Warrior Queen: The Story of Boudica, Celtic Queen

From the depictions the Romans have given her, and even from modern documentaries, I had the permanent image of Boudicca as the wronged Queen, in a primal fit of rage and vengeance, leading a scrappy rabble of Britons on an ultimately failed rebellion which wrought some havoc amongst Rome, before being put down by a proper Roman army under Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. It seemed obvious from her tactics at the Battle of Watling Street. But this book, by Alan Gold, convincingly presents to me a different version of said story. Meticulously researched, the book must take a few liberties, however, with regards to Boudicca's life prior to her life as Queen of the Iceni. Aside from some seemingly pointless filler chapters involving Claudius and Messalina or Nero and Agrippina, it is utterly compelling, and manages to villainize the Romans in Briton from Boudicca's point of view, and gradually heroicize them under the likes of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. The author rarely attempts to romanticize some of the grittiness of everyday life, openly portraying Boudicca and Prasutagus as sexual beings, knowingly having extra-marital relationships and remaining happily married, and rather explicitly detailing Boudicca's awe with Roman plumbing, and how easily it disposes of her waste. And from Rome, it casually sets up sexual situations, including that of Claudius receiving a handjob from his niece, or Nero having sex with his mother. From the rebellion onward, the book gains more focus, leaving aside Nero's random bouncing from flawed moralist to utter maniac, and drivingly tells of Boudicca's rebellion and the glory for the Britannic tribes it will fuel, and even the necessity for Suetonius Paulinus to defeat her, lest their defeat fuel the flames of rebellion and anarchy on every border of the Empire. Where once, I thought of Boudicca as a good-intended, but ultimately "barbarian" warrioress, the book paints her as victim to the massive horde of Britons' innate lack of discipline and barbarity, as they grow careless of training, getting drunk every night and feasting on the spoils of the cities they've looted, while Paulinus invigorates his demoralized legions in a way reminiscent of Caesar. Their final clash at Watling Street, where once I thought Boudicca stupid enough to bash her army against the Roman wall, the book paints her as helpless to stop her warriors' bloodlust as they foolishly rush head-long onto the Roman lines, and cause their own destruction by pressing in without any organization, while their wagons block off their escapes. While Suetonius Paulinus and Boudicca are both heroicized, the book ultimately ends too early to contradict this depiction, as Paulinus deals so harshly with the subjugated Britons that even Nero is repulsed and removes Paulinus from his post. Other than that, it was a richly inviting and intriguing story.

This was an excellent recounting of the story. The author seemed to have done thorough research and has a good understanding of the culture that existed at the time. I would highly recommend reading this book!

As an ordained druid priestess, I'll be the first to admit that the amount we actually know about the ancient druids fills about 2 pages, and some of that was written by the romans themselves. Not exactly the best source for information. Everything else is speculation based on a few fragmentary references in Greek, Latin, and medieval Irish writings. What did the druids actually practice? Nobody knows!! So why try to create rituals for them in this book? Yes, OK, it's fiction. I get that. But gods, Cornwell did it SO much better in his Warlord Chronicles. I guess I'm spoiled by an actual author who IS a meticulous researcher. Two stars (WHICH I CAN'T SEEM TO EDIT, HELLO???) instead of 0 for the roman bits that are correct. Everything else is completely fiction. I also rated this low for hokiness. Some of the dialogue is so ridiculous.

Love the story of a great female warrior in history. Alan Gold has a way of captivating the reader. Looking for more of his books.

This is a brilliantly researched novel, well constructed and thought out. It was gripping, and gave me an interesting picture of Romano-British times. As a lecturer in ancient history, it's always useful to find out how a novelist constructs reality, and the author didn't stray too far from what is known of this dark period in British history. His characters were very true to life and his comparison between the court of the Emperors in ancient Rome and the somewhat chaotic world of post-conquest Britain was imaginative and enlightening. I strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in bringing history to life, especially the history of a long-misunderstood woman called Britannia.