Boudica: The British Revolt Against Rome AD 60

by Graham Webster

Queen Boudica, leader of the Iceni, revolted against the Romans in AD60 only to have her efforts avenged by a humiliated Roman army. This lively and fascinating book examines in detail the evidence and theories which surround these events.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Lecturer in Romano-British Archaeology, then Senior Lecturer, then Reader, Extra-Mural Department, Birmingham University 1954-80; President, Shropshire Archaeological Society 1975-2001; OBE 1982.

An expert in the field of the Roman army, Webster can also lay a claim to have been one of the modern founders of the study of Roman pottery in Britain and to have done pioneering studies in many of the more obscure areas of Romano-British studies, ranging from his early work on the use of coal in Roman Britain through to his last major work, on Romano-Celtic religion.

Reviews

[Neil Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do agree with the other reviewers, Boudica is mentioned on just 12 pages & it is certainly not a biography of her. The writer is an archaeologist and a very good one, going by his descriptions of coins, which are obviously his specialty. The subtitle is probably a more appropriate name for the book, although it is more an archaeological commentary than a historic account of this earlier period of British history.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is NOT a book about Boudica as the title would have you believe, so if that is what you are expecting (as I was) then you will be disappointed.
This is a book about the Roman occupation of Britain in the period leading up to the Briton's revolt against Roman rule. Boudica barely gets a mention. I persevered with this book as it is quite short but unless you have a base knowledge of Roman history then you're going to struggle with a lot of the terminology. I feel bad giving this only 3 stars as I'm sure it's a very well researched and informative book, but the publisher has chosen to give it a title that misleads the purchaser and nobody likes being tricked into wasting their money on a product they didn't want.

[Matthew George · Rating 2 out of 5]

As Alison said in her review, the title is rather misleading. Boudica herself is practically a footnote in this work, largely because, as the author notes, we have so little information about her. This book was a bit dry and much focus is given to archaeological evidence, which isn't my cup of tea (while undoubtably important, I prefer writings, which typically involve less conjecture).

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main title of this book is very misleading. The subtitle is a more proper title. Boudica is only mentioned in passingon a few pages. The majority is about the history of the Romans in Britain.