The Writing of the Wolf of Britannia, Part I & Part II
I wrote the historical novels, THE WOLF OF BRITANNIA PART I & II, in part because I found so little in historical fiction about the Celtic British King, Caratacus, who fought the Romans for eight years after they invaded Britain in 43 A.D.
Knowing he could not defeat the Roman jaggernaut in a classic pitch battle, he resorted to guerrilla warfare which he successfully waged for eight years before he was betrayed and captured by one of his own.
The Romans had expected to conquer Britain in two years, but because of Caratacus's efforts and those that came after him, e.g. Boudicca, it would take them more than thirty years.
This is a story not only of warfare but of political intrigue and the personal lives of Caratacus, his father, Cunobelinos (immortalized in Shakespeare as Cymboline), his brothers, Adminios and Togodubunos (Tog) and the women in his life, Rhian and Dana, who play very important roles.
We know very little of Caratacus's early life. Volume I is a story of the right of passage of a young Celtic prince who was aware of the Roman threat to his lands. I use historical characters and events where they are known and blend in fictitious characters and events in a logical fashion to move the story along.
In Volume I, we see the role women played in Celtic society. They had nearly equal rights with their men. They fought in battle alongside their men and were priests and healers as well. They could even be elected rulers by the tribal counsels. In this aspect, I show Caratacus, first wife, the vulnerable Rhian, a warrior in her own right taking up arms to fight in battle. When she could not bear children, Caratacus was forced to take another wife, Dana, the mother of Macha, the main character in my novel, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE.
Ultimately, Volume I ends when Cartacus drove his brother, Adminios, a drunk and incompetent, into exile. We know from history he would go to Rome and plead with the Emperor Claudius to invade Britain, which he did.
That leads us to Volume II, the invasion of Britannia. Most of this is based on fact as it is known. I have taken some historical license. We don't know if Celtic women fought against the Romans. In my novel, I show that they did.
Again, I show the family relationships in this novel, and we see Macha from birth until age seventeen.
We do see Caratacus's betrayal and capture along with his second wife and daughter Macha, who is seven at this point. But Caratacus and his family would survive.
Caratacus has been far too long underrated for his contribution in a gallant resistance against the might of Rome and these novels are my humble way of showing that he deserve greater recognition for his efforts. He is a true hero of Britannia.
If any of you are interested in purchasing copies you can obtain through Amazon or at my publisher Sunbury Press (www.sunburypress.com). These novels are not self-published indies. Sunbury Press is a legitimate traditional small press. Once these were accepted for publication, I worked with an editor for four months. I made several significant changes including the major rewrite of eight scenes and the adding of two new chapters. By the end of the month, the novels will be available on Kindle. Also, I would advise waiting until then to purchase the books. Several punctuation and word usage errors have been discovered and the volumes are in the process of being revised.
Knowing he could not defeat the Roman jaggernaut in a classic pitch battle, he resorted to guerrilla warfare which he successfully waged for eight years before he was betrayed and captured by one of his own.
The Romans had expected to conquer Britain in two years, but because of Caratacus's efforts and those that came after him, e.g. Boudicca, it would take them more than thirty years.
This is a story not only of warfare but of political intrigue and the personal lives of Caratacus, his father, Cunobelinos (immortalized in Shakespeare as Cymboline), his brothers, Adminios and Togodubunos (Tog) and the women in his life, Rhian and Dana, who play very important roles.
We know very little of Caratacus's early life. Volume I is a story of the right of passage of a young Celtic prince who was aware of the Roman threat to his lands. I use historical characters and events where they are known and blend in fictitious characters and events in a logical fashion to move the story along.
In Volume I, we see the role women played in Celtic society. They had nearly equal rights with their men. They fought in battle alongside their men and were priests and healers as well. They could even be elected rulers by the tribal counsels. In this aspect, I show Caratacus, first wife, the vulnerable Rhian, a warrior in her own right taking up arms to fight in battle. When she could not bear children, Caratacus was forced to take another wife, Dana, the mother of Macha, the main character in my novel, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE.
Ultimately, Volume I ends when Cartacus drove his brother, Adminios, a drunk and incompetent, into exile. We know from history he would go to Rome and plead with the Emperor Claudius to invade Britain, which he did.
That leads us to Volume II, the invasion of Britannia. Most of this is based on fact as it is known. I have taken some historical license. We don't know if Celtic women fought against the Romans. In my novel, I show that they did.
Again, I show the family relationships in this novel, and we see Macha from birth until age seventeen.
We do see Caratacus's betrayal and capture along with his second wife and daughter Macha, who is seven at this point. But Caratacus and his family would survive.
Caratacus has been far too long underrated for his contribution in a gallant resistance against the might of Rome and these novels are my humble way of showing that he deserve greater recognition for his efforts. He is a true hero of Britannia.
If any of you are interested in purchasing copies you can obtain through Amazon or at my publisher Sunbury Press (www.sunburypress.com). These novels are not self-published indies. Sunbury Press is a legitimate traditional small press. Once these were accepted for publication, I worked with an editor for four months. I made several significant changes including the major rewrite of eight scenes and the adding of two new chapters. By the end of the month, the novels will be available on Kindle. Also, I would advise waiting until then to purchase the books. Several punctuation and word usage errors have been discovered and the volumes are in the process of being revised.
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