As a child, Lubrin sees the patterns of a private magic in his mind’s eye – in the vision of a galloping white mare leading her herd over the crest of a hill. This picture-magic he returns to again and again as he grows up, to the puzzlement and ridicule of his fellows. In the end it is his gift that releases his tribe from their own conquerors and gives them the freedom to start their clan life anew.
In this interpretation of how the White Horse of Uffington, in Berkdhire, might have been made, Rosemary Sutcliff has created a story of great sensitivity and understanding.
