Eagle of the Ninth Chronicles

The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain-and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared and their eagle standard was lost. It's a mystery that's never been solved, until now . . . So begins the story of The Eagle of the Ninth, set against a backdrop of Roman Britain and featuring a young soldier, Marcus Aquila, who sets off into the unknown north to find out what happened to the lost legion. Following on from this are The Silver Branch in which two young soldiers uncover a plot to overthrow the Emperor, and The Lantern Bearers which is set at a time when the Romans are leaving the shores of Britain and tells of Aquila who, having served in the Roman army, is now returning home to his farm-but when he gets there everything he knows and loves has been destroyed and so he sets out to seek revenge. To have three such exciting stories in one volume is a treat for fans old and new.

[Praise for The Eagle of the Ninth]: Decades later, I can still hear echoes of The Eagle of the Ninth in my head: the chink of mail, the tired beat of the legionaries' feet. * The Independent * 'these tales of Roman Britain have yet to be surpassed for their non-patronising prose and adult dangers. Sutcliff makes Classics and archaeology uniquely thrilling for children' * Amanda Craig, The Times *.

Reviews

Rosemary Sutcliff was born in Surrey, the daughter of a naval officer. At the age of two she contracted the progressively wasting Still's disease and spent most of her life in a wheelchair. Apart from reading, she made little progress at school and left at fourteen to attend art school, specializing in miniature painting. In the 1940s she exhibited her first miniature in the Royal Academy and was elected a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters just after the war. In 1950 her first children's book, The Queen's Story, was published and from then on she devoted her time to writing the children's historical novels which have made her such an esteemed and highly respected name in the field of children's literature. She received an OBE in the 1975 Birthday Honour's List and a CBE in 1992. Rosemary Sutcliff died at the age of 72 in 1992.