Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle. Manda Scott

By Manda Scott

Book Overview

In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome. It was the culmination of nearly twenty years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant, complex civilization and replace it with the laws, taxes and slavery of the Roman Empire.
Gloriously imagined, Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle recreates the beginnings of a story so powerful its impact has survived through the ages, recounting the journey to adulthood of Breaca, who at twelve kills her first warrior, and her sensitive, skilful half-brother B n, who carries with him a vision of the future that haunts his waking hours.
In the company of a supreme storyteller, the reader is plunged into the unforgettable world of tribal Britain in the years before the Romans came: a twilight world of Dreamers and the magic of the gods; a world where horses and dogs and the landscape itself become characters in their own right; where warriors fight for honour as much as victory. Above all, it is a world of passion and courage and spectacular, heart-felt heroism pitched against overwhelming odds.
Manda Scott's Boudica will tell the extraordinary, resounding story of Britain's first and greatest warrior queen, the woman who remains one of the great female icons - to read it is to discover our history, to learn about ourselves and our heritage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553814060
• ISBN13: 9780553814064
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 719 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Frick-In Loved It

Ay ay so I'm just getting into historical fiction and I'm obsessed and I love reading but I'm always afraid it'll be those books that are "cool" but really boring and hard to read and while it was what some may consider boring, i LOVED IT!!! Like for real I was definitely engaged, although I did stop reading it for a time but if you're afraid it'll be boring, you're good cus it's great and I freakin love historical fiction

Beautifully written, credible and compelling ...

While sub-titled "A Novel of Boudica, the Warrior Queen," this book is as much about her brother, Bán. In fact, Breaca nic Graine doesn't become Boudica (She Who Brings Victory) until the final chapters. The book - the first in a quartet - covers the early years of her life from about age 12 to 23 (32 - 43 A.D.). As Scott explains at the end, there is little primary evidence about Boudica and her tribe. Much of what we know comes from Roman accounts, accounts based on oral history and written centuries later, and archaeological interpretations. Thus, to this end, the story is truly a work of fiction. It is, however, beautifully written, compelling and credible. You envision the life of the Eceni (Boudica's tribe), their culture, beliefs, and way of life. You come to understand and accept the dreamings and their significance. Through circumstances often beyond their control, Breaca and Bán (about 4 years her junior) lead different lives. And while one of them makes the "right" choices, the other does not. The ending is heart-breaking and sets the tone for the next book in the series (Dreaming the Bull). The story is not a quick read. While beautifully written, it requires a lot of focus. It introduces at least 3 characters - Breaca, Bán and Caradoc (Breaca's lover) - important to the story. Because of circumstances, their story's often run parallel to one another rather than intertwined. Consequently, I found myself having to re-read parts from time to time. A highly recommended 5 stars.

Great Book

I'll admit, not many 13-year-olds are going to be reading this book, especially considering that it is an adult book, but it is an amazing piece of literature! True, the plot may be slightly difficult to understand, at least for me, but it is really, really good. It took me about three months to read, and usually a book of that size takes me a week, max, but that was because, for it to really pull me into it, i needed some time, as in an uninterupted hour or more, to read it. (Sorry for the run-on sentence!) Some of the content may be considered "for adults only" by many people, such as when, towards the end of the book Breaca sleeps with a man to whom she is not married, but we all know enough about that by the time we turn 13, and if we don't, then we need to learn. Altogether, I say that this is a book well worth the price and time it takes to read and I say we should all propose a toast of long life to Manda Scott for writing this beautiful series!

I plowed through all three currently in print.

What a bunch of page turners! Each was a good as the others. I thoroughly enjoyed all and I am looking forward eagerly to the fourth "Dreaming the Serpent Spear". Great books, I don't remember when I've been so absorbed. Frankly, I envy anyone who hasn't read them, they have tremendous treat waiting between the covers of those books.

Excellnt historical fiction

In 32 AD Britain, eleven years old Breaca only wants to be a Dreamer foretelling the future for her tribe. However, destiny provides her a different role when she slays the warrior who just killed her mother, Graine, the hereditary leader of the Eceni. Her father Eburovic reacts with elation as he concludes he needs no son with a fighter like his daughter Breaca.Over the next seven-eight years Breaca becomes a warrior leader of the Eceni. She meets and falls in love with Caradac, perhaps the only male that can claim to be her peer as a warrior. She also cherishes, perhaps loves, her half-brother Ban, as powerful a Dreamer as there ever has been though he wants to be a warrior like his sibling. However, their world of magic and tribal disputes is on the verge of ending as an outside force, the Romans, has crossed from Gaul intent on conquering.DREAMING THE EAGLE, the first of Manda Scott's Boudica trilogy, is a tremendous ancient historical biography that brings a vivid a picture of Britain during the decade just prior to and at the beginning of the Roman invasion. The story line is rich with a feel for the atmosphere of Druid Britain yet cleverly interwoven into the prime theme of the life of the legendary warrior queen. The cast is cleverly used to enhance understanding of the heroine in her late preadolescent and teen years so that the reader receives a deep well-written, gripping novel that never slows down. Perhaps the only disappointment is that readers will have to wait for Manda Scott's next installment.Harriet Klausner