The best Arthur book to me, aside from Mallory, is Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset, with Arthur as a chieftain trying to hold civilization together in post-Roman Britain. Rosemary Sutcliff is one of my favorites anyway; her books set me off on my adolescent obsession with Roman Britain.

Ginger, sistah! I pimp Sutcliff whenever I can, and I'm bummed that much of her Roman Britain stuff is OOP.

I know I'm not the only former SR fan who stopped bothering to buy his stuff after repeat disappointments.

Indeed not. I came close to throwing one of the Callahan's collections across the room. Something about brothels and a nuclear bomb, and it was just awful. Granted, the Callahan's books were never brilliant, but they just got worse and worse. I won't read him anymore, although I adored Stardancer when I was 15.

I didn't splurge at Powell's too much, but I did get 5 books. I'll do the full list when I'm at home so I get the authors right.

Dani, I would love them!!

I think I still have your address filed away from the sekrit gift exchange, Aimee. Let me check & if I can't find it I'll email you.

The breastfeeding book is particularly good for practical advice, if you don't mind a little crunchy-granola. The other one is a fascinating (and accessible) read about neurological development.

Oooh...I like granola!

And now, I sorta want granola.

Consuela, I certainly pimp Sutcliff at every opportunity, and I've given The Lantern Bearers and Eagle of the Ninth to practically every teenager I know. Have you read her memoirs, Blue Remembered Hills?

I had no idea Rosemary Sutcliff had written memoirs. Must see if they're in the library.

I loved the Roman Britain books, and also the one written from the POV of a Pict (I think?). IIRC the title was Mark of the Horse Lord.

Ah, Amazon says I have the title right, but remembered the details wrong - it's about a Roman who impersonates the king of a Pictish tribe.

Have you read her memoirs, Blue Remembered Hills?

No! I didn't now it existed. Must find.

I loved Mark of the Horse Lord, loved the utterly unexpected ending (unexpected for a YA novel, anyway), and still can picture the image of the golden plover. She was so marvelous.

Ginger & Dani, you know about the various tributes to Sutcliff?

One of the great things about Sutcliff is that her endings are frequently not what you expect. The image I always remember is Aquila's lighting Rutupiae light after the legions leave. No, I don't know anything about the tributes, Consuela.

I should look for Sword at Sunset. I like my Arthur stories Romano-Celtic and grounded in the Dark Ages. I just can't get into the faux-medieval high chivalry versions for some reason.

Susan, Sutcliff has a series of books about a Roman family and its decendants in Britain, which is loosely linked to Sword at Sunset. They are The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers. The first three are, quite erroneously, I think, labeled juveniles. I tend to avoid superlatives, but they're the best historical fiction I've ever read. They all have the theme that civilization is a light that must be nurtured and fought for by individuals. They're not so tied together that you have to read them in order; they just have "aha" moments when you realize that a character in one book is a descendant of a character in a previous book.