Customer Reviews

The Eagle and the Raven: A novel

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is an amazing novel. It is not, as the cover claims, so much about Boudicca -- though certainly plays her part in blazing fire and glory -- as it is another historical Bristish chieftan named Caradoc, who united many of the Celtic tribes of England against Rome and fought determinedly until his eventual defeat in A.D. 50. (For those of you who do not know the story -- it's not a common one -- I won't reveal the rest.) It is also about some of the (also historical) Romans who encountered the power of Britannia, though the ultimate sympathy (wrong word, but close) lies with the British tribes. Ms. Gedge sticks to history as far as she can in her writing, and fleshes it out with incredible skill. The book is 827 pages long and I devoured it.

One of the things that makes this book so good is its chosen subject -- obscure figures who have become the stuff of legend; a mysterious and ancient fight for freedom that yet finds a home in our modern souls. Another is its realism -- brutal violence and desperate betrayal alongside deepest love
and noble ideals held, compromised, lifted up. This story does not shrink from death and wrenching sorrow, nor does it invent a hundred miraculous escapes, nor become so caught up in mysticism that it leaves no room for the ordinary man and woman. It is a tale of real people, intermingling and forging lives in less than ideal circumstances, yet time and again forced onto two opposing sides of an issue that has many more facets than two. It is a terribly sad story, but also a triumphant one, and one to stir your blood as others cannot. It deserves many more than five stars. Print it again!

Wow! I have always loved Pauline Gedge's novels set in Ancient Egypt. Her attention to detail, historical fact and ability to imagine a civilaztion in the fullest sense of the term based on the knowledge we have available through the work of Egyptologists continues to impress me. In the Eagle and the Raven, Gedge brings her remarkable abilities to another place and time in histroy and is quite successful. I really encourage a reader who wants to see and feel living history to pick up this book. You won't be sorry, I promise.

My favorite book ever!
If you have ever been transported back in time then you know what it feels like to read this book.When you read the Eagle and the Raven you become a part of the celtic world,you feel the pain of their struggle,you understand their need to remain a free people,and you really start to hate Romans!
It's true,before I read this book I was totaly fascinated by the Roman culture,now it just [makes me mad]
I'm not very good with words so I really can't convey how amazing of a book this is,but I will say that I have read hundreds of books and this really must be one of the best ever writen.I cried in this book,I cry whenever I read it,and I am not a person who cries often.
... if-when-you read it you will understand that that the words of an untrained mind are not able to speak more than simple praise for a book This magnificent.
I'm buying this today and you should too!
READ THIS !

I first read this book many years ago as a teenager, and remembered it as being the best book that I had read to that time. A long time has passed, and many, many books later, it remains at the top of the list. I re-read it recently and once again it transported me into GEDGE'S world of Roman conquest, jealousy, greed, ambition, and a people's doomed fight for freedom.

This book is complete, it has it all.

RECOMMENDED!!

I'd write more, but I'm not eloquent enough to put into writing fully the praise this book deserves.

I awaited this book with high hopes, having read the many positive reviews and being both a historical fiction fan and an avid student of ancient history and archaeology. What a disappointment! It's hard for me to believe that I am reading the same book so praised by many other reviewers. Maybe it's just a matter of expectations.

If you are even half serious about looking for quality writing (skillful use of language, depth of characters, engaging plot, etc.) and/or historical authenticity, or at least plausibility, pass this drivel by. A much better choice that deals with the same historical background would be the four Boudica novels by Manda Scott. On the other hand, if you just want something, anything to read, maybe this is a good choice.

Gedge has written several books that seem to be well-reviewed on Amazon at least, so it was a real shock when I started reading what most closely resembles bad romantic fiction. Gedge clearly made little effort to become acquainted with the historical material on which the novel is based. Her treatment of setting is at best superficial and more often completely generic--the story could take place anywhere and at any time; not what one looks for in overtly "historical" fiction.

The characters are invariably crude one-dimensional parodies of themselves, and although the story spans several decades, there is no discernible development or complexity explored. The charactrers at age 14 act and think like they do at 30. They all end up in what are supposed to be amazingly committed and passionate relationships, but we are given no real basis for believing this; that is to say, Gedge writes that it is so, she does not write anything to show how or why it is so.

In fact, Gedge's writing strikes me as not just historically sloppy, but fatally undermined by her penchant for cliches, her unstinting heavy-handedness, and especially her insistence on telling us what is happening rather than showing us what is happening and letting us, her readers, draw our own conclusions. It reads more like the very ambitious project of an untalented high school student than the mature work of a seasoned novelist. It is utterly unconvincing.

It was a small island on the edge of the most massive empire the world would ever see.

Coated with mist and covered with the magic of the druids.

The many tribes fought constantly, and a mans honor was valued by the strength of his sword.

Even woman were honored by the blood they had spilled in Battle.

Then Rome turned its eye towards them.

They never stood a chance.

This is the a story of three people, brave, devoted and strong who fought for a cause they knew was hopeless from the start. They gave all they had, gambled all they knew and dedicated their whole lives to a simple ideal: freedom.

This is beautifully written, even moving at times. Pauline Gedge is a wonderful writer, and this should be published again.

If you like this also read The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie.

Five stars.

I read this book only because I loved every other novel by Ms. Gedge. Surprisingly enough, I loved this book more than her others. It was written so well that I could see the characters, the surroundings; since I had never had any desire to learn about Celtic history beforehand, this was a treat. Caradoc steals the show, even though many may read this book for Boudicca. I was stirred to the point of crying no less than three times by this book, and I can't wait to read it again.

I am French. 25 years ago, I bought an abridged and translated version of The Eagle and the Raven and absolutely loved it. Over the following years, I read and re-read it many times until all the characters had become intimately familiar. Then one day, while in a library, I opened an encyclopedia and looked for Boudicca. I knew she had really existed and I wanted to know how much of the story matched reality. Then I looked for Caradoc. And there he was, a real-life character, son of Cunobelin, brother of Togodumnus. I discovered that all the main characters in The Eagle and the Raven were based on real-life characters. Even Aricia and her husband had existed. I was astonished. What had started as a novel had become a startling tale of historical events. Fictionalized, but real nonetheless.
When I came to the United States, I looked for a long time for an English and unabridged edition and, after a few years, to my eternal delight, I was finally able to buy a new copy (Penguin edition). I have read it 4 more times since. I guess I will never tire of reading this book anymore than I would tire of seeing the same friends over and over again.
This is a magnificent novel that has stirred me and moved me, written by a uniquely gifted storyteller. Her main characters are well drawn out, their evolution well developed and explained, the book spans 30 years.

I have read with some curiosity the negative reviews written about this book and must conclude that as with all books, taste is a personal matter. However, regarding the alleged slowness of the first 200 pages, given that the story starts approx. 8 years before the initial landing by the Romans, it gives us time to get acquainted with the main characters of the story. It is essential in understanding the future interaction of all main characters AND the development of the resistance among some tribes. It contrasts with poignancy a way of life before the invasion by the Romans with the brutal oppression that follows, and the usual but unforgivable deportation of natives. It illustrates the choices made by men (Caradoc) and women (Boudiccca) unflinching in their quest for freedom and personal choice vs. the greed, compromises or complacency displayed by others (Aricia and Prasutugas). As in all wars, some will place personal comfort above the needs of a nation. Caradoc, Eurgain, Gladys, Boudicca and Plautius are not cardboard characters, they are alive, well defined, flawed, and so human, and I think of them as old friends who have become intimates over the years. My only regret is that some of the minor characters were not more developed such as Cinnamus, an ever fascinating character, or Vida.

As a foot note, I read a few interviews with Pauline Gedge because I wanted to know more about the author. I discovered that she had worked in collaboration with her then husband who did most of the research while she wrote. Based on the resulting book he must have been an excellent researcher. The internet is a wonderful tool for research, but when this book was written and first published in 1978, the internet didn't exist and all the research had to be done through documents and publications.

I have never read another book by Pauline Gedge, probably because I know that nothing else would be as satisfying as this one magnificent novel. 10 stars and more.

The front and back covers of this book are very misleading- it implies that the book is all about Boudicca, but she only really comes into the book in the last hundred pages or so, though she makes brief appearances throughout the story. Most of the book is about Caradoc, who was the first uniter of the native British tribes against the Romans.

I first became interested in the British resistance to the Roman invasion upon reading the Manda Scott series about Boudicca which begins with Dreaming the Eagle. In that series, Caradoc also plays a major role, though Scott certainly focuses on Boudicca more. In Gedge's novel, Caradoc takes the spotlight. And deservedly so.

Caradoc led a very large contingent of Britons against the Romans, but was caught and taken to Rome as prisoner, where he and his family lived out their lives in a gilded cage. A tragic way to end a life.

Unfortunately, also not an interesting way to finish a book. There was a lot of The Eagle and the Raven that took place with Caradoc and his family in Rome, but the plot... didn't really go anywhere. The action was clearly in Britain. Granted, there was not =much= action in the period of time between Caradoc being caught and Boudicca leading an army of vengeance. But I would have preferred that time to have been spent with other characters, and not trying to develop a storyline that really didn't go anywhere.

However, other than that minor quibble, I found this book enjoyable and interesting. It took me a LONG time to read it, admittedly, but I was never bored. Anyone who has an interest in ancient British history would enjoy it, but don't read it thinking it's all about Boudicca. It's not, but that's not a negative point.

I can't tell you how many times I've thanked my lucky stars that I found this book on a table at Bargain Books. IT DESERVES TO HAVE A PLACE FAR HIGHER as well as to REMAIN IN PRINT! I am currently without it and I am so afraid that something will happen to it that I refuse to allow it mailed to me unless I am its personal messenger. Seriously. I just pray that someday the publisher will somehow have it reprinted.

Pauline Gedge was able to make these historical figure come to life in a way that I didn't know possible. I've been interested in Roman Britain and the Celts for so many years and I've read all that I can get my hands on, yet this is still the best in fiction but I feel that it's much too historically accurate to be simply classified as 'fiction", it is like a history lesson but with all the elements of being there and living it.

If you ever run across this book, BUY it, or write me and I'll buy it from you, because I can definately use another copy-or two, you know...as backup. I mean it.

Thanks for reading my blithering blubber, but I can't imagine what I can do to get this book back in print so I can actually have a copy to read with me here in Portland, instead of in Florida, as I said earlier, I refuse to take my chances mailing it across the entire United States. It's that good.