The First Village

by Ian M. Evans

Wales AD 383 is the most remote province of Roman-occupied Britain, colonised for over 300 years. Magnus Maximus, known to the Celts as Macsen Wledig, has grown restless with his role as general of the Roman army in Britannia. His nights are broken by dreams of an impossibly beautiful Welsh maiden. He sets his sights on moving his legions out of Britannia to challenge Gratianus - the emperor of the Western Roman Empire.



Flavius Arcadius is less than enamoured by his general's plans. The army's withdrawal will leave his family, neighbours and all of Britannia unprotected and at the mercy of internecine conflict between the local tribes and the even greater threat of pagan invaders from the east. He does, however, have a vision for the future - a fortified villa surrounded by a self-sufficient community - if only he could find a way to stay behind when the legions move.



Flavius starts to plot...



Maximus is sufficiently in thrall to his fantasies to allow Flavius to set out with his two friends and fellow officers, Severus and Caradocus, to seek out, abduct and take this dream girl to him as his bride...

The three soldiers wander through the wilds of Cymru, intent only on delaying their return. To their astonishment, they come across a young woman who is the living image of Maximus's dream maiden. Flavius and Severus are determined to bring the girl, Elen, to Maximus. Caradocus, however, engineers their escape.



Elen's beauty is matched by her wit and intelligence; and her courage is demonstrated when she saves them both from capture. Before long, the two runaways are in love. But Caradocus and Elen are going to need more than their wits to survive, when they are being hunted - not just by Flavius and Severus, but by Elen's father and, for all they know, the full might of the Roman army...

Genres: Historical Fiction

369 pages, Paperback

Published March 28, 2019

About the author

Ian M. Evans is a British-born clinical psychologist who grew up South Africa. After completing a doctorate at King's College, London, his academic career has taken him to universities in Hawaii, New York, and New Zealand. A Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, his research and practice focused on emotional and family challenges for young people with disabilities. Ian lives with his wife in Honolulu, where their children, grandchildren, and friends love to visit. This is his second novel (following Forgive Me My Trespasses, Archway, 2015).

Reviews

[Jacqui Huntley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story essentially covers the later part of the Roman occupation of Britain, focussing upon what is now Wales, set in AD 383. The general of the Roman Army, Magnus Maximus, has grander ideas for himself and heads off with his Legions to try to become emperor of the Western Empire. Other than being infatuated with a dream woman he gives little real thought to what would happen to the natives and Romanised people left behind. Three of his officers come up with a plan to try to find this dream girl as they do have concerns about those being left behind and really want out of things anyway. They do in fact, much to their amazement, find such a girl, the youngest daughter of a local chieftain and they fall into conflict with each other as a result. At one level it all gets a bit silly and farcical - she runs off with one of the officers, falls for him and on to a logical end, Papa chieftain wants revenge, the other soldiers start thinking about consequences, However, the story is mainly about the effects of the disappearance of Roman military on locals - a market economy suddenly without the market or at least the money and support and authority. There are well-off people in villas and they start thinking about self sufficiency with the story suggesting that they grew little - archaeological evidence would strongly contradict this. This was a period when Romans had mostly become Christians although the old Pagan gods were still worshipped - a time of generally remarkable tolerance in fact. There is therefore a lot of discussion about trying to do good unto others, helping those less well-off and so on. There is certainly a lot of thoughtful and thought provoking dialogue going on amidst the slight silliness. The characters are well-drawn overall; personally I like the Roman names and was pleased to see the towns, forts etc having their Roman names retained. As far as I'm concerned they fall easily from the tongue but that's probably helped by having worked on Roman sites across Hadrians Wall and northern Britain for over 30 years. At first the modern dialogue and every day speech sat oddly with the Roman theme but after a while it fitted better - after all the reader isn't going to read Latin, High or Low, so colloquial conversations between fellow soldiery comes over better with modern " kick their backsides" type comments. An engaging read and I really felt for the main characters at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Vanguard Press for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Seraphia Bunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Village is a unique historical fiction novel that takes the reader back in time to when the Romans were looking to create footholds in Britain. The author introduces readers to Magnus Maximus, a general in the Roman army. He's grown restless in his post in Britannia and his dreams aren't helping the situation either. He dreams of a beautiful young maiden and his desire to pursue and find her is driving him. His wife longs for him to come home, but even if that were possible for him, the author gives us the impression that is not the top of his list. Add in that he doesn't take rejection well (a lady in the local village has ignored his advances) and you have a recipe for trouble. So he decides to convince those around him that he is going to go on a brief mission and that he will return soon. There is more to come as dissent is brooding in the ranks.
This is not your average historical fiction mixed with romance. I have to say that I enjoyed the layers that the author writes into this story. We have the main character who becomes enthralled to his fantasies/dreams, and you have the men he sends off to look for her, who are in doubt that such a young woman even exists. So of course, when they discover her their surprise is a nice added touch to develop the story. The characters meet obstacles, troubles, unexpected situations and more. I like the unexpected twist in the romance. I also like how things don't go perfectly for the characters. Two are intended to be loyal to their commander and bring her back, while another becomes enamored with the girl and runs off with her.
The story has a bit of a slow start and has a moderate pace throughout. Sometimes the pace was arduous for me, but the characters helped to keep me engaged. I enjoy historical fiction and my curiosity was piqued concerning these characters and this time in history as well.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. The story is well edited, but there are some tedious places to get through in this book that made it hard at times to move forward. If you enjoy historical fiction that mixes Romans and Wales then this is a good book to pick up.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Village by Ian N. Evans is a fictionalized version of England/Wales, aboupt 383AD, during the time the Romans vacated the area and Magnus Maximus became Emperor of the West (most of Europe). As a lover of history, this book appealed to me. It was difficult at first with so many unfamiliar names, but after making my way through the first chapters, it began to make sense. As always, the bog facts are accurate, the lesser characters and situations are not.

Flavius Arcadius, a native Celt, who is Magnus Maximus' right hand man, doesn't see a good outcome when Magnus and his troops leave Wales. He has decided to recruit a couple of like-minded men to help him disappear at the right time, without exactly deserting, so he can arrange the local gentry to survive the withdrawal of the only government they had ever know. He was to do this by taking advantage of his closeness to Magnus, who has been having a reoccurring dream about a beautiful Welsh princess. Flavius volunteers to find her, never believing that she really exists.

Overall, this was a fine book. Evans has a good imagination rooted in historical fact. It might have happened this way. If not, the journey was a good one: positive, loving, creative, and possible. I don't recommend this book to everyone, but to those to whom it will appeal, it is an excellent read. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of the First Village. All opinions expressed herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thefirstvillage

[Jamie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you look at the cover of this book, you might think that it is a serious work of historical fiction. It is anything but! In fact, it reminds me very much of Heath Ledger's movie A Knight's Tale in its approach to history. The author doesn't even attempt to use what some would think of as historical language, or any other sort of elevated speech. I'll admit my eyebrows lifted when I saw one character call another a “meanie.” While the places and the politics of the novel are based in truth, the characters themselves are fictional. The story is about a cultural shift, when the Romans were leaving Britannia after having lived and ruled there for over 300 years. What does that mean for the soldiers, some of whom do not want to go back to a place they've never known and perhaps their families have never been from? What does that mean for all of the various tribes around Britannia, who often engaged in internecine battles before the Romans? There's also a romance at the heart of this book, and I found the couple to be an intriguing one to watch. This book is full of humor: slapstick, dry, and tongue in cheek. Again if you enjoyed the movie A Knight's Tale, you would most likely enjoy this book.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

Read my other reviews at https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite the historical tale! It's a vivid story of a Roman leader and his soldiers who take on task to find an imaginary dream girl that he knows exists somewhere in the countryside. It's an amazing event when the soldiers discover the beautiful girl and start bargaining with her father for her future, to marry the ruling Roman monarch. Things turn shocking when the girl runs away with one of the Roman soldiers, who doesn't want her sacrificed to the Roman leader, Maximus. What follows is a strong tale of the history of what it was like to live in this time period, and the events in the life of the girl, Elen and her romance with the Roman soldier, Caradocus. It's an unforgettable book, and I recommend it.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Village is a great look into the later years of the Roman-occupied areas, and the many changes that were coming into Wales.
This historical fiction piece was well done and well written. I enjoyed the entire book, (although there were a few times I felt it was a stretch), but the plot and the overall tone was enjoyable. For those who enjoy history, this is a fun read!

[Annarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but not my cup of tea as it fell flat.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Sorcha]

Full review can be found here



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