Sutcliff Statistics: Rosemary Sutcliff 2020!

[chantefable]

Greetings!

Here are some current statistics on the state of fandom: counting the transformative works posted on AO3 for all Rosemary Sutcliff book canons. Here comes an aggregated list of fandoms by the number of works.

This is the fourth time such an overview is completed. Previous posts were made three years ago, in November 2017 [see here], two years ago, in December 2018 [see here], a year ago, in December 2019 [see here]. The first two probes were done pre-Yuletide and the last two, this included, were post-Yuletide, including Yuletide data.

The total number of fanworks on AO3 has gone up by 44 compared to the time of the previous probe into the depths of the archive (from 500 in December, 2019 to 544 in December 2020).

The dynamics are as follows:
from 433 in November, 2017
to 472 in December, 2018
to 500 in December, 2019
to 544 in December, 2020.

1. The Eagle of the Ninth (305 works)

2. Frontier Wolf (98 works)

3. The Lantern Bearers (18 works)

4. The Silver Branch (18 works)

5. The Mark of the Horse Lord (15 works)

6. Blood Feud (14 works)

7. Sword at Sunset (14 works)

8. Outcast (13 works)

9. The Shining Company (7 works)

10. Dawn Wind (6 works)

11. Knight's Fee (5 works)

12. Sword Song (5 works)

13. Warrior Scarlet (4 works)

14. The Fugitives (4 works)

15. The Truce of the Games (3 works)

16. The Witch's Brat (3 works)

17. Blood and Sand (2 works)

18. The Rider of the White Horse (2 works)

19. The Sword and the Circle (1 work)

20. The Armourer's House (1 work)

21. Sun Horse Moon Horse (1 work)

22. A Circlet of Oak Leaves (1 work)

23. Flame-Coloured Taffeta (1 work)

24. The Chief’s Daughter (1 work)

25. The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cool (1 work)

26. The Shield Ring (1 work)



A variety of Sutcliff works are represented in book fandom so far, from long novels to tiny short stories, from well-known to really obscure. Notable dynamics:

New works (44 in total) (listed by volume of new output per fandom):

The Eagle of the Ninth +24 (from 281 to 305)

Frontier Wolf +11 (from 87 to 98 works)

The Fugitives +3 (from 1 to 4 works)

Outcast +1 (from 12 to 13 works)

The Shining Company +1 (from 6 to 7 works)

Warrior Scarlet +1 (from 3 to 4 works)

The Chief’s Daughter +1 (from 0 to 1 work) new fandom!

The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cool +1 (from 0 to 1 work) new fandom!

The Shield Ring +1 (from 0 to 1 work) new fandom!


As you can see, more than twice as many fandoms had new fanworks created for them compared to last year (nine this year compared to four last year). It appears that there were three new Sutcliff book canons showcased on the fandom arena for the very first time!

What do you think of the output dynamic? Is there a Sutcliff work you'd like to see celebrated more? Do tell in comments!

And congratulations to everyone in Sutcliff fandom – 2020 was a Sutcliff anniversary year.

Comments

[dr_zook]

I'm sorry, what were you saying? My brain is still oozing out of my ears because of your icon-- mmmh Esca. ♥

:D

[chantefable]

That is an extremely relevant icon! :D

[isis]

This is very cool to see! I'm (as always) especially happy to see fanworks created for the lesser-known Sutcliff works.

[chantefable]

This is actually the most fics per year since we started counting, so it's really cool!

I am likewise happy to see fanworks created for the lesser-known Sutcliff works.

This list gives me Ambitions for 2021: hopefully, Frontier Wolf will reach 100 fics, and there'll be new fandoms (maybe we'll reach 30)!

[verecunda]

Woo! Happy anniversary, Sutcliff fandom. Keep up the awesome work! :D

I'd love to see more fanworks for some of the lesser-known novels, too. I read Dawn Wind a few weeks ago, and I'd love to see some more fanworks for that! The Lantern Bearers, too, as well as the short stories. I certainly hope to contribute more in the coming year!

[chantefable]

I read Dawn Wind a few weeks ago, and I'd love to see some more fanworks for that! The Lantern Bearers, too, as well as the short stories.
That would be great!

I certainly hope to contribute more in the coming year!
Yesss! Doooo ittt! :D

[hedgebird]

I've read an Arthurian fic that ripped off The Sword and the Circle (untagged), I wonder if that counts as "part of the fandom"...

I like these posts; it's so interesting to see which books tick upwards. Would not have expected Finn Mac Cool or the short stories, and I'm really surprised The Shield Ring had nothing till now.

So of the historical novels, the ones with no works on AO3 are The Queen Elizabeth Story, The Chronicles of Robin Hood, Brother Dusty-Feet, Simon, Lady in Waiting, The Flowers of Adonis, Song for a Dark Queen, and Bonnie Dundee? Mostly what I'd expect, but I'm a little surprised Adonis isn't represented (there's angst and canon gay!) And very surprised not to find Dark Queen (it's Roman YA! People love the Roman YA.)

[chantefable]

I've read an Arthurian fic that ripped off The Sword and the Circle (untagged), I wonder if that counts as "part of the fandom"...
Eh, I guess fusion and inspired don't count. ;) For what it's worth, it's hard to be original in Arthurian fiction. :)

I like these posts; it's so interesting to see which books tick upwards.
Awww, I'm glad. I love making them. I know they're not fancy, but there's something magical about the numbers. :D

the ones with no works on AO3 are The Queen Elizabeth Story, The Chronicles of Robin Hood, Brother Dusty-Feet, Simon, Lady in Waiting, The Flowers of Adonis, Song for a Dark Queen, and Bonnie Dundee
Occasionally one or the other gets rooted for in conversations (Simon and The Flowers of Adonis recently, if I'm not mistaken), but we don't seem to be able to get it off the ground! In exchanges, you have to nominate it first, to get in the tagset, and request, and hope someone's around who'd be interested, or offer, and hope anyone who's interested is around to request... And there's Sutcliff Swap with strictly Sutcliff, but the number of requests is limited and one cannot ask for All The Things. :) I'd love to see these brought into the spotlight.
Maybe we can consider group readings in the community next year, to bring more awareness and interest, so there's an impetus for fic and art...

Would not have expected Finn Mac Cool or the short stories
The advantage of the short stories is that they're short! It's a five (or fifteen) minute fandom! So, *cough* if one is really into a short story and is vocally enthusiastic and asks for it all the time, it's got to bear fruit at some point...

[hedgebird]

Let's say it was written with love and identifiable details... eyebrow-raising, but harmless. :D

I think a group read would be a great way to engage people. It's something anyone can do whether or not we write or draw, and as a bonus inspires new work and grows the audience for it.

[chantefable]

Great! I guess we could pick something rare-but-accessible and start a test-drive of this reading thing in January, see how it goes. I gather planning the pacing is important (e.g. the super awesome Homer read-along I participated in classiclitclub fizzled out when we all ran out of steam and could not keep up with the schedule).

[hedgebird]

Wow that is a highly-organised-looking read-along, I'm impressed. I look forward to hearing your plans, assuming you've got plans – if not, propose it anyway and I guess we can collectively sort out the details.

[bunn]

I keep meaning to write something for Simon, and Song for a Dark Queen. I've definitely built the odd SFADQ tribute scene into other things I've written, that vision of Boudicca's terrible and bloody revenge on London will always stay with me.

Nice to see that Eagle of the Ninth is still growing, impressive for such an old book, and a testament to its charm.

[chantefable]

I think both Simon and SFADQ coming from you would be brilliant, I am looking forward to it. ♥
The Eagle book is a very important pillar of fandom!

[hedgebird]

You should!