In a battle against the Legions, Esca was injured, taken prisoner and enslaved to fight as a gladiator. Esca is from the Brigantes tribe from northern Britain – his father, like Marcus', was a commander, a clan chieftain. Their relationship quickly becomes much more than master and slave, and we find that Esca and Marcus are almost mirror reflections of each other. He removes himself to the home of his paternal Uncle in nearby Calleva (home to the modern day Reading Museum of Silchester).Įnter Esca – a defeated gladiator that Marcus purchases as his personal slave. Marcus is left wounded and unable to continue with his military career after successfully leading the defense of his fort from a local native uprising. Marcus' connection to his father runs deeply and the tenor of our character is set early. Marcus is Pilus Prior Centurion of the Fourth Gaulish Auxiliary of the Second Legion, based in southern Britain – leading his six hundred troops to relieve a command in Durinum. Marcus Flavius Aquila is the son of the Commander of the First Cohort of the infamous IX Legion Hispania. Sutcliff combined this tale with modern excavations at Silchester that uncovered a wingless Roman eagle, a cast of which is still on display at the Reading Museum. The Eagle of the Ninth is the traditional legionary standard – a bronze eagle sculpture with bolts of lightning clutched tightly in its claws.

Sutcliff explains in her original introduction that 'Eagle' is based on the legendary disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion after marching to Northern Britain in response to a rising among Caledonian tribes. The book will resonate with fans of Roman Empire-era fiction and those that are familiar with the story from their youths, will reconnect warmly and fondly with Marcus Flavius Aquila and his cadre. In tone and emotional scope, one is reminded of John Knowles' 'A Separate Peace' or J.D. Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 classic 'The Eagle of the Ninth' is an archetypical tale of human connections, self-discovery, redemption and choice.

The eagle of the ninth book