20th-century Britain is the home of the world’s finest writers of historical fiction novels. Awarded the OBE in 1975 for her services to children’s literature, Rosemary Sutcliff’s gripping narrative and meticulous eye for detail brings history to life with flesh and blood characters. Her greatest work includes The Eagle from the Ninth (1954) – the first in a trilogy about Roman Britain, which continues with the Silver Branch (1957) and also the Lantern Bearers (1959). Dawn Wind (1961), The Mark from the Horse Lord (1965) and Frontier Wolf (1980) deal using the same era. Set about the Sussex Downs, Warrior Scarlet (1958) may be the story of a Bronze Age boy called Drem. Sutcliff has also composed Viking and Norman tales and a series of books about King Arthur.

A writer of similar stature, Henry Treece has contributed 25 novels towards the genre, including Roman stories – Legions of the Eagle (1954), for example – and a Viking trilogy, republished in one volume in 1985 as The Viking Saga. He has also composed about the Italian Renaissance and the tragic Children’s Crusade that took place in the early 13th century.

Geoffrey Trease has composed over a hundred books for kids. Bows Against the Barons (1934) is really a Robin Hood story with a difference. Cue for Treason (1940) begins a series of English Civil War stories. The WhiteNights of St Petersburg (1967) describes the Russian Revolution, although Song for a Tattered Flag (1992) is set throughout the Romanian Rising of 1989. Trease’s latest novel, Curse on the Sea (1996) travels back towards the 11th century to join King Charles journeying to Scotland for his coronation.

Other popular writers of historical fiction novels include Peter Carter, Robert Leeson, Ronald Welch, Barbara Willard and Cynthia Harnett, whose Carnegie Medalwinning The Wool-Pack (1951) may be the story of a 15thcentury merchant. Ian Serailler’s The Silver Sword (1956) and Esther Hautzig’s The Endless Steppe (1968) are based on true stories of refugee life throughout WWII.