Set against the violent and turbulent backdrop of Norman England, this is the story of a young ill-treated boy who is wagered and won in a game of chess between a lord and a minstrel. The author has won the Carnegie Medal and the Other Award and wrote an autobiography, Blue Remembered Hills.

 

There are 288 pages in this book. This book was published 1990 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Charles Keeping was the two-time winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. Rosemary Sutcliff has written many historical novels for children. The Lantern Bearers won the Carnegie Medal. Rosemary Sutcliff received an OBE in 1975 and in 1993, the year after her death, was awarded the CBE.