Iceni: the Year of Sacrifice has been a journey of emotion and imagination, one that I continue in Iceni Rising & Boudica’s Fate, completing the story of Boudica and the Iceni Revolt against Rome.
I have come to learn that the human condition endures, from our own times back through the centuries. Self-sacrifice, making the hard decisions, suppressing fear to find courage, risking all for the greater good, these ideals are as important to us today as they were to Boudica and the Iceni two thousand years ago.
Belief was also crucial, belief in the individual, each other, of something greater than yourself.
The Iceni and the other ancient peoples of northwestern Europe believed that sacrifice was all important. They held an absolute belief in their gods, and most of all the mother goddess who preserved all.
The Romans also had their own culture of belief. Faith in the state, in the emperor who was often treated as a god, a belief they were superior. An exceptionalism that has featured throughout history and we still witness today.
I have learned that worship and superstition was crucial to all ancient peoples, Iceni, Roman and others. The Iceni and other tribes of ancient Britain believed that the land and nature must be respected, a balance preserved by the earth goddess. This is an echo of our current concerns with environmental damage.
Rome, like future imperialism and capitalism, was more concerned with profit and exploitation. We can still see this conflict of interests today.
Cultures that are mostly alien to each other, such as Iceni and Roman, can collaborate in the right circumstances. However, human corruption and greed, arrogance, can upset this balance.
This is what happened in early Roman Britain when Roman arrogance was too dismissive of British native culture. Despite some collaboration. Many Romans just saw barbarians or the other. We still see this dismissive prejudice today which has led to conflict and unrest in society.
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Iceni: The Year of Sacrifice is the first thrilling instalment in this historical trilogy.
60 AD. The death of Prasutagus, the Iceni king, leaves his kingdom divided between Rome and his daughters. The Roman Procurator Catus Decianus seizes the entire territory and brutalizes Boudica and her family.
Driven by vengeance, Boudica rallies the Iceni tribe and allies including the Trinovantes, Coritani, and Catuvellauni. As Roman forces are preoccupied in the north, Boudica’s rebel army advances on Camulodunum, the Roman provincial capital, where a vastly outnumbered Roman defence struggles to hold.
With the fate of Roman Britannia hanging in the balance, the epic tale of sacrifice, rebellion, and fierce determination unfolds.
About the Author
I live in Bristol in the heart of the West Country in England. I have also lived in Bath and Frome in Somerset. I have had a passion for history since childhood. I studied creative writing at college and have written for the local newspaper. Iceni: The year of Sacrifice is my debut novel. I hope to publish further novels, telling the full story of Boudica and the Iceni Revolt. As well as writing novels, I am a wedding and event photographer.
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