Books - Rosemary Sutcliff - The Eagle Of The Ninth - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140308903

45worlds 45cat 45spaces

Welcome Guest! Login or Create Account My Page Collection Wishlist Messages

Book Edition

Author:	Rosemary Sutcliff
Title:	The Eagle Of The Ninth
Publisher:	Puffin
Country:	UK
Date:	1977
Format:	Paperback
Genre:	Fiction, History, Mystery
ISBN-10:	0140308903
Total Editions:	4
First Published:	1954
Rating:	10.0 Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
» Search eBay #AD » Search Amazon #AD This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.

Primary Edition

Book

Rosemary Sutcliff - The Eagle Of The Ninth - Oxford University Press - Hardcover - UK (1954)

Comments and Reviews


ppint. 23rd May 2021		Rated 10/10 first and first-written in rosemary sutcliff's extended ''matter of britain'' sequence of historical novels: #1: ''the eagle of the ninth'' (1954), (this novel) aka ''the eagle'' (film tie-in covers, some editions from 2011), q.v. #2: ''the silver branch'' (1957), q.v. #3: ''frontier wolf'' (1980), q.v. #4: ''the lantern bearers'' (1959), q.v. #5: ''sword at sunset'' (1963), q.v. #6: ''dawn wind'' (1961), q.v. with a definite link, but no plot connection; so maybe it's just an ''easter egg'': 2#1: ''sword song'' (1997), q.v. (found in her papers: published posthumously) 2#2: ''the shield ring'' (1956), q.v. marcus, a newly-qualified junior officer in the legions, arrives at a garrisoned fort upon the great northern wall forming the limes of the roman empire in the province of britannia, a posting he's chosen for his family's connexions - his father served there as standard-bearer in the ill-fated ninth hispana, and an uncle chose to retire there rather than in italia - and not a little to get as far away from his prim, proper and oppressively stultifying uncle and aunt who raised him after his father, together with the whole of the ninth legion, disappeared somewhere north of the wall. he makes a fair start, not too many mistakes - and after those he does make, shows his experienced subordinates he's really interested in learning from their advice; but he begins to notice small changes in the attitude of the native britons and recalls the warning that just one really poor harvest can provide tinder for a rekindling of resentments against the eagles later on that year, when midwinter comes, and food runs short - and indeed, that winter, a night assault at the very start of a local uprising very nearly takes the fort's defenders by surprise. after surviving the assaults of the attack, badly wounded, he's sent south to his mysterious uncle near calleva, on the chalk, to convalesce - which proves not to be so simple a matter as he'd hoped, and has to come to terms with the truth that he'll never again be fit for service in the legions. he also acquires a slave - and a wolf cub; and a friend. and, in talks between his uncle and a legate, learns that the assault that almost overwhelmed his fort wasn't just the result of poor harvests combined with the burden of roman taxation, but part of a larger, more worrying banding together of tribes north of the wall against the roman occupation, and one inspired both by religion, and by the possession of some symbol of the native britons' power to triumph over the hated legions - possibly, a captured eagle standard. marcus conceives of an audacious, and strictly unofficially authorised, spying mission to find out the truth of the matter and, if possible, to retrieve (or ''rescue'') what can surely only be his father's ninth legion eagle - and, after convincing both the legate and his uncle that it is practical, and the only way to discover what's actually happening, prepares and then sets off, disguised as the travelling opthalmologist demetrios of alexandria, equipped with (and instructed in the use of) an array of real eyesalves, accompanied by his bodyslave... how marcus and esra fare, and what they discover of the possible eagle, and of the fate of the ninth hispana, is much more than he imagined possible, and riskier by far, for the two of them - and not all is welcome knowledge to him; but it is important news, and both a burden and a prize that must be conveyed to the legate. the first in a series of historical novels written with the intention of setting the story of the fictional viewpoint characters, and the lives of their friends, families, colleagues and conflicts with their enemies, against as realistic a description of their society and account of the historical events (from their point of view) as possible. rosemary sutcliff wrote many very fine historical novels set from pre-roman times in britain onwards; some of them, based upon the romanticised tradition of ''king arthur and his knights of the round table'', also deal with ''the matter of britain'' in their way; but are decidedly *not* historical novels written with the intention of portraying the historical events in which they are set as accurately as possible: they are novels based upon the historically impossible norman, plantagenet etc. troubadour creation, of tydder (tudor) re-confection, and victorians', of knights in suits of plate armour, heraldic devices upon their shields, jousting nobly bearing the favours of their lady loves... 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?



ppint. 3rd Jan 2021		first published by oxford university press in uk h/cvr 1954, first edition first published by the oxford university press in p/b 1970 published by penguin books ltd. in uk p/b in puffin books 1977 reprinted 1977, 1978, 1980 (twice), 1981, 1982, 1983: puffin books eighth printing cover art by david smee b+w frontispiece, interior illustrations (four of them full-page) by c. walter hodges (credited) cover price £1.50, aust. $3.95 (recommended), canada $2.95 304pp. including 8pp. titles, indica, map etc, 7 end pp. including 2pp. list of place-names with modern equivalents, 3pp. advertising

Add a Comment or Review about this book

[View all 4 Comments / Reviews]

See Also

Rosemary Sutcliff - Song For A Dark Queen - Knight - Paperback - UK - 0340248645 (1980)

Rosemary Sutcliff - Dragon Slayer - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140302549 (1972)

Previous by Author

Diana Wynne Jones - The Ogre Downstairs - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140308989 (1977)

Next by Publisher

Susan Cooper - The Grey King - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140309527 (1977)

Previous by Publisher

This Book: Price Guide : Add Valuation : Add Image : Add Video : Add Missing Info : Make Correction : Add to List : Add See Also : Add Tag : Credits : BBCode

45worlds website ©2024 : Homepage : Search : Sitemap : Help Page : Privacy : Terms : Contact : Share This Page

: Like us on Facebook

Vinyl Albums : Live Music : 78 RPM : CD Albums : CD Singles : 12" Singles : 7" Singles : Tape Media : Classical Music : Music Memorabilia : Cinema : TV Series : DVD & Blu-ray : Magazines : Books : Video Games : Create Your Own World

Latest » Items : Comments : Price Guide : Reviews : Ratings : Images : Lists : Videos : Tags : Collected : Wanted : Top 50 : Random

45worlds for music, movies, books etc : 45cat for 7" singles : 45spaces for hundreds more worlds