“Breathtakingly good”
VAL MCDERMID
LIVING HISTORY
“An epic drama of love and betrayal, war and vengeance … an extraordinarily imaginative exercise in historical reconstruction”
STEPHEN PRESSFIELD
“Utterly convincing and compelling. ”
THE INDEPENDENT
“One of the boldest of recent adventures in historical fiction.”
JENNI MURRAY
“An extraordinary work combining history and imagination. At times I was moved to tears, at others, immensely proud to be bred from a tradition that made warriors of women”
Boudica: Dreaming the Bull
In the east, though, the legions are fighting their own battles and at their heart is a decurion of the auxiliary cavalry; Julius Valierus, a tribal man who has taken a Roman name, given himself to the Roman god Mithras and is wedded to the Roman victory. His lover is gone, but he nurses a need for vengeance that over-rules the man he once was.
When Caradoc is betrayed and taken as a captive to Rome to face execution at the hands of the Emperor Claudius, Valerius is sent to guard him. And thus does the Boudica’s brother come face to face with the Boudica’s lover and each learns the truth behind the lies that have been spun. This tale of war, of invasion of occupation, of vengeance and retribution, this passionate, glorious sequel to Dreaming the Eagle resonates on many levels, but never ceases to engage.
Download the First Chapter Free
DRUIDS, DRUGS & THE REAL BRITANNIA
We've been watching (and enjoying) Britannia. Here's my take on the druids: who were they, what did they do, and whether they were they anything like the much-scarred head druid Veren and Divis, the outcast with the demon problem...
THE CELTS, WOMEN & SEX
"We consort openly with the best of men. You allow yourselves to be debauched in secret by the vilest." - so said the consort of the Gaulish king to Julia Augustus, wife of the Emperor to the Roman Empress who cast aspersions on her morals. Celtic women were far more empowered than their Roman counterparts - and we've barely got back to what our ancestors took as their right.
LUCID DREAMING: ANCIENT SKILL OR MODERN FAD?
Everyone dreams: not everyone dreams lucidly, but it's there for those who want to step into a world (many worlds) where anything is possible. Here is the gateway to all possible futures, and the answers, if we persist, to all possible questions.
THE OLD GODS & THE NEW
In Britannia, Aulus Plautius (David Morrissey) knows that to defeat the tribes of Britannia, you need to kill their gods. But who were the old gods of our tribal past? Are they still here? And if so, how best can we re-connect with them, to rediscover our heritage and our sense of connectedness to the earth.
SHAMANIC DREAMING IN ANCIENT BRITAIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH MANDA SCOTT
Thanks to Robert Moss, one of the world's great dreamers and teachers-of-dreaming, for allowing me to post this interview about shamanic dreaming and the Boudica series. It was first published on his blog.
BOUDICA, BOUDICCA, BOADICEA – WHAT’S IN A NAME?
If you’re generation X or older, you’ll have been taught – if you were taught anything at all about our ancient past – that Queen Boadicea of the Iceni gained the throne of her tribe when her husband died, and led her armies in a fatally flawed rebellion against the might – and greater good – of Rome...
CONTACT MANDA
Writing is an incredibly solitary occupation. It's always good to connect with people who share the same realities. So go on, get in touch...