Boudica Britannia

by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

When Roman troops threatened to seize the wealth of the Iceni people, their queen, Boudica, retaliated by inciting a major uprising, allying her tribe with the neighbouring Trinovantes. The ensuing clash is one of the most important - and dramatic - events in the history of Britain, standing testament to what can happen when an insensitive colonial power meets determined resistance from a subjugated people head-on. In this fascinating account of a legendary figure, Miranda Aldhouse-Green raises questions about female power, colonial oppression, and whether Boudica would be seen today as a freedom fighter, terrorist or martyr.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Archaeology

286 pages, Hardcover

First published February 11, 2006

About the author

Miranda Green was born in London and educated at Greycoat Hospital, Westminster. She took an Honours degree at University College, Cardiff and an M. Litt. at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She gained a research scholarship at the Open University and was awarded a doctorate in 1981 for her thesis on Romano-Celtic sun-symbolism. She has received research awards from the Society of Antiquities of London and from the British Academy, and was awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. After holding posts at Worthing and Peterborough Museums, she took up posts as Tutor in Roman Studies and full-time administrator at the Open University in Wales.

Until recently professor of archaeology at Newport University, Miranda's teaching experience ranges from leading undergraduate courses on Roman Britain and Iron Age Europe to managing and contributing to Newport's MA in Celto-Roman Studies. She has supervised more than twenty PhD and MPhil students to successful completion.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Tutor for the MA Archaeology programme, and is module leader for three of the MA skills modules (Research Methods, Writing Archaeology/Writing the Past and Speaking Archaeology). She lectures on Early Celtic Studies and contributes to the third-year undergraduate Theory course.

External responsibilities include membership of the Ancient Monuments Advisory Board for Wales, presidency of the Prehistoric Society (2004-6) and membership of the management board of the University of Wales Press.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most thought provoking book I have ever read on the subject of Boudica's rebellion against the forces of Rome.

Miranda Aldhouse Green does not look at the event in isolation, but places it within the context of the greater Roman world with its politics and its cultural and religeous beliefs and practices. The archelogical record together with the written sources are examined to reveal not just the story of the rebellion that nearly put paid to the Roman occupation of Britain, but also to hint at the complex web of British tribal alliences that may have saved the Romans from total disaster.

Well written and well researched, Boudica Britannia is a brilliant exposition of Britian's mysterious warrier queen.

[Kellene Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed her perspective

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure - I read this because of Boudica being referenced in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - so I'm not a Boudica scholar. That said, I think a quote from the excellent Will Durant applies here: "most history is guessing, and the rest is prejudice." If you went through the e-book and counted phrases like "perhaps", "may have been", "may be true", etc, it would certainly be in the hundreds. Add in time and location jumps to establish (often tenuous) links for other peoples to Boudica; bizarre, almost throw away attempts to tie in modern examples of war crimes; and that it takes until page 172 (of 254) to finally get to Boudica and her rebellion, and I ended up feeling generally confused and disappointed. Perhaps trying to turn ~10 paragraphs of Roman history into a full non-fiction book was a bit too ambitious.