The Horse Coin

by David Wishart

Marcus Julius Severinus has respect for the Britons, believing there is more to be gained by co-operation than by brute force. Governor Paullinus disagrees, and when he trys to cheat Boudica of her inheritance, he unleashes a wave of rebellious fury, for which Marcus must pay a terrible price.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Roman, Historical, Mystery, Roman Britain

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Historical crime writer David Wishart was born in Arbroath, Scotland. He studied Classics - Latin and Greek - at Edinburgh University and after graduation taught for four years in a secondary school.

He then retrained as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language and worked abroad for eleven years, in Kuwait, Greece and Saudi Arabia. He returned to Scotland in 1990 and now lives with his family in Carnoustie, mixing writing with teaching EFL and study skills at Dundee University.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2008, and its a standalone book about the Boudiccan rebellion against Roman rule in Britannia.

The year is AD 59, and Britannia is ruled by Rome and its representative, Governor Paullinus, and they keep a stranglehold over the native tribes, especially the Iceni.

Within the Roman contingent there's a young Roman cavalryman named, Marcus Julius Severinus, newly promoted to Commander of the "Foxes" who believes that cooperation will gain Rome more than sheer brute force.

But Governor Paullinus disagrees, and when he tries to cheat Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, of her inheritance, rebellion and war will break out between the Iceni and the might of Rome.

The result will be that Rome will be victorious and the Iceni heavily defeated, with the leader and Queen Boudica dead, they will be subjected to brutal Roman law and order, while Marcus and his family will have to pay a heavy price for having a different view about ruling a conquered land and its people.

In the end Will be rewarded with marriage to the daughter of a British chieftain, and he and his wife will symbolise that two different races can live in harmony and peace for the immediate future.

Highly recommended, for this is a wonderful retelling of the Boudican rebellion and its professional and personal outcome for Rome's Britannia and for Marcus himself, and that's why I like to call this book: "A Brilliant Horse Coin"!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and enthralling view of Roman Britain, AD59/60. I couldn't put this book down and recommend it highly. I had originally bought it thinking it was one in the author's Roman mystery series, but to my surprise this was a completely different standalone novel. It involves a young man, Marcus Severinus, of Roman and Celtic blood, a junior officer in the Roman army cavalry. He leads a cavalry regiment nicknamed 'The Foxes'. His father had been a soldier before him. The family, as well as many other characters, live in The Colony, a settlement for time-expired soldiers, their families, and other inhabitants. Many readers might remember this location from Hero of Rome / Douglas Jackson. The Celtic families and warriors are all portrayed sympathetically in this plot. I liked learning about their lives, ways of thinking and something of their culture. The novel culminates in Boudicca's rebellion and the devastating aftermath; this was well done.

Different subplots involve a druid; the young Briton, Tigirseno, who runs away from his family to join the mountain tribes in the West to fight Romans [the Wolves, as the Britons call them in this novel]; Boudicca's revolt and the vengeful, bloody reprisal of the governor, Suetonius Paullinus, against the Britons after the uprising, concluding in an important and difficult decision Marcus must make, regarding the future of Britain.

Marcus was an engaging character. Being of mixed background, his experience taught him to see good and bad in both nationalities. He only wanted peace between the two peoples. The 'horse coin' of the title was bought as a present for Marcus by his betrothed. It showed the outline of a horse in Celtic style, with Latin letters naming an important British chieftain. To me, this symbolized the two nations cooperating to forge a better Britain out of the ruins. The novel ended on a note of hope for the future. This novel was well researched and well-written. It did use Wishart's often idiosyncratic expressions for some objects, given generally in Roman novels in the Latin. Wishart had used the same terms in his Marcus Corvinus mystery series.

After reading it a second time [in May 2014] I feel this should be a classic in Roman historical fiction. Reread again December 2016; I am of the same opinion still.

[Steve Pillinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical novel, though in the end a little unsatisfying due to the hard historical facts that rule out a traditional happy ending. I also felt the absence of the sparkle and humour of Wishart's later Corvinus novels. Nevertheless a gripping read.

[Barbara Hansen]

His novels are a curious mixture of learning and micky Spillane. I quite enjoy them.

[Dani Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story but; if you are a fan of the Marcus Corvinus series by Wishart, this is not the book for you.

I have read many of Wishart's novels and historical fictions and have really been informed and intrigued by them all; he really is quite the storyteller. However, his Corvinus series (a wine enthused Holmes for hire in ancient Rome), is quite different than this militaristic dark tale of Roman conquest in Britannia. I love a good Corvinus mystery before bed, where I don't have to process too much information . . . The Horse Coin, is not that type of story. I DID really enjoy it, but I was looking for something a tad more light-hearted, The Horse Coin is for some series reading focused reading.

Severinus has just become the commander of the "Foxes" a cavalry group stationed near Icenia to keep an eye on Queen Boudica. The Icenia remain a free province under Roman occupation of Britania and they are proud of that fact, unwilling to bow to the Emperor's new control when Boudica's husband leaves half of Icenia to Nero in his will.

Nero wants control of his territory and his underlings will do anything to make the emperor happy, including turning a deaf ear to those most familiar with the feelings and capabilities of the natives. Despite the warnings of Severinus and his family, the emperor's cronies continue to prod Queen Boudica to horrific outcomes.

Wishart does a fantastic job of making the story of Boudica's rebellion come to life and of portraying both the sides of the native Britain and the plain ignorance of the Roman occupiers. I would recommend this story to any lover of historical fiction, especially Roman or British lore, however I would make sure you're prepared to take The Horse Coin seriously.

[Alan Cassady-Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far darker and serious than any of his Marcus Corvinus series, David Wishart presents a fictionalised account of the events up to and during Iceni uprising of the British against the Roman occupation.
In AD 60-61, the governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus set out on a campaign to stamp out once and for all the native cult surrounding the druids by marching on the stronghold island of Mona (modern Angelsey). An avoidable incident with Queen Boudica of the Iceni back in east Britain triggered brutal retaliation then a full scale uprising of the tribes, resulting in the destruction of Camulodunum (modern Colchester) and the devastation of Londinium.
Seen through the eyes of local residents - a local minor chieftain, an ex-commander of an auxiliary legion, his son a cavalry officer and their families - the true horror of the sack of Camulodunum is expressed to the reader.
It's an excellent book, well written with utterly believable and sympathetic characters on both sides ... but it's not an easy read. Knowing it's based accurately on real events, even over the distance of centuries, sends an emotional response.

[Kate Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd read some of his Corvinus series years back and enjoyed them; this is a standalone, and it's an absolutely cracking historical novel about Boudica's rebellion. The research is solid and done with a beautifully light touch. The battle scenes are effective and don't drone on (haha, always been a bugbear of mine with male authors). The Druid shaman stuff was really interesting, too. But it's the characterisation and relationships that make it for me - the families, the friends, and those on opposing sides getting some illumination about the other's point of view. I really felt for all sides (cough, not Suetonius Paulinus). Highly recommended.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The revolt.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

always have enjoyed the marcus corvinus series, and found this one, as separate novel
some sad deaths of characters, but with the horse coin linking people thro the story

[Martha Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my favorite

I enjoy David Wisharts other books, but this was a bit slow for me. I look forward to more from this author