Rosemary Sutcliff, The Eagle of the Ninth (Oxford University
Press, 2000) Rosemary Sutcliff, The Silver Branch (Oxford
University Press, 2001) Rosemary Sutcliff, Frontier Wolf (Puffin
Books, 1984) Rosemary Sutcliff, The Lantern Bearers (Oxford
University Press, 2001) Rosemary Sutcliff, Dawn Wind (Puffin
Books, 1982)  Compelling historical fiction relies on characters
welded so smoothly to actual events that the seams are nearly
invisible. A smooth blend of fictional and historical figures
provides the depth of a documentary with the sweep and emotion
of a good yarn. This mixing makes Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman
Britain novels (The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch,
Frontier Wolf, and The Lantern Bearers, along with the Romano-
Celtic Sword at Sunset and Dawn Wind) the great books that they
are. Their re-creation of Roman Britain is vivid and exquisitely
detailed. The result, novels that convincingly transport the
reader back to the Empire, is compelling reading. The family
connection of the main characters i