Historical fiction is a very popular form of literature. In the hands of a gifted writer, the story can have all the excitement of fiction while retaining the accuracy of history. In fact, students can often learn valuable historical lessons while being engrossed in a work of fiction.
Rosemary Sutcliff is one of the masters of historical fiction. Born in England, Sutcliff (1920-1992) began her remarkable writing career in the 1950s and frequently concentrated on stories involving the settlement of Great Britain by Rome.
This stirring story is set in England and tells of the destruction of the doomed Ninth Legion and the search for the missing standard, the golden Roman eagle. Sutcliff weaves her own literary magic in this masterpiece, "The Eagle."
Centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila takes his Cohort of soldiers from the Second Legion and marches them to relieve a battle garrison. He has served under the golden eagle of the Second Legion for less than a year. While he could have been sent anywhere in the Roman Empire, Marcus is secretly pleased to be assigned to Britain. As he takes command of the fort, he thinks of his ill-fated father leading the Ninth Legion some 15 years earlier. They disappeared into the Scottish mists and were never heard or seen again. The proud gold standard of the Legion also disappeared.
But such thoughts are soon banished when hoards of attacking British tribesmen assault the Roman post. In the battle, Aquila is badly injured after heroically saving his soldiers from tribal charioteers. The injury is so severe that there is serious doubt whether Marcus will ever again command the Legionnaires.
During the months of his long recovery, the thoughts about the fate of his father, the Ninth Legion and the lost golden eagle constantly fill his mind. He begins concocting a dangerous plan to find out this information. But people continue to caution the young centurion against going north of Hadrian’s Wall, which separates the Roman south of England from the wild northern sections. In the north, priests named Druids and wild, warlike tribes will readily kill any Romans they come upon. But Marcus decides he must find out what happened to his father and the golden eagle.
Marcus needs some type of disguise to travel in the north, and is soon trained by a Roman doctor to put ointments on eyes of children suffering from marsh blindness. Using this scheme, Marcus and his spear-bearer Esca plan to go through the northern tribes until they discover the whereabouts of the golden eagle and the fate of the Ninth Legion. At Hadrian’s Wall, the gate ominously opens and they ride through into the northern wilds. Any mistake will result in their deaths.
What happens on this dangerous quest? Do Marcus and Esca fool the tribal leaders and locate the golden eagle? What withered old man tells them about the brutal fate of the Ninth Legion? Who heroically leads the Romans on that fateful day? Why does he know? How long does their eye-healer deception last? And finally, who is riding at breakneck speed to escape howling warriors at the end of the story?
To find out, go to the library and check out "The Eagle" (often published as "The Eagle of the Ninth.")
This is a tour de force of historical fiction. The tale is gripping and intriguing with Marcus and Esca meeting untold perils during their northern mission. Rosemary Sutcliff won many famous awards for her outstanding writing, and this excellent story is usually considered her finest work. For advanced seventh-grade readers and older, this will be a compelling book. It simply can’t be beat for its exciting action and human drama. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
