Boudicca: A Novel
“one fascinating and gripping story. It is well worth the read!”
As Prasutagus was dying he decreed that Boudicca, his wife, would follow his reign and become Queen of the Iceni Tribe. His wish was accepted by everyone in the tribe, particularly by the warriors. Three months after she occupied the throne, she had a dream that the Goddess Andraste was calling her into the woods. She awoke, dressed, and hurried off into the woods to meet with the Goddess.
Upon locating Andraste, she bowed down and paid homage to her. She listened attentively as Andraste shared her disappointment that Boudicca’s husband, Prasutagus, had failed to heed the omens she sent him telling him not to sign a treaty with the Romans. This, she told Boudicca, upset her greatly. She warned Boudicca that her husband’s grievous mistake would be harvested that very day.
Goddess Andraste then offered Boudicca three courses of action. None of those choices was good.
The book focuses on which of the three choices she made, why, and the consequences of that choice. Consequences can be good as well as not so good.
The book also discusses her leadership skills and how she developed them. Consider how she earned the respect of all the people in the tribe she led. Learn how she built alliances with other tribes. Not only that, but how she was duped and betrayed.
Most novels provide situations that are not only entertaining but offer the opportunity for the reader to grow in different ways. Such skills are most important in a modern society where many situations exist that are fluid, vague, and cloudy.
There really was a Boudicca who was the queen of the Iceni Tribe in Ancient Britannia. At that time, 60 CE, Rome ruled large parts of what we now call England. These parts were south of Hadrian’s Wall. Boudicca did lead a rebellion against Rome. It almost brought that section of The Empire to its knees. Unfortunately, as history tells us, her rebellion was crushed. History, however, does not explain how this warrior queen not only grew her tribe into a cohesive force and created strong alliances with other tribes.
How did this all happen? How did this warrior Queen get crushed in the Midlands Valley?
A thought-provoking fact about Queen Boudicca is that she vanishes from history. No one knows what happened to her after the battle. Her body was never located. Was she killed? Did she somehow escape? No one really knows; surely the Romans wanted to know if she was alive or dead. They wanted to know for certain that their adversary would never challenge them again, and if she lived they needed to hunt her and her remaining supporters down—to destroy them.
This is one fascinating and gripping story. It is well worth the read!