''When the Eagle Hunts'' is a 2002 novel by

Simon Scarrow Simon Scarrow (born 3 October 1962) is a British author. Scarrow completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form C ...

, set in 44 AD during the

Roman invasion of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Staneg ...

. It is the third book in the ''

Eagles of the Empire ''Eagles of the Empire'' is a series of historical military fiction novels written by Simon Scarrow. The series began in July 2000 with the publication of ''Under the Eagle'', and as of March 2022 there have been 20 novels released in the series ...

'' series.

Plot summary

Winter, AD 44: After a series of bloody battles,

Camulodunum Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest re ...

has fallen to the invading Roman army. While en route to join them,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Aulus Plautius Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 46 CE. Career Little is known of Aulus Plautius's ear ...

's wife and children are shipwrecked in a storm, and fall into the hands of a dark sect of

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

s who now demand the return of their brothers taken prisoner by the Romans. At the same time,

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe and the discovery of an Iron Age hoard in 2009 at Shalfle ...

tribesmen raid several towns near Camulodunum and the Second Legion under General

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

is sent to repel them. They stumble upon a village whose population massacred. Noticing the village has not been entirely looted, the Romans surmise that the raiders intend to return, and so lie in wait to ambush them. Afterwards, a local merchant liaison, Diomedes, secretly executes the survivors of the ambush and sets off on a vendetta to avenge his murdered family. Centurion Macro and Optio Cato are summoned to General Plautius' tent, and tasked to infiltrate enemy territory and rescue the hostages before they are sacrificed to the Druids' dark gods. Their only assistance is two British guides, Macro's infatuation

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

and her cousin

Prasutagus Prasutagus was king of a British Celtic tribe called the Iceni, who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk, in the 1st century AD. He is best known as the husband of Boudica. Prasutagus may have been one of the eleven kings who surrendered to Clau ...

, who was once a Druid and can guide them to their secret places. After several false leads, the group raids a Druid lodge, but find only Diomedes impaled on a spit. The merchant informs them of a Druid headquarters in his dying moments. Macro attempts a daring ambush, but is wounded and unable to rescue the prisoners. Time is running out, as the Roman army is approaching their location in its continuing campaign against the Durotriges, and the Druids will execute the hostages before letting them be rescued. Cato disguises himself as a Briton by painting his nude body with

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...

, then investigates a secret entry point. Finding it unguarded, he returns and leads a small band of Romans to infiltrate the stronghold and rescue Plautius's family whilst it is under siege. After desperate fighting, the General's wife and children are rescued from being burned alive, and Cato manages to kill the Head Druid but is seriously wounded with a sickle. He awakens days later in a brand-new field hospital in

Calleva Atrebatum Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. The modern villa ...

. Despite his relief at having his family back, Plautius decides that no special commendations will be given to Macro or Cato, as they only did their duty. Vespasian convinces Plautius to allow him to reward the two officers with special '' phalerae'', and Cato with a promotion to the rank of

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

. Meanwhile, Macro is disappointed when Boudica tells him that she is engaged to marry Prasutagus, and even if she was not, she is too much of a Briton to have a relationship with a Roman officer. Earlier in the novel, Macro realizes through his conversations with Boudica that even the "friendly" British tribes, such as the

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...

, are fiercely independent, and might do terrible damage if the Roman occupiers do not treat them with respect.

External links

*The author's web page for this book may be foun
here
{{Simon Scarrow 2002 British novels Eagles of the Empire Novels set in Roman Britain Novels set in the 1st century Headline Publishing Group books