The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
Puffin, 2004 (50th anniversary edition.
ISBN 9780140308907.
Highly recommended. With the release of the film of this book in
September 2010, there will
be enough hype for kids to want to reread this classic tale. New
editions have been released; in the last ten years, along with
the 50th anniversary edition in 2004, and I expect another will be
released as the film opens. Already some citizens of the USA are seeing
the film as criticism of their exploits in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
the publicity is being stepped up. So I retrieved my husband's year 8
copy from the back of the bookcase and began to read. And I was
overwhelmed with glee as I reread one of my favourite authors from my
teens, Rosemary Sutcliff. Her work is undergoing a revival and
no wonder, her novels are exciting, involving, with characters that are
believable, and issues that remain with us to this day.
The Eagle of the Ninth is the story of a young centurion, Marcus
Aquila, proudly leading his cohort. It is his first tour of Britain,
and his first command, and he is very aware of the might of the Roman
army and all it does in bringing civilized society to the savages. He
suffers a major injury in an heroic battle against the Painted People,
having then to find another occupation. While recuperating at his
uncle's house, he attends a gladiatorial fight and seeing something
defiant and brave in the young Briton pitched against the gladiator
with a net and trident, asks to buy him as his personal slave.
But Marcus cannot forget that his father was the First Cohort of the
Ninth, the famed legion that was lost and never heard of again, losing
their eagle, the pride of the corps. So he takes on the role of an
oculist, and he and Esca, head north, the place of the painted savages,
to search for the lost 4,000 and their eagle. Adventures come thick and
fast as they roams the villages and settlements of the north, curing
them of eye disease and gathering information. They finally meet a
soldier of the Ninth, who escaped the carnage and settled with a
northern village, he is able to tell Marcus what happened to the legion
and more importantly, his father. Along the way, Marcus learns more
about the people he has been sent to conquer and about himself and
where his future lies.
Fran Knight