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Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle cover art

Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle

By: Manda Scott
Narrated by: Jerome Flynn,Liza Goddard,Philip Stevens
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Summary

Manda Scott's Boudica will tell the extraordinary, resounding story of Britain's first and greatest warrior queen, the woman who remains one of the great female icons.

In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome. It was the culmination of nearly 20 years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant, complex civilisation and replace it with the laws, taxes and slavery of the Roman Empire.

Gloriously imagined, Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle re-creates the beginnings of a story so powerful its impact has survived through the ages, recounting the coming of age of Breaca, who at 12 kills her first warrior.

This is the unforgettable world of tribal Britain in the years before the Romans came: a twilight world of Dreamers and the magic of the gods; a world where warriors fight for honour as much as victory. It is a world of passion and courage and spectacular, heart-felt heroism pitched against overwhelming odds.

©2003 Manda Scott (P)2020 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Manda Scott has created a fictional universe all her own, but close enough to our reality for it both to warm and break our hearts. Breathtakingly good, it reveals the best and worst in all of us." (Val McDermid)

"Every so often, a book comes along that totally remoulds a historical figure for our own times...massively impressive." (Jane Jakeman, Scotland on Sunday)

"An extraordinary work...exciting and intriguing, taking you into a world where unbelievable danger and cruelty sit side by side with magic, spirituality and profound human relationships." (Jenni Murray)

What listeners say about Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle

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A lavish, humane, moving, topical, historical saga

This book is great, better than great. Manda Scott is a very skilled writer, through her writing you almost feel like you're there. Historians know very little of the Celtic tribal world and indeed of Boudica. Through archaeology and the myths of Ireland/Britain, Manda Scott pieces together a great story.

We know Boudica existed, we know she fought Rome and sacked London and we know she was never caught, all of which takes place in these books, but history can't tell us what she ate, who she loved and what the druids dreamt of, but Manda Scott makes an educated guess in line with the relevant resources at hand.

The battle scenes are amazing and jump of the page and the wars between native and Rome are thrilling and Middle Earth-like, but what really leaves a lasting impression is the incredibly moving and layered humanity of the piece and the relationships between mother and child, horse and soldier, lover and warrior and war and country. Excellent performances too. More please!

Beir Bua (have victory)

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Very Slow Paced

This is a single volume novel stretched across 3 volumes, probably for commercial reasons. The story is padded out with guff. Through the uninteresting detail, a good story occasionally drops out, but is soon collected again within the rituals, dreams etc. I enjoy history and I hoped to learn something in addition to a great story. This book is way off the mark. I learnt nothing and was mindlessly bored sadly.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic historical fiction that captures an indigenous spirit of Ancient Britain.

I read the Boudica books several years ago and they left a deep, lasting impression. Since then I have been hoping that they would be released as audiobooks, so that I could revisit them in a different medium. There are a number of reasons why I rate these books so highly. Firstly, of all the historical fiction of this time, no other has conveyed an indigenous spiritual tradition that felt so authentic and resonant with my own sense of ancestry and land. In this respect it is like being reminded of something half-forgotten. The tradition of dreaming is central to the stories and beautifully expressed. Secondly, the internal conflicts of allegiance, at a time when two cultures are clashing, are so raw and real, the characters begin to feel like intimate friends. The love relationships are woven beautifully into the plot, without sentimentality. These extend beyond the human realms, to include horses, hounds and the land itself. Thirdly, the conflict in cultures has much relevance to our world today. How we define ourselves. How human relationships are both limited by and able to transcend cultural boundaries. It’s all here. And, it’s a page-turner. The battle scenes are bloody and gruesome. The tensions around the fates of the characters are utterly compelling. I read all four books in the series one after the other. I was completely captivated. So, as much as I wanted to hear them as audiobooks, I was also prepared that they might be let down by the narration. They are not. The use of a male and female reader to correspond with the leading male and female characters works well. It’s been a real pleasure to renew my relationship with these books, which are so special for me, in this form. I will be listening to Boudica: Dreaming the Bull next. I only hope that all four books are finally released as audiobooks.

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23 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The Love of the Tribe

I really looked forward to hearing this book and it has not disappointed. A great reconstruction of what tribal life might have been like in Britain before the Romans. The details of life in an ancient British settlement are fascinating, the characters interesting and varied and I cared what happened to them. This is a society that attempts to balance the need for warriors (women as well as men - for a change) with a powerful spirituality that directs daily life and invokes the gods at every important moment. Manda Scott is an engaging writer and the readers bring out the nuances of relationships, conflicts and betrayals. Altogether a cracking good story and I'm now looking forward to the next episode.

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18 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

author's ideal feminist badass self, gets tedious

the woman as badass warrior is everywhere these days, and this overstates it. It's Xena stuff and gets very silly. The dreamer stuff was more interesting, with hints of mythago wood. But not enough of that, don't think I'll bother with the rest of the he series. suggest morgan llewelyn (spelling?) novel 'the druids', similar subject matter and time period... romans in Gaul

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10 people found this helpful

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History of local hero

Very interesting and gripping story well told. Not a new subject to me but one of the best presented.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Hours and hours of listening pleasure.

There is only one word for this novel - fabulous. The writing, the plot, the characters, the narration, the author's afterword - all fabulous.
Pre-history brought to life in the most imaginative ways. Can't wait for book 2 to be available.

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8 people found this helpful

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Thankyou

I've been watching out for this series of books since I joined Audible, I read them nearly 20 years ago and they captivated me.

The Audio lives up to my expectation I'm looking forward to the other 3 becoming available, so thanks for the treat.

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7 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Silly Fantasy Drivel

Anyone looking for a story about first century Britain will be sadly disappointed , this is nothing like the times of the British . It’s a vehicle for this author to come up with a fantasy about dream singers , prepubescent female heroes who lead bands through a lot of flowery prose country side in a magical way . This is an author who obviously has a thing about horses and puppies and needs to get her feminism on to paper . Complete waste of a credit .

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5 people found this helpful

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Fabulous storytelling!

Enjoyed every moment! Would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical based novels. The author really captures the time period, while the narrators breath life into the characters

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