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Title details for The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff - Wait list

The Shining Company

by Rosemary Sutcliff
Johanna Ward
Audiobook
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks

A white stag and a dagger transform the life of Prosper, a Welsh chieftan's son. With Conn, his bodyservant, he leaves his isolated valley and joins the war band of King Mynyddog the Golden as a shieldbearer. For the Saxons have returned to threaten the northern tribes of Britain, and the Shining Company—a brotherhood of three hundred chosen warriors—must make a desperate attempt to repel invaders.

And with the Company travels the minstrel Aneirin, who will keep their names and their glory alive forever more.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 30, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481561181
      • File size: 221603 KB
      • Duration: 07:41:40

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 7.1
    • Lexile® Measure: 1170
    • Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
    • Text Difficulty: 8-9

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Prosper, the son of a Welsh chieftain, is delighted to be chosen to join the war band of King Mynyddog the Golden as a shieldbearer to Prince Gorthyn, one of the 300 warriors sent to crush the Saxon invaders in 600A.D. Sutcliff's story, narrated by Prosper, is based on THE GODODDIN, a poem written by the bard Aneirin to elegize the fallen warriors. Johanna Ward's narration is clear and precise, although the use of a female narrator for the shieldbearer makes Prosper sound very effeminate. The story will appeal to readers of historical fiction or fantasy, as the rich language and strong Welsh dialect give the story a mythic air. B.F. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 5, 1990
      Set in Britain in 600 A.D., this extraordinary novel tells of the mustering of an army and its ill-fated campaign against the invading Saxons. Prosper, younger son of a feudal chieftain and the story's hero, is called to the company as a shield bearer, trained in the arts of war and sent into battle. Seen through his eyes, this is both a gripping action-adventure yarn and a moving, carefully wrought coming-of-age story. Sutcliff's richly evocative writing captures the feeling of life 1400 years ago; her realistic details provide a gritty background against which the tragic action unfolds. The Shining Company deserves a place with Adam of the Road , The White Stag and other classic adventure stories. Ages 12-up.

    • School Library Journal

      March 1, 2002
      Gr 7 Up-Rosemary Sutcliffe based this novel (FS&G, pap. 1992) on a seventh century poet's account of Lowlander King Mynydogg's dispatch of 300 warriors in defense against Saxon invaders from the south. Prosper, the second son of a local lord and in new and uncomfortable possession of a body servant, meets his future in that Shining Company of warriors when he helps divert hunters from overtaking a white stag, Another who helps to preserve that creature's life is Prince Gorthyn, Mynydogg's son. Gorthyn remembers Prosper as the Company is gathered and sends for him as his second shield bearer; Conn, Prosper's own servant, accompanies him. Both boys find a way for Conn to learn the trade that truly speaks to him blacksmithing and through which he will be able to buy his freedom. Conn's interest in the forge and Prosper's in the life of the warrior were both whetted by a chance sighting of a splendid dagger. This tool, artifact, and symbol is neatly threaded through the tale as it moves from the Shining Company's gathering strength, through bloody battles, to its eventual diminution to a single man, and that warrior's invitation to an older, wiser, and yet eager Prosper to accompany him to Constantinople. Johanna Ward reads this epic quietly, as one might unfold a legend with which listeners have some familiarity. This style will have more appeal to those who are coming to the recording with a sense of the long border wars between the ancients who inhabited the area that is now Edinburgh and the north of Britain, than to those who expect to hear all the sounds of excited battle. The CD cues every three minutes, but those tracks are without regard to chapter breaks.-Francisca Goldsmith. Berkeley Public Library, CA

      Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This masterful recreation of The Goddoddin, the earliest surviving North British epic poem, recounts the story of 300 men, the Companions, and their heroic, but futile, stand against the Saxons at Catraeth. Ron Keith's brilliant rendition of Prosper, shieldbearer and narrator, brings Sutcliff's compelling tale of valor, betrayal and defeat to glorious life. His unhurried pacing vividly demonstrates the sweep of historical drama making this complex story of boys, men and war accessible to a broad range of listeners. The listener is even relieved of constant referral to the pronunciation guide (many places and names are Gaelic). The audio performance provides the total immersion the literature requires and deserves. S.G. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 31, 1992
      Britain in 600 A.D. forms a vibrant backdrop for this gripping action-adventure tale concerning the son of a feudal chieftain. Ages 12-up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:7.1
  • Lexile® Measure:1170
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:8-9

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