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This novel brings to life one
of the most extraordinary women in European history:
Boudica, the Celtic warrior-queen and Druid priestess
who led a sweeping revolt against Roman occupation
forces in Britain in 60/61 A.D. The narrative of her
rebellion, provoked by the rape of her two young
daughters and her own scourging, is a gripping story. A
brilliant military strategist driven by the vision of a
united Celtic Britain, Boudica pits herself against the
imperial legions of Nero, dealing a series of
devastating blows that culminates in the fiery
destruction of London and the death of 70,000 people.
The author
enriches the bare account of Boudica's uprising left to
us by unsympathetic Roman historians with an augmented
cast of characters and authentic details of Celtic
dress, weaponry, religious ritual and tribal life drawn
from his own extensive research. Elements of myth and
mystery pervade the novel, evoking a time before the
conversion of the Celts to Christianity, a time when the
power of the Goddess was supreme.
Engrossing as the story of
Boudica's insurrection is, the real power of this novel
is the woman herself. Queen, Priestess, mother, lover
and battle-leader, she is a complex individual torn by
conflicting forces. Caught in a tragic web not of her
own weaving, she moves toward her inevitable destiny
with heroism of the deepest dye, trusting in the ancient
prophecy that her cause and her wondrous sword,
Calabrenn, will one day be taken up by a mighty Celtic
warrior-king whose coming has been foretold of old.
His name, the druids, say,
will be Arthur.
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