Between the Forest and the Hills

We read this book together as a family and enjoyed it very much. Ann Lawrence brings the citizens of the small Roman settlement in Britain to life in often amusing ways. The talking crows were a highlight. The ending was unexpected, but tied together many of the unusual happenings. We thouroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

This charming story is set in Isicum, a Romano-British city in the remote west of Britain, forgotten as the Romans depart Britain and the inhabitants of Iscium feel increasinlgy isolated, with Saxons appearing over the horizon. A Romano-British boy, Falx, find a litle lost Saxon girl, ulna, in the woods and brings her home to Iscium. The book is full of delightful characters, like Bishop Malleus, with a passion for beekeeping, and Teres, the mysterious one-eyed man with ravens on his shoulders, who keeps quoting from books that haven't been written yet. An entertaining and unusual historical fantasy. P.S. The Ann Lawrence who wrote this is not the same Ann Lawrence who writes the books with naked men on the covers, sorry.