Mons Graupius: An Historical Novel of the Cruithne Before They Were Called Picts

Mons Graupius #1

by Robert Clifton-Wallace

In the year A.D. 83, after seven years of campaigning in Britain, the Roman general Agricola marched north to the Caledonians Highlands to subdue the tribes before turning his full attention on Ireland. At a place called Mons Graupius he was met by Calgacus and 30,000 of the Cruithne Highlanders. After a bloody battle the native clans vanished into the night. Later a naked and beguiling pagan girl is taken captive among others and forced to serve as Agricola's mistress. Always there is the sinister and evil Urbicus with ambitions, and the child he hates born into servitude whose final destiny is but a small part in the mounting suspense evolving around the beautiful Alecia and the men of destiny in her life. And Domitian, like Nero with his unpredictable temperament hovers like a menace above all those he suspects might oppose his will or demands. After some two decades, the ultimate conquest of Ireland still depends on the subjugation of the stubborn Caledonian tribes, and once again the infamous Ninth Legion marches North bent on genocide and extermination in order to serve her purpose.

Genres: Historical Fiction

597 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel tells the story of the Roman incursion into Scotland (before it was "Scotland"), peopled by Celtic tribes known as the Cruithne (or the Picts, as the Romans called them).

The book begins with the battle of Mons Graupius (83 or 84 A.D.), where the Roman general Gnaeus Agricola defeats a numerically superior Cruithne force, led by Calgacus. The Romans view the Highland natives as backward, unwashed, illiterate "barbarians," and they are bent on subjugating and enslaving them. One of the slaves, the beautiful Alecia, is the key figure in the book. Captured after the battle, she gives birth to four children by three different men, all important characters in the book. In turn, one of her sons becomes a key figure (fictitious though he may be) in his own right.

Alecia is brought to Rome by General Agricola and meets many important people, including the murderous, paranoid emperor Domitian, as well as Epictetus, Pliny the Younger, and Tacitus. Alecia (and we) learn about some of the good aspects of the Romans' "advanced" civilization (mainly books, bathing, and fine clothing), but also the bad (slavery, military conquest, and political assassination).

Alecia gets back to her homeland, and an even more aggressive military leader than Agricola conducts a genocidal campaign against the Cruithne, who are now led by a young military genius. By now, we also have discovered that the Highland civilization is to be admired in many respects, in terms of farming, architecture, and even its dying of fabrics. The book culminates in the battle between the Ninth Legion of the Roman Empire and the Cruithne tribal forces in 117 A.D. in a well described and exciting account by the author.

The novel seems to be fairly accurate and is based largely on the writings of Tacitus. There are a few dull spots, but it kept my interest very well, particularly for the last half of the book (which I read in a day). The characters are developed well, with the Cruithne almost always good, but all the Romans are not evil (there are plenty of decent chaps, with some peacemakers thrown in). The issue of the Cruithne sacrificing humans for religious reasons is not really addressed. In addition, I thought it was a little far-fetched that two characters (one an animal!) died of broken hearts.

All in all, most of this novel was engrossing, informative, and seemed accurate. I recommend it to all readers who are interested in Scottish and Roman history, and in military campaigns. There is also plenty of romance.

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so poorly written (grammatical errors, misused words, incomprehensible constructions, spelling errors) I was unable to read more than a couple of chapters.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the poor review this got from someone else was due to the likelihood it was based upon the computer scan into ebook of a very old volume old paper pages with age/moisture foxing.