In the year 117, the Ninth Hispanic Legion was lost in the snows of Caledonia, present-day Scotland, to become history. And legend: the battalion serving on the border of the United Kingdom was never heard from again. Four thousand men marched into the mists of northern Brittany, never to be seen again. Their standard, a mythical golden eagle, was lost. A mystery to which Rosemary Studcliff lends her literary talent in The Eagle of the Ninth, which has already reached the big screen under the direction of Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and starring Donald Sutherland. Twenty years have passed since the battalion's disappearance, and Marcus Flavius Aquila, son of one of the legendary centurions of the Ninth, serves in Brittany with his unit. Seriously wounded after an uprising by the Celtic population, he must abandon his post. Unsure about the future, Marcus takes refuge with an uncle in the town of Calleva. There, after witnessing an unfair fight in the arena, he saves the life of a defeated gladiator and buys him as his personal slave. Both—slave and master—had in common warriors who bore the frustration of being forced to abandon the battlefield. But a final opportunity to prove his worth presents itself: north of Hadrian's Wall—a defensive structure designed to prevent military sorties from the Picts and Scots, marking the western limit of the Empire's domains—rumor spreads that a powerful war amulet has reappeared: the eagle of a Roman legion. Certain that it is the standard of the Ninth, Marcus sets off for the misty north to retrieve the mighty trophy from the barbarians, restore honor to his father's legion, and solve the mystery of its mysterious disappearance. A classic of English literature, The Eagle of the Ninth is an epic novel of friendship and defiance, set at the height of the Roman Empire. Brilliantly portraying the ways of life and customs of the British provinces and their relationship with the Roman conquerors, Rosemary Sutcliff demonstrates complete mastery of the art of storytelling.
