Holding Back the Darkness: ‘The Lantern Bearers’ by Rosemary Sutcliff

"The Lantern Bearers" by Rosemary Sutcliff

What do you do when you have to choose between loyalty to family and loyalty to country?

Rosemary Sutcliff used this question to drive the plot of her 1959 historical novel “The Lantern Bearers,” winner of the Carnegie Medal that same year. Though written for children and adolescents, the novel has more than enough sophistication and depth to be a worthwhile read for adults. I first read the book as a young teen and then again as an adult, and I find it moved me and spoke to me even more the second time around.

A Timeless Classic

The novel takes place during the tumultuous years following the withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain in the 5th century—a time when the isle was battered by the winds of change and upheaval, with many tribes threatening to swallow it up as the old Roman order crumbled.