Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #487398 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Dreaming the Eagle , the first volume of Manda Scott's "Boudica" sequence, is as much about establishing our sense of the issues at stake as it is about Breaca, the future Boadicea, herself. We are given a comprehensive and complex picture of pre-Roman British society--one which neither excludes the down-side of an aristocratic warrior society full of powerful mystics and touchy snobs nor regards it as significantly stranger or more primitive than the Romans these Celts are bound sooner or later to have to fight.

Breaca is a talented fighter, but her real interest is in breeding and training horses; for once, we get a picture of ancient Britain in which economic activity is a serious factor. Scott has an imaginative sympathy with opposed ways of life--Breaca's brother Ban spends time as a slave in Roman territory before being rescued by a Roman friend, and he comes to see much of what is worst and also what is best about Rome. This is the best sort of historical fiction--exciting, full of a sense of how different times feel, and also intelligent about historical issues; Scott knows that at the point when historical events happen, they seem as if they are open chances. --Roz Kaveney

Jenni Murray (BBC Woman’s Hour)
‘An extraordinary work combining history and imagination….A rattling good read. And you can quote me on that!’

Publishing News, Tim Manderson
'a truly remarkable story full of wonderful atmosphere . . . Intensely exciting a tale of Passion courage and heroism . . . intensely moving.'

Customer Reviews

Boudica - the real story!
This book is one of the best 'historical' novels that I have ever read. Manda Scott manages to capture the people, the sociology and the geography in such a convincing manner that it's hard to believe she hasn't uncovered a lost Iceni tribe in the Fens. The detail is magnificent and without the evidence usually available, Scott has evoked the sense of desperation and emotion experienced by these people in a very difficult time.

Highly recommended! I can't wait for the 2nd book...

Captivating
This is by far the best 'novel' I have read in a long time. From the start I have been engrossed by Manda Scotts cleaver writting - characters thoughts and feelings are often not reveiled at first, allowing your imaginination to take control, pure escapism - which is what a good book is all about.

From the 1st page the characters, landscape and environment came alive. It's been difficult to put the book down at night. Well worth getting if you're in the mood for a damn good read - not to 'arty' or indepth but still with a strong story to tell.

Capturing the essence of Celtic Briton
Boudica was a truly engrossing novel. As an historian I am always keen to criticise the frequently purile attempts to capture an age realistically in a piece of fiction. yet Manda Scott achieves this in an enthralling and mindful way. I am only too aware of the lack of evidence on this period but the skilfull way that the author pieces together the jigsaw is clever and it works. I couldn't put it down from start to finish and am chomping at the bit for the next one.