Boudica: The Life and Legacy of the Celtic Queen Who Rebelled against the Romans in Britain

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “[The Romans] thinking that it might be some help to the allies [Britons], whom they were forced to abandon, constructed a strong stone wall from sea to sea, in a straight line between the towns that had been there built for fear of the enemy, where Severus also had formerly built a rampart.” – Bede’s description of Hadrian’s Wall in the Middle Ages The famous conqueror from the European continent came ashore with thousands of men, ready to set up a new kingdom in England. The Britons had resisted the amphibious invasion from the moment his forces landed, but he was able to push forward. In a large winter battle, the Britons’ large army attacked the invaders but was eventually routed, and the conqueror was able to set up a new kingdom. Over 1,100 years before William the Conqueror became the King of England after the Battle of Hastings, Julius Caesar came, saw, and conquered part of “Britannia,” setting up a Roman province with a puppet king in 54 BCE. In the new province, the Romans eventually constructed a military outpost overlooking a bridge across the River Thames. The new outpost was named Londinium, and it covered just over two dozen acres. Londinium had become the largest city in Britannia shortly before being burned down in a native revolt led by an infamous Celtic Iceni queen named Boudica. With a name meaning “Victory,” Boudica was a charismatic woman who commanded nearly 100,000 Celts and led them on a campaign to expel the Roman overlords from Britain around the year 61 CE. Often called the “Celtic Queen,” she wore a warrior’s necklace around her delicate neck and rode upon a sturdy steed. According to the ancient historian Cassius Dio, “In stature, she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh.” It is said she had a piercing glare that could shrink her people’s enemies, which in this case were the Roman legionnaires under the vengeful general Suetonius. Boudica was not only a woman of high intelligence but also a Druid priestess of great repute, which caused the Romans a unique kind of concern. The Celts have fascinated people for centuries, and the biggest fascination of all has been over the Druids, a religious class at the heart of Celtic society that wielded great power. Naturally, people have been interested in Druids for centuries mostly because they don’t understand much about the Druids or their practices. The word comes from the Romans, who labeled them "Druidae" in reference to the white robed order of Celtic priests living in Gaul, Britain and Ireland. They were a well-organized, secretive group who kept no written records and performed their rituals - allegedly including human sacrifice - in oaken groves, all of which interested and horrified Roman writers. As Pliny wrote in the 1st century CE, “Barbarous rites were found in Gaul even within my own memory. For it was then that the emperor Tiberius passed a decree through the senate outlawing their Druids and these types of diviners and physicians. But why do I mention this about a practice which has crossed the sea and reached the ends of the earth? For even today Britain performs rites with such ceremony that you would think they were the source for the extravagant Persians. It is amazing how distant people are so similar in such practices. But at least we can be glad that the Romans have wiped out the murderous cult of the Druids, who thought human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism were the greatest kind of piety.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2019

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my least favorites short listens from Charles River editors (perfect nap companion). Wanted to learn more about Boudicca, but I think I will look somewhere else

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t help but think this was someone’s dissertation that someone didn’t want to feel was wasted.

I listened to it as an audio (3 hours). Boudicca was mentioned a bunch of times up until mid-chapter 3. After that, it was more about putting events with the Romans, Celts & druids in context (Boudicca was... when the Romans wore... when the Celts went... when so-and-so did...).

There’s only 8 chapters and by about 4, she’s barely mentioned at all. It mostly ends up listing things like the economy at the time, how settlements were doing, what the Druid customs were etc. It’s as if someone forgot about the basic principles of how to answer an essay question: keep coming back to it to make sure you’re not rambling or spewing all the research that has no relevancy to the topic at hand.

This managed to achieve 2 stars only because some of the info was interesting, but not what I’d come here to listen to.

[Apriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just meh. For a book about Boudicca it’s a little strange that she isn’t mentioned until way past the half way point. I can understand needing a little context and explaining about the Roman invasion of Britain but there was no need to be so detailed that that ended up being the biggest part of the book.

[Jason McKibben · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews, this reads like a relatively decent thesis put into a book. It doesn't stay on topic, falls into the trap many graduate students find of personal commentary and too much voice added to the retelling. Decent read for the first few chapters then it tails off.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know you have found a fierce fighter when the text explains that the Celts took no prisoners!  Queen Boudica was part of a Celtic group known as Iceni.  Gender roles were not defined according to our definitions; the women worked alongside the men. Boudica was also a Druid priestess.

Initially, when the Romans invaded, they let Prasutagus, Boudica's husband, keep his lands, as long as he supported the Romans politically and paid tribute yearly.  When Prasutagus died, he left only half his wealth with the Roman emperor.  The Roman emperor was enraged.  Prasutagus' palace was decimated and his relatives were enslaved.  All of the Iceni lands were appropriated. 
 
Boudica stepped forward and commanded the Celtic tribes to expel the Romans from Britain.  At first, they were successful.  But the better-armed and better-trained Romans eventually slaughtered the Celts.  Boudica committed suicide rather than submit to further humiliation from the Romans.  Her story still speaks to us of an unbelievably brave woman who led her oppressed people against a more powerful force. 

I was disappointed in this book; it talked more about the Roman conquest of Britain than about Boudica.  Probably, no more than 35% was about Boudica.  The rest was a mish-mash of other topics related to the Romans and their conquest of the British Isles.

[Raine McLeod · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description of this book should be “So you want to read a book about a badass warrior queen? Cool! Here’s one chapter. The rest of the book will be about the important people of the day, the MEN, namely Cesar and Claudius. Also druids. Who are also men. Because obviously, the reason you’re reading this is that you’re interested in men who murdered each other on behalf of Rome and Britain and women are stupid and boring anyway and Boudica was a MYTH. Enjoy!”

Thank fuck it’s short; I only had to be annoyed for like an hour.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thesis begins with a lengthy discourse on the migration of the Celts from central Europe to the British Isles followed by quotations from the Romans regarding the Druids and the manner in which the Roman legions pursued them. This detailing of Roman history covers half of the paper before finally getting to Boudica and the Iceni tribe of the Celts. I found the whole quite pedantic. The documentation and photos were useful.

[Lexi Mayhew · Rating 2 out of 5]

You learn quite a bit about the Romans’ invasion of the British Isles, but the whole point of reading this was to learn about Boudica, of whom I learned very little. The section about her was disappointingly small considering the lengthy details about druids and Romans. The book finishes with a quick note about the “legacy” of Boudica, but even this is summarized in maybe a paragraph at most?

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audiobook contained very little about Boudica. This does not mean the book wasn't interesting, because it was. However, it might be more accurately titled "Roman Invasions of the British Isles". A reader who is looking for a book primarily about Boudica will be disappointed.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less on Boudica, more about Celtic culture and the Druids

[JP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Didn't feel like I learned much and felt like there was much about others in it.

[Anthony Last · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly written. Many important facts assumed.