Dawn Wind is a historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

 for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff

Rosemary Sutcliff

Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...

 and published in 1961 by Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

, with illustrations by Charles Keeping

Charles Keeping

Charles William James Keeping was a British illustrator, children's book author and lithographer. He first came to prominence with his illustrations for Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels for children, and he created more than twenty picture books...

.

It takes place in Britain in the sixth century

Sub-Roman Britain

Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...

, after the Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

, Angles

Angles

The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...

 and Jutes

Jutes

The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...

 have gained dominion over most of Britain. Owain, a descendent of Roman and British soldiers, is the only survivor of a battle near Bath.

Plot introduction

The story follows him, and the dog he finds after the battle, into the border country with Wales to the ruins of Viroconium

Viroconium

Viroconium Cornoviorum, or simply Viroconium , was a Roman town, one corner of which is now occupied by the small village of Wroxeter in the English county of Shropshire, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury...

 (Wroxeter

Wroxeter

Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington and is located in the Severn Valley about south-east of Shrewsbury.-History:...

). There he meets a street urchin named Regina, the only person left in the city. They learn to trust each other and form a bond. When they leave the city and are later separated, Owain becomes a thrall to a Saxon lord in the swamps near the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, where he spends a number of years. In the end, Owain and Regina are finally reunited and return to the Celtic lands beyond the Welsh border.

The story takes place at a turning point in the evolution of relations among the Saxons, invaders from the European mainland, and the indigenous Celts. As Owain lives and fights with the Saxons, he sees them beginning to reach accommodation and common cause with the Celts.

The Dawn Wind of the title is a reference to the arrival of St Augustine

Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...

, who brought Christianity to the Saxons. This change also later brought the Saxons and the already-Christian Celts closer together.

Adaptation

A dramatisation of the novel by Felix Felton was broadcast as a six-part late afternoon radio serial in 1962. It was directed by David Davis, with Simon Lack as the adult Owain, whom Felton made to narrate his own story. The young Owain, in the first two episodes, was Glyn Dearman, while Kika Markham

Kika Markham

Kika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...

played Regina and Felton himself Einon Hen.

Source Reference for Radio Serial:

BBC "Programmes-As-Broadcast" 24/8 - 28/9 1962