. She has St. Augustine say to the king, “I’ve come over here to convert you English.” The king looks a bit unimpressed, and replies “English? We’re all Jutes here.” I have to admit I laughed out loud at that exchange, my only lol of the book.
Owain, the book’s Romano-British protagonist, then totally impresses both the King and St. Augustine, because not only does he speak Saxon and British, but he has Latin too. To me that exchange he has, man to man with St. Augustine, is the crowning glory of an engrossing, satisfying story.
I like this novel a lot. As usual with Rosemary Sutcliff, it’s a bit sad and elegiac, but in general the book has a peaceful, accepting and non-conflictual mood, and a lovely tearful happy ending. (Really not a spoiler to say this.) Almost every single person in the book is kind, thoughtful and decent. OK, there’s just one mean bastard in the story, but I think he’s just in there so the book isn’t too soporific or cloying.
I’m British (actually English too - readers of Sutcliff will know that those are two very different identities.) This book, like others in the series, suggests how these identities might have begun to meld together in the late Roman and the Anglo-Saxon period. Another thing about being a British reader of Sutcliff is how beautifully she characterizes the wildlife and the countryside. Admittedly, we no longer have wild boars in England.
The high point of the novel is when King Ethelbert of Kent welcomes St. Augustine and his monks to England. They’ve been sent by Pope Gregory to convert the English. This is the section where Rosemary Sutcliff’s politics are revealed. She was a Whig, believed in progress and Protestantism, so was quite skeptical of the pope and the Roman church. She has St. Augustine say to the king, “I’ve come over here to convert you English.” The king looks a bit unimpressed, and replies “English? We’re all Jutes here.” I have to admit I laughed out loud at that exchange, my only lol of the book.
Owain, the book’s Romano-British protagonist, then totally impresses both the King and St. Augustine, because not only does he speak Saxon and British, but he has Latin too. To me that exchange he has, man to man with St. Augustine, is the crowning glory of an engrossing, satisfying story.
February 4, 2019
Owain wakes from the Battle of Aquae Sulis to find his father and brother dead and the Briton warriors wiped out by the Saxons. The only other survivor is one of the king's war hounds, whom Owain names "Dog". Together they travel north to Viroconium, the city from which the army left, hoping other soldiers may have regrouped there. When Owain reaches the city, it has been destroyed by the Saxons - looted and burned. The only other person in the city is a skinny, dirty girl, a year or two younger than he; her name is Regina. Together they manage to survive in the wrecked city, until a troop of rogue Briton soldiers come and capture Regina. Owaine's quick thinking saves her. However, they realize they are no longer safe from either the Saxons or the Britons. They trek south, planning to sail to France. However, before their journey is complete, Regna becomes ill with a fever. To get help for her, Owain leaves her at a Saxon farm and offers himself as Saxon thrall to pay for her upkeep. For 8 years, Owain faithfully serves his master, earning more and more trust. After a brave deed, Owain is freed, but agrees to stay on at the farm until his master's son is old enough to take over. And even then, his services are needed. He freely serves his Saxon family, even fighting with the Saxon soldiers. However, always Owain is waiting for a time that he can leave and find Regina. Eleven years after he began his service, he realizes a new wind is blowing through the land, bringing change to England and to Owain.
October 15, 2022
Rosemary Sutcliff was one of my absolute favourite writers as a child growing up, and the author of one of my favourite books of all time, Eagle of The Ninth. This story takes place later in British history, in the sixth century, when the Romans are long gone and the Saxons have invaded. A British youth, Owain, survives a last-ditch battle against the Saxons that leaves him an orphan. With only a dog for company, he sets off on a series of adventures. There is also a girl character called Regina, who Owain encounters living in the ruins of an old Roman city. Even though they are soon parted, their relationship runs like a spine through the book, as Owain battles to return to her but is endlessly frustrated, often by his own honourable nature. Great drama.
Perhaps the genius of this book though is the way it conveys how the most bitter enemies can become friends, at a pivotal moment in this island's history. Owain is forced to live as a slave among his former enemies, the Saxons. Hate slowly gives way to respect, on both sides, as the Saxon invaders gradually merge with the indigenous British.
Dare I say it, I think I enjoyed this story even more than my old childhood favourite.
Perhaps the genius of this book though is the way it conveys how the most bitter enemies can become friends, at a pivotal moment in this island's history. Owain is forced to live as a slave among his former enemies, the Saxons. Hate slowly gives way to respect, on both sides, as the Saxon invaders gradually merge with the indigenous British.
Dare I say it, I think I enjoyed this story even more than my old childhood favourite.
December 29, 2022
This is perhaps the most subdued of this series so far, which is appropriate for a setting within those long silent years after the Saxons were thoroughly embedded in the English landscape but before they knitted an English identity for themselves and the remaining Britons. Perhaps it appeals to me so well because for the last few years I have been contemplating what happens on the down-hill side of civilization, when growth is reversed and decline consumes prior glories. What greater Western example than centuries following Rome's withdrawal from Britain?
Owain, unlike many others of the House of Aquila, is a quiet hero, thoughtful and stoic, whose heroism lies simply within his humanity and compassion, rather than adventurous deeds. He is George Bailey, constantly sacrificing his dreams and desires to the needs of others. And while some may wish this story had more action, Owain's quiet strength accretes slowly over eleven year chronicle in a more believable, less glorious, manner that makes the story more poignant.
Owain, unlike many others of the House of Aquila, is a quiet hero, thoughtful and stoic, whose heroism lies simply within his humanity and compassion, rather than adventurous deeds. He is George Bailey, constantly sacrificing his dreams and desires to the needs of others. And while some may wish this story had more action, Owain's quiet strength accretes slowly over eleven year chronicle in a more believable, less glorious, manner that makes the story more poignant.
November 2, 2020
Owain is a Briton who fights the Saxons at the great battle of Aquae Sulis. His father and brother are killed and he is wounded but escapes. He heads for a new life in Brittany, accompanied by a dog called Dog, and later by a British girl. But they do not make it and 12 years pass under Saxon rule, in which the character of Owain grows and matures, and we get to see the famous battle of Wednesdbury as well as the arrival of Augustine of Canterbury among other historical events.
Rosemary Sutcliff's books are very well researched, and she had a real love for Roman and post Roman periods. This is a very fine example of her writing, presenting a story with a wealth of historical richness and some clever character development in a format that is accessible to children and up.
Rosemary Sutcliff's books are very well researched, and she had a real love for Roman and post Roman periods. This is a very fine example of her writing, presenting a story with a wealth of historical richness and some clever character development in a format that is accessible to children and up.
July 17, 2022
This book follows the journey of Owain after losing both his father and brother on the battlefield. Along with his trusty 'Dog' that have to go down a long road meeting so many others on the way.
Dawn Wind is something close to an allegory showing the rise of a little boy and a friend who disappears at some point in the story and then returns again The language also compliments the theme making it a quality historical fiction novel.
The story goes straight with no turns and corners.It introduces new people and then drops them off again bringing them back at the right time.
It's totally worth reading,don't miss out and I say a thumbs-up to Rosemary Sutcliff to leading is back to the past and bringing us back inspired.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews