Empire's End: A Roman Story

Voices

by Leila Rasheed

 

A gripping Roman adventure told by a young North African girl who sets out on a danger-filled journey to Britain.

When, Camilla, a young North African girl travels with her mother and father from Leptis Magna to Rome in 207 AD, she believes that she is going to the centre of the world. But just a few months later, the little family is dispatched to the very edge of it: Britannica. Tragedy strikes and, left alone with the Empress while her father travels north, Camilla has to navigate the tricky world of of secrets and danger in this cold place she must now call home.

In this heart-stopping adventure based on real historical events, Leila Rasheed shows us a dangerous and intriguing time in Britain that's sure to fascinate young readers.

VOICES: A thrilling series showcasing some of the UK's finest writers for young people. Voices reflects the authentic, unsung stories of our past. Each shows that, even in times of great upheaval, a myriad of people have arrived on this island and made a home for themselves – from Roman times to the present day.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Libya

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 2, 2020

About the author

Leila Rasheed has gained an MA in both Children's Literature and Creative Writing. She started work at Reading Is Fundamental, a children's literacy charity, before moving to Belgium. Leila now works as the children's bookseller for Waterstone's in Brussels.

Reviews

[Kate]

An absolutely brilliant book about the Roman Empire from the perspective of a girl from North Africa. This book teaches you a vast amount about Roman history but through the eyes of someone who's tale is not normally represented in history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the heartbreak and resilience. I definitely will be reading more of the 'Voice' series.

[A Severs]

There are over 30 other books in Goodreads' Roman Britain in YA & Middle Grade Fiction Listopia list, some by eminent writers such as Rosemary Sutcliff. So why do we need another book which falls into this (very niche) category?

Well, Leila Rasheed has an important story to tell. Scholastic's Voices series focuses specifically on 'the unsung voices of our past' - in this particular book it's the voice of a young Libyan Roman woman who finds herself at the empire's end - in Britain. She has accompanied her father, a doctor, who is an aide to Septimius Severus, a Roman Emperor originally from Libya, and his powerful and influential Syrian wife, Julia Domna.

Not only do we get a much more diverse cast than in other historical novels, and are allowed to hear the stories of those who history doesn't always like to remember, but we also hear it from the pen of an author who herself grew up in Libya and who describes herself (on her Twitter bio at least) as British-Asian European.

CLPE's Reflecting Realities survey of ethnic representation in UK children's books found that in 2018 only 4% of children's books published featured a Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) main protagonist. The BookTrust Represents research into representation of people of colour among children’s book authors and illustrators found that in 2017 less than 6% of book creators were from a BAME background. That's why we need this book.

But this doesn't just fill a void in the market, this is a seriously good book. The gripping and fast-paced story is all carefully interwoven with historical fact: a Roman emperor from Libya did live and die in York, archaeological research has shown that those with black African heritage did live in Britain during the Roman period and that people from all over the Roman provinces ended up marrying each other and having children.

In 'Empire's End' Rasheed imagines how one such character may have ended up in Britain, despite having been born in North Africa. Although slavery is a key theme in the book, it is important that we follow the story of a high status a BAME character - as we've mentioned before, it is these stories that are seldom told. As Camilla's destiny is linked to that of the struggle for power in the Roman Empire, nothing is very certain for her as she travels the world and settles in a place that seems as far from home as she can imagine. The story twists and turns, painting vivid characters and their realities in a human way against the backdrop of one of the Roman Empire's trickiest times.

Young readers will be thrilled to find this combination of qualities in one fairly short story which is bound to hold the attention of even the most flighty of readers. And with this being the fourth book in the series, there is already plenty for readers to go back and discover. A fantastic first read for 2020.

[Meredith Hourihan]

Stunning middle grade tale set in 235 CE, at the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century, when the Roman Empire begins to collapse. Told from the perspective of Camilla, a young woman from Leptis Magna, who has now settled in the wilds of Briton. Camilla travels from Libya to Rome, under the helm of Septimius Severus, to the edge of the Empire in Britain. She shares her story of life in Libya, then Rome, then Eboracum (York) with her seven-year old, who is already losing his identity as a Roman and beginning to embrace the culture of his Brigante father and the indigenous Celts. Fascinating look at an empire's demise told from the viewpoint of a mom trying to protect her child (from Celts and Saxons alike!) and pass on her own story and culture from Leptis Magna.

[Paula Hale]

Brilliant! It is fast paced and another superb book in the Voices series.

[Isobel Ramsden]

This is a beautifully written and richly imagined story about a girl moving from one end of the Roman empire to the other. Camilla grows up in Leptis Magna (modern-day Libya) where her father was a playmate of the future emperor Septimius Severus. When Camilla is fifteen her family is summoned to Rome so her father can become the emperor's personal physician. Little do Camilla and her family suspect that they will be asked to accompany the emperor on an expedition to Britannia - 'Empire's End' - to quell the mutinous Caledonian tribes.

Fiction set in Ancient Rome has so much fertile ground for exploring issues that still resonate with us today - from migration to women's rights to religious conflict. Rasheed's story embraces all these issues and more while also drawing us into the excitement of Camilla's journey and the fascinating world of the ancient Roman empire. I loved the way that Camilla compares her own experiences to those of Aeneas, also a migrant, whose travels she reads about in the 'Aeneid'.

For such a short book, it really packs a lot in, especially towards the end when Camilla and her father's lives are threatened by the turbulent politics of the imperial household. The main narrative is related by Camilla in the first person but there's also an interesting use of framing narratives - one that has Camilla addressing her young son as she prepares to bury a box with relics from her past; and another at the very end of the book that tells of a girl in the present day discovering Camilla's box. Both framing narratives seem to be highlighting the act of storytelling and uncovering stories. How do we pass on stories and whose stories get to be told and why? These questions help us to reflect on the overall theme of the 'Voices' series - those of neglected stories from our past - and the power of storytelling throughout history to shape our sense of ourselves and our identities.

[Johanna ♡]

Camilla lived a peaceful life with her parents in Leptis Magna, now Libya, until her father gets summoned by the emperor. The journey takes her to Rome and then to Brittania where her father becomes the Emporer's personal doctor. Camilla loses many things she loves but also gains friendships to last her a lifetime. When I picked this book up I thought it was going to be a short, light read but was pleaseantly surprised! I love to read books about Ancient Rome and this might have been the best book set in that time period that I have ever read. I also loved the structure of this book, I was a little confused on how it was going to work at the start but I just loved how it all came together at the end. I think that the main idea of this book was Camilla's journey to find home again. Five stars!!

[Hannah of the Sky]

The main character is the daughter of the Libyan doctor to the Libyan-born emperor Severus (yes, there really was a North African emperor!!), ends up accompanying her father who accompanies the emperor on his military campaign in the colony of Britain. The story starts when she is grown up and telling the story to her daughter. Took me a bit to get oriented, at the beginning. But once I got into the story, I really enjoyed it. Well written, immersive, and well researched piece of historical fiction. Appropriate for young readers, but not oversimplified and doesn't talk down to the reader. Eye-opening view of this time of history and the global interactions you don't always get to see.