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The Lost Eagles
Varus, Varus, give me back rny legions ! Give back my golden eagles !
Augustus's cry of loss and anger echoed round the Empire when news of the most terrible disaster in their military history reached Rome. Three legions, wiped out to a man in the forests of Germania; three eagles, the sacred golden standards of the legions, in the impious hands of savage German tribes. Overnight the name of Varus became synonymous with the disgrace of Rome.
Severus Varus, branded with his kinsman's shame, his military career blighted, swore to recover the eagles and restore the honour of his family and of Rome. His quest took him far from the Imperial but corrupt magnificence of Augustan Rome—to the dark shadows of German swamps and forests, to long weeks of patrolling and skirmishing on the snow-bound border, to the horrors of mutiny, and ambushes and pitched battles with a tireless enemy, and finally to the discovery of the last of Varus's eagles.
Augustus's cry of loss and anger echoed round the Empire when news of the most terrible disaster in their military history reached Rome. Three legions, wiped out to a man in the forests of Germania; three eagles, the sacred golden standards of the legions, in the impious hands of savage German tribes. Overnight the name of Varus became synonymous with the disgrace of Rome.
Severus Varus, branded with his kinsman's shame, his military career blighted, swore to recover the eagles and restore the honour of his family and of Rome. His quest took him far from the Imperial but corrupt magnificence of Augustan Rome—to the dark shadows of German swamps and forests, to long weeks of patrolling and skirmishing on the snow-bound border, to the horrors of mutiny, and ambushes and pitched battles with a tireless enemy, and finally to the discovery of the last of Varus's eagles.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
392 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
2 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Ralph Graves
50 books1 followerRalph Augustus Graves was an American reporter, editor, and writer. He authored several novels and edited and contributed to famous periodicals such as Life magazine.Graves was employed as a writer and reporter at Life magazine from 1948 to 1958. He steadily rose through the ranks at Life magazine, serving as the articles editor, the assistant managing editor, and the managing editor before leaving the publication in 1972. Graves moved to Time, Inc. where he served as the senior staff editor and editorial director, among other positions.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 22, 2017
4.5 at least! Such an enthralling novel! One could call this one almost a sequel to any on the Teutoberg or Varian Disaster. Severus Varus, a young man, is some sort of cousin [2nd?] to P. Quinctilius Varus, who with three legions had been ambushed and wiped out in Germania. Severus and the whole Varus clan are dishonored by his [in]famous relative's name. Severus and his grandfather, a senator, become social pariahs. [His father has died in Pannonia]. Severus vows to Augustus that he will recover the three lost eagles. This would restore the family honor and that of Rome. The main thrust of the story is Severus's quest for the three eagles. Upon the advice of his grandfather's good friend, Polemius, rather than just rushing off and joining Germanicus's legions in their expedition to Germania where he would be just one man among thousands, he learns the German language and culture from a German slave. [Probably in real life a Roman patrician would not have done this; it would have been considered beneath him, but please allow for this plot device.] He is commissioned as a tribune in the army and goes to Germania to fulfill his boyish promise to the emperor. His language skills are a big help all through the story.
I was captivated by this novel. Well written in a simpler time [1955] and unjustifiably neglected now, it is not as slick and sophisticated as many of the more recent Roman novels. I feel it has stood the test of time. The characterizations were excellent--from the Romans, especially Severus, to the Germans. [I would be surprised if the author hadn't read his Tacitus on Germania.] Battle, skirmish and the final one-on-one conflict between Severus and his Roman enemy of many years were as good as those I've read elsewhere. The last third of the novel takes Severus through a horrendous winter journey alone and unaided to a German tribe where he is very sure the very last eagle of the three is located. He represents himself as a deserter from the Roman army and is sheltered by the Germans, in time becoming a respected member of their society. The conclusion is heart-breaking. I hope some of you will seek out and read this novel. It is unforgettable and worth your time and money.
I was captivated by this novel. Well written in a simpler time [1955] and unjustifiably neglected now, it is not as slick and sophisticated as many of the more recent Roman novels. I feel it has stood the test of time. The characterizations were excellent--from the Romans, especially Severus, to the Germans. [I would be surprised if the author hadn't read his Tacitus on Germania.] Battle, skirmish and the final one-on-one conflict between Severus and his Roman enemy of many years were as good as those I've read elsewhere. The last third of the novel takes Severus through a horrendous winter journey alone and unaided to a German tribe where he is very sure the very last eagle of the three is located. He represents himself as a deserter from the Roman army and is sheltered by the Germans, in time becoming a respected member of their society. The conclusion is heart-breaking. I hope some of you will seek out and read this novel. It is unforgettable and worth your time and money.
November 30, 2010
I'm just about to start reading this pocket book I bought at The Iliad in North Hollywood. It's about a general in the Roman Army that must go undercover as a barbarian to retrieve some sacred Roman treasure. It looks interesting and I can't say I've read any historical novels about this era.
Book #2 in the shelf experiment
I finished this historical novel over Thanksgiving and aside from the letdown of an ending, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story follows a young Roman noble named Severus Varus whose family becomes disgraced when his Uncle (commander of the Roman military forces stationed at the Rhine) recklessly fails to prepare against a forewarned German attack, resulting in the massacre of 3 Roman Legions and the loss of their precious golden eagle standards. Severus, barely 18 at the time of the massacre, pledges to a highly distraught Emperor Augustus to return the lost eagle standards to Rome only to be laughed off and held in high contempt by much of Roman society. Consulting with an old family friend, the historian Polemius, Severus is able to concoct a plan to return Rome's Eagles and sets about learning everything he can about the Germanic tribes, including their native tongue. Once he becomes a master of their language and culture, Severus joins the Roman Army at the Rhine in service to the 20th Legion. He uses his superior knowledge of the Germans to impress Germanicus, the commander of the Roman forces on the Rhine and the first son to Emperor Tiberius, and through clever detective work and sheer determination locates two of the three eagle standards, achieving far more than was ever expected of him. Although his achievements had already restored his family name and would ensure for him a life of luxury in his native Rome, Severus vows to continue his quest to retrieve all three eagles and after learning what he believes to be the location of the final eagle standard, journeys deep into German territory and adopts the identity of a Roman deserter; a plan he believes is his only chance of securing the final lost eagle. While assimilating into the village, Severus meets and fall in love with a local German woman and after much time gaining the tribe's trust, his suspicions are confirmed when he is shown the final lost eagle standard. Everything falls apart when an old "aquaintance" shows up just before Severus and his German girlfriend can escape back to Rome with the last Eagle, resulting in the brutul death of the protagonist and his lover.
All in all, I found this to be a really interesting book about a rather important time in Roman history that, if I was ever taught about in school, had certrainly forgotten. We learn a lot about Roman culture, their politics, their customs as well as that of their enemies, the German tribes. The parallels to modern day life, politics and war are very obvious and one wonders if we've learned anything at all since the days of the Roman Empire. It's well written and definitely one to look into if you enjoy history (particularly Roman), war, sociology, adventure or historical novels in general.
Book #2 in the shelf experiment
I finished this historical novel over Thanksgiving and aside from the letdown of an ending, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story follows a young Roman noble named Severus Varus whose family becomes disgraced when his Uncle (commander of the Roman military forces stationed at the Rhine) recklessly fails to prepare against a forewarned German attack, resulting in the massacre of 3 Roman Legions and the loss of their precious golden eagle standards. Severus, barely 18 at the time of the massacre, pledges to a highly distraught Emperor Augustus to return the lost eagle standards to Rome only to be laughed off and held in high contempt by much of Roman society. Consulting with an old family friend, the historian Polemius, Severus is able to concoct a plan to return Rome's Eagles and sets about learning everything he can about the Germanic tribes, including their native tongue. Once he becomes a master of their language and culture, Severus joins the Roman Army at the Rhine in service to the 20th Legion. He uses his superior knowledge of the Germans to impress Germanicus, the commander of the Roman forces on the Rhine and the first son to Emperor Tiberius, and through clever detective work and sheer determination locates two of the three eagle standards, achieving far more than was ever expected of him. Although his achievements had already restored his family name and would ensure for him a life of luxury in his native Rome, Severus vows to continue his quest to retrieve all three eagles and after learning what he believes to be the location of the final eagle standard, journeys deep into German territory and adopts the identity of a Roman deserter; a plan he believes is his only chance of securing the final lost eagle. While assimilating into the village, Severus meets and fall in love with a local German woman and after much time gaining the tribe's trust, his suspicions are confirmed when he is shown the final lost eagle standard. Everything falls apart when an old "aquaintance" shows up just before Severus and his German girlfriend can escape back to Rome with the last Eagle, resulting in the brutul death of the protagonist and his lover.
All in all, I found this to be a really interesting book about a rather important time in Roman history that, if I was ever taught about in school, had certrainly forgotten. We learn a lot about Roman culture, their politics, their customs as well as that of their enemies, the German tribes. The parallels to modern day life, politics and war are very obvious and one wonders if we've learned anything at all since the days of the Roman Empire. It's well written and definitely one to look into if you enjoy history (particularly Roman), war, sociology, adventure or historical novels in general.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2014
After reading Ralph Graves's WWII novel for the second time, I found that he had also written a Roman Empire book. Upon reading it, I thought it compared favorably with the more famous Breem book, "Eagles in the Snow." (By favorably, rather than badly, I mean it might be an enjoyable sequel to "... Snow)
The following review can be found by searching the Internet.
"KIRKUS REVIEW
"The eagles symbolized the might of Rome and, when three of these standards were lost to the victorious Germanic tribes in the disaster for which Qutntilus Varus was blamed, his nephew, Severus, promised the Emperor Augustus that he would recover them. It was a mad boast for Severus was only recently in the public eye as winner of the ""long race"", and of the wreath for the events which had until then gone to Lucilius. Their enmity began then- and ended in a duel to the death in central Germania, where Severus, his promise twice achieved, was living incognito with the tribe that held the third of the eagles. It is colorful adventure with a little known period of history as background. One feels the dying fire of Rome at the end of the Augustan Age; one learns of the ways of the ""barbarians"" as Severus identifies himself with their way of life. And between the two, the loyalty, the drive that had characterized Rome at her height is evidenced despite the dissolution and depravity of the people."
Share of Honor
Eagle in the Snow
The following review can be found by searching the Internet.
"KIRKUS REVIEW
"The eagles symbolized the might of Rome and, when three of these standards were lost to the victorious Germanic tribes in the disaster for which Qutntilus Varus was blamed, his nephew, Severus, promised the Emperor Augustus that he would recover them. It was a mad boast for Severus was only recently in the public eye as winner of the ""long race"", and of the wreath for the events which had until then gone to Lucilius. Their enmity began then- and ended in a duel to the death in central Germania, where Severus, his promise twice achieved, was living incognito with the tribe that held the third of the eagles. It is colorful adventure with a little known period of history as background. One feels the dying fire of Rome at the end of the Augustan Age; one learns of the ways of the ""barbarians"" as Severus identifies himself with their way of life. And between the two, the loyalty, the drive that had characterized Rome at her height is evidenced despite the dissolution and depravity of the people."
Share of Honor
Eagle in the Snow
March 30, 2016
This was one of the first HF books I read as a teenager. I only remember that I loved it and subsequently became fascinated by the mystery surrounding Augustus's lost legions.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews