Winter Quarters: The unforgettable classic of Roman adventure

by Alfred Duggan

The classic odyssey through Caesar’s Empire. Perfect for fans of Wallace Breem’s Eagle in the Snow

Camul and Acco are young Gauls, content to accept Roman occupation for the benefits it brings. Until Acco brings on himself the curse of the Goddess, and the two are forced to escape her by joining the Roman Army.

Julius Caesar’s campaigns carry them from the Rhine to Rome, Greece and finally the steppes of Russia. Along the way they face many trials, and feel the full might of the Roman war machine.

But distance means little to a Goddess, and Camul must make a terrible pact to survive...

The classic of Roman fiction, Winter Quarters is an extraordinary and vivid journey through Roman legions. Perfect for fans of Wallace Breem’s Eagle in the Snow, Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.

‘Winter Quarters covers a remarkable amount of ground, and covers it convincingly… Mr Duggan throws the strengths and weaknesses of the era into sharp relief… damnably skillful’ The Sunday Times

‘Winter Quarters… is among the finest, I think, that he has yet produced… It is an exciting story, admirably told. The closing battle-scene is particularly well done.’ Daily Mail

‘Mr Duggan is one of the best historical novelists going now. He writes economically and is always to the point… We are given a vivid picture of life in Rome and the Near East… there are some splendid battles.’ News Chronicle

‘The chief triumph of this remarkable book is its presentation of paganism.’ John Betjeman, Daily Telegraph

‘Contains just the right blend of information and imagination, with a vivid background and a just appreciation of the human element underlying historical figures. The strength and weaknesses of the Romans are put into excellent perspective.’ Irish Times

‘Few novelists can touch Alfred Duggan when it comes to recreating remote corners of historical time and place’ Guardian

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Roman, Classics, Novels, Ancient

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

"There have been few historical imaginations better informed or more gifted than Alfred Duggan’s" (The New Criterion).

Historian, archaeologist and novelist Alfred Leo Duggan wrote historical fiction and non-fiction about a wide range of subjects, in places and times as diverse as Julius Caesar’s Rome and the Medieval Europe of Thomas Becket.

Although he was born in Argentina, Duggan grew up in England, and was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. After Oxford, he travelled extensively through Greece and Turkey, visiting almost all the sites later mentioned in his books. In 1935 helped excavate Constantine’s palace in Istanbul.

Duggan came to writing fiction quite late in his life: his first novel about the First Crusade, Knight in Armour, was published in 1950, after which he published at least a book every year until his death in 1964. His fictional works were bestselling page-turners, but thoroughly grounded in meticulous research informed by Duggan’s experience as an archaeologist and historian.

Duggan has been favourably compared to Bernard Cornwell as well as being praised in his own right as "an extremely gifted writer who can move into an unknown period and give it life and immediacy" (New York Times).

Reviews

[Ozymandias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction is a genre that should age well yet somehow hasn’t. I’ve no idea if modern historical fic will age similarly poorly but reading historical novels (at least ones set in a truly dissimilar era or culture) from before the cultural revolution of the ‘60s can feel like pulling teeth sometimes. Sure, stories like Ben-Hur and Ivanhoe struck a nerve and have lasted, but if you actually read those books rather than watching the films they inspired (a more tolerant medium for absurdity) you’ll quickly see how cliché-ridden and absurd they are. And the real problem is the lack of seriousness with which these authors confront other cultures and the broad brush strokes and air of superiority they apply to their reconstruction. Modern culture is so obviously superior in all ways that past concerns can be safely dismissed (see the otherwise excellent Lest Darkness Fall for a perfect example). No effort is made to immerse us in the values of the past. Foreign cultures are either treated as near identical to our modern one or mined for exoticism.

Which brings us to this novel, which represents a pre-‘60s attempt to dive into this culture and present it on its own terms. And while it makes a greater effort than most to encapsulate what it means to experience an ancient culture it still treats those cultures as essentially childish. The Gauls especially are treated as noble savages, blind to reason and rationality but possessed of a sense of honor that’s sadly lacking among the Romans. The Romans are similarly caricatured as relentlessly organized and rational with no interest in outsiders or abstract ideas with little practical merit. We see here none of the aggressive manliness and love of glory so evident in Roman writings. As with many pre-‘60s writers Duggan sees these elements as poetical rhetoric obscuring what must have been a more rational approach to war and warfare. Must have been because that is how modern Europeans managed to conquer the world and naturally the greatest pan-European power must have done likewise. Perhaps the biggest reason for the ‘60s shift in presentation is that this was the first generation with no memory of the British Empire and its glorious self-justifications.

After much thought this patronizing presentation is where I must also place the religious musings that play such a major role in the story. Acco and Camillus are convinced that they have been cursed by the Goddess, a universal cult that exists throughout the Classical World. As presented here this is an extreme form of syncretism, with such diverse cults as the worship of Vesta, the magna mater, Adonis, and bona dea all being mere representations of a larger and evil female tripartite cult that encompasses the mother, the virgin, and the bride and craves human sacrifice. While that’s obviously pretty absurd, you could argue that it wouldn’t necessarily have seemed so to a paranoid half-trained druid observer. Yet the reduction of such diverse religions to the same basic cult (and the oily old canard that the obviously sensible Romans cannot believe in such obvious rubbish and must have really been atheists) fits in very well with the dismissive attitude taken elsewhere. All polytheistic religions are primitive anthropomorphizations of the same few basic themes. Structural differences are inconsequential.

The religious and cultural aspects are the core of this book. The plot around them is fairly hands-off. The basic event the book is structured around is the battle of Carrhae and the massive Roman defeat by the Parthians (no spoilers there, the prologue already shows Camillus living deep within the Parthian Empire), but this event seems curiously inconsequential when it happens. The book has such a deliberate pace that it provides neither highs nor lows and only gives a modest hum throughout. I did enjoy it, but I never found myself wildly enthused and wouldn’t recommend it strongly to others. I understand that the Forgotten Legion series tells a similar story in a much more exciting way, and better still treats the most interesting part (the Battle of Carrhae and the relocation of Roman soldiers) as a startpoint rather than a bookend.

Of the handful of pre-‘60s historical authors I would heartily recommend, Alfred Duggan earns a place simply through the presence of Family Favourites . The current book may not be his strongest, but I can still appreciate the effort made to confront a culture in its own terms in much the same way that a modern novel would.

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duggan ... surprised didn't learn about his books long long ago ... as a precursor to Gillian Bradshaw.
Gillian Bradshaw
Surprised average rating so low for this book, my favorite AD tale
Sometimes, when thinking of C S Forester's wonderful string of stories, the Hornblowers, etc, I somehow mentally link Duggan to Forester.
Wikis for AD and CSF.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._F...
***
Roman Empire travels by a duo in interesting cultural characters from Gaul, ending with Battle of Carrhae ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...
***
Synopsis (copied from Pan-MacMillan website)

"Camul and Acco are young noble Gauls of the Pyrenees, content to accept Roman occupation for the benefits it brings, but fiercely proud of their superior civilization. Until Acco brings on himself the curse of the Goddess, and the two are forced to escape her by joining the Roman army.

From Julius Caesar’s campaigns on the Rhine to Rome, Greece, and finally the Empire’s eastern rim in the steppes of Russia, Camul recounts their adventures and mishaps, their impressions of the different customs, cults and cultures they meet, with an idealistic but also pragmatic tone. But the Goddess dogs them in every land except Judaea, and when Acco finally succumbs to her vengeance, Camul has to make his own pact with the gods – and goddesses – to survive . . .

‘Covers a remarkable amount of ground, and covers it convincingly’ Sunday Times

‘Few novelists can touch Alfred Duggan when it comes to re-creating remote corners of historical time and place’ Guardian"
***
Did not include my customary Kirkus review, which was rather negative and concluded the book was "For special tastes."
Pub Date: Sept. 21st, 1956

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfred Duggan wrote in the nineteen fifties and compared to a lot of contemporary fiction set in the ancient world his books are slow. The emphasis is not on power struggles and battles but on the mind-set of the period. Rather than creating characters who are like his contemporaries but dressed in togas, Duggan tries to depict individuals who are conditioned by the cultural norms of their time.

When Gallic nobles, Camul and Acco, become polluted by killing a bear sacred to a local goddess, they are forced to leave their community and enlist in the Roman army where they become involved in the ill-fated expedition of the plutocrat, Crassus, against the Parthians.
Duggan's uses the contrast between the outlook of the Gauls, in which everything is seen through the prism of honour, and the ruthless, pragmatic politics of Rome to great effect. The campaign of Crassus, which at first seemed a glorious enterprise, gradually emerges in its true light as the vanity project of an elderly businessman with no understanding of war.

The highlight of the book for me is the portrait of Crassus dressed in the trappings of an imperator, waiting to receive the Parthian envoy: 'his face bore the strained expression of the deaf, and his wrinkled neck sagged with age.' By contrast the Parthian looks and acts like a real general. As Camul watches this meeting unfold he understands that the campaign is doomed, but like all the others, legionary or auxiliary, he is caught in the juggernaut of Crassus's ambition and there is nothing he can do but play his part in what will inevitably be a terrible slaughter.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Corrección sobria.-

Género. Novela histórica.

Lo que nos cuenta. A finales del Siglo I antes de nuestra era, Camul es un galo de nacimiento que actualmente patrulla y vive en la tierra de nadie al norte del Imperio Parto, al este de los dominios de Roma y cerca de las inmensas llanuras escitas. Camul recuerda su historia, la que le llevó junto a su amigo Acco desde la zona pirenaica de la que eran nativos hasta muy lejos de su aldea cuando se engancharon al ejército romano debido a un incidente relacionado con sus supersticiones.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at a part of Roman military history from the viewpoint of a Gallic nobleman who joins the cavalry of Caesar's army under Publius Crassus, the triumvir's son, and goes with Crassus to fight the Parthians. What I like about Duggan's books is that they don't have a conventionally happy ending, although neither is the ending tragic. The main characters just make the best of a not-great situation.

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a light and entertaining read. two young Gauls believe they have fallen foul of the Mother Goddess and decide to "escape" her influence by joining the Roman Army (it's all masculine and macho, see?). Unfortunately they soon discover that no matter where they go she is there, in the background. And thus, this becomes an entertaining tour of the Roman Empire during the last hours of the Republic. We view it through the eyes of strangers in a strange land, yet willing collaborators. They watch the power and the greed and the folly as they travel further east and to their fate.

[Michael Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

90% history and 10% fiction, Winter Quarters relays what it was like to fight in the legions at the end of the Roman Republic. From Gaul to Syria, two young nobles join the army as auxiliary horse and travel with Crassus on his ill-fated war against the Parthians.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winter Quarters is the best of the three Duggan novels I’ve read to this point (May 2012). The prose is more polished, the dialog less awkward, and there’s more obvious and sustained attempts to describe the characters’ environment. An example is the narrator’s description of the land and people of Greece as he and his companion journey to Athens:

But Greece is in itself, in the very bones of the landscape, unlike any other country on earth. The limestone mountains, the fertile valleys, the clear horizon never veiled by mist, combine into a background of beauty that uplifts the spirit. I liked the people as well, though they did not like us. Roman soldiers are unpopular as conquerors, and barbarian soldiers of the Roman army are considered even worse….

We liked the Greeks because they are cheerful and cheeky, independent men who are very pleased with themselves. Their conceit is not contemptuous of others, like Roman pride. At the inns our fellow travelers treated us as equals; perhaps not the kind of men they liked, but free men who might be foreign, and behave like foreigners, if that was what we preferred. They recognized our right to be ourselves. (p. 140)

I first thought that this must represent a positive learning curve from the other two novels – Children of the Wolf and Besieger of Cities – but both of those are later in his career. It could be a result of the book’s POV. Unlike the others, Winter Quarters is first person, which may have forced Duggan to delve deeper into his subjects’ minds than otherwise. Another factor might be that Duggan liked his characters more than he did those of the other books. Whatever the case, happily it resulted in a more enjoyable, more interesting read, and I can give this one a mildly enthusiastic three stars.

The story opens in Margu (Αντιοχια της Μαργιανης, modern-day Merv in Turkmenistan), where we meet our narrator: Camillus, a ½-Romanized Gallic nobleman who was captured by the Parthians at the battle of Carrhae and is living out his exile in this border fortress on the edge of the steppes. He’s settled down with a Scythian woman and has had a son by her. Because he wants his son to know about his kinsmen in the West, Camillus asks a fellow Roman exile to write down his story.

The subsequent tale follows Camillus and his friend Acco from their exile from their Gallic homeland, their joining the Roman armies of Caesar as auxiliaries, and their later participation in Marcus Licinius Crassus’ disastrous expedition against the Parthians in 54-53 BC.

Duggan uses Camillus’ outsider status to critique Roman civilization. Camillus (and, I suspect, the author) both admires and loathes them. On the one hand, they’re obviously favored by the gods since they’re well on the way to conquering the world and he admires their military acumen. But they’re also hopelessly venal and corrupt, the chief motivation of their politicians being ambition and greed, and that of the populace being indulgence and carnality.

There’s an interesting subplot with Acco, who’s the reason the young men have to leave their tribe. He killed a she-bear, a totemic animal of the Goddess, and now feels he is cursed and pursued by her malevolence. All through the novel there’s a continuing contrast between the Goddess, who is “entirely evil” (p. 218), and the “cleaner,” more “civilized” worship of the male Skyfather and Wargod (by whatever names they are known):

There are gods on my side. I am not especially cursed by all the company of Heaven. I have only the Goddess to fear, and tomorrow we shall have left even the fringe of her land. This is an army of men, who worship the Wargod; and we go into the desert where no gods live…. Until we storm the walls of Seleucia my ring will keep me strong enough for battle, and the Raven will guard my head. We are grown men and warriors, far from the wiles of women…. (pp. 249-50)

I’m growing to appreciate Duggan’s writing a bit more as I continue to plow through his books. His ideas aren’t always well expressed and the stories aren’t always well told but the former are intriguing and the latter are engaging enough to keep me reading. I’d like to get a hold of Leopards and Lilies, which is about a woman living in the time of John and Henry III, to see how he handles a story from a female POV.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because a history professor on fivebooks dot com recommended it, as one of the five best historical fiction books.

'Winter Quarters by Alfred Duggan, set at the time of Julius Caesar, follows the story of two Gauls who enlist in the Roman army, and comes extremely highly recommended by Stanford University ancient historian Adrienne Mayor. “This book is a wonderful way to get a sense of the vast sweep of this rising Roman power—the lives and incredible adventures and exotic fights—in one individual soldier’s lifetime,” she says. “It came out in 1956, and it’s my favourite.”'

While it lacks the pace and characterization of more contemporary historical fiction, it excels it giving a unique perspective and there is a lot of details that scratch the history-geek itch. I enjoyed it.

[Adam Lofthouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

'The unforgettable classic of Roman adventure' it says on the cover. No, it isn't.


It is however, brilliantly written and researched. The prose is solid, the first person narrator's voice strong and vibrant in my mind. The detail is fantastic, our narrator taking us deep into the mindset of an auxiliary solider serving Rome. But therein lies part of the problem: The endless detail the book goes into becomes tiresome after a while. Pages and pages of description of Rome itself, or life in the army, or conducting the business of buying horses for a military expedition.


But because of all this detail, very little actually happens for large parts of the book. I've read other reviews of this where readers have given up and not finished, I can understand why.


You need a certain amount of detail, but as an author I think it best to pick and choose what you really need to delve into. Going in depth on everything derives from the plot and turns the book in to a kind of non fiction.


I did stick with it till the end. And whilst in parts its entertaining and educational throughout, 'The unforgettable classic of Roman adventure', it certainly isn't.

[Kassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember what drew me to this book in the first place but I imagine it was probably that it involved Caesar and the Romans which have become a sort of special interest of mine. This book told two stories, the main one being about marching and fighting with the Romans. A quieter narrative is suggested first, though, about two men trying to come to terms with their gods. This was a much more interesting story to me, but it seemed to be more in the background than the forefront.

Either way, it kept my attention and kept me very entertained all through.

[julia karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent read.

A short but enjoyable trip back to the twilight of the first triumvirate. With Duggan, the historical points are quite accurate and he's very good at recreating these long-vanished worlds. My only complaint would be that the plot was very thin and, of course, you can see the end from miles out.

[Alan Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay?

It is quite a long drawn out tale. There are a couple of good action scenes, but it soon became much a do about very little.
Knowing what I know now, would I bother to read this? The answer is a resounding, NO!

[Warren P. Gunderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective

Not your typical novel about Rome and the Roman legions. Told from the perspective of a Gaul mercenary, this novel offers a unique and entertaining view of the Parthian campaign of Crassus.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written & researched novel of ancient Roman legionry history. Action, characters as well as plot development combine to make this an excellent read! I gotta read this in the early 1960s then reread it recently.

[Reuben Chadwick · Rating 1 out of 5]

21% through and I can't take it any longer.
Only the 3rd book I've stopped reading part way through.

[Christopher Yellop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a look

Very different written from the viewpoint of a Gaul not quite important enough to really influence events,but worth a read all the same!

[John C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and derivative.

Poorly written with absolutely no character development. In addition no real.sense of place. I also got no sense of the real Crassus.

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreary , dull and boring

[Michael Nield Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really unpleasant practices carried out in the brain search for victory also some nasty characterization of people encountered but the best bits made most of this book acceptable

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins in a Parthian outpost located in modern-day Turkmenistan and then flashes back to Gaul (modern-day France) I quickly figured out that the main characters would go with Crassus and his failed attempt to conquer Parthia (modern-day Iran and Iraq). This got me very excited since there has always been a speculation that some members of Crassus' legion who survived the Parthian slaughter at the Battle of Carrhae ended up as slaves on the other side of Parthia close enough to escape into China. If you Google Romans in China you will see all the speculation, including blonde and blue eyed Chinese who are supposedly their descendants.


---Spoilers---



I was hoping the main character would travel from ancient France to ancient China like an early Marco Polo. That he didn't was a bit of a disappointment, although there is a definite hint that the character might have done that and perhaps the skeleton of a sequel existed in Duggan's mind but never materialized. Perhaps Duggan knew his strength for fiction lied in Europe and he didn't feel up to the extra research it would have taken to finish the story. Despite that it was still an enjoyable book and well written.

[William Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Quarters by Alfred Duggan is one of those books that I still vividly remember after first reading it as a teenager 30 years ago. The story revolves around two young Gallic nobles and their adventures and experiences as auxiliaries in the Roman army during the time of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. The action moves from Caesar's campaigns and conquest of Gaul to Rome and onwards to Crassus's doomed invasion of Parthia and the humiliation of Carrhae. Duggan tells the story in the first person and creates a well researched, atmospheric and gripping read from a Gallic/Roman viewpoint. Sixty years after he wrote this novel, Winter Quarters is still exciting and inspiring which is the mark of a true classic. Duggan is one of my favorite Roman historical fiction authors. Highly recommended!

[Yago de Artaza Paramo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read many fictional novels but this one was more interesting because it offered the possibility to recreate a space in a different time. The author brings you to a particular time ijn the history of Rome (Craso's invasion of Parthia) and faithfully, without getting into a scrtutiating detail, recreation of costumes and experiences a barbarian soldier in the auxilia would have exprienced. Worth reading specially if you are an avid reader of Roman and Greek history.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es uno de esos libros que se lee en dos patadas, no solo es corto sino que tiene un estilo muy ágil. Al autor consigue meterte en el ambiente de los protagonistas y a las batallas no les falta emoción aunque sepas el resultado de antemano. Casi la principal pega que le veo es que me gustaría que la hsitoria continuase un poco más (como 200 ó 300 páginas más)

[hatpin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made the mistake of listening to this as an audiobook. What would have been a shortish contemplative novel became an exercise in torture, where I could leave the book playing for half an hour and come back to find that the action had not progressed.

[Phlip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun for the classicist desiring a good yarn.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a bit tedious but enjoyed descriptions of life in the roman army and considerations made to other groups/ nations at the same time.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came across Duggan by chance and tried it as I liked Roman settings. Thoroughly enjoyed it

[Robin Brady]

When you get past the prologue, the book and characters are very interesting and easy to read