She Fights Free: Warrior Queen Terrifies the Romans

by Gary Sutton

40 AD---Rome conquers Briton. Queen Boudica's tribe joins the empire. Romans are shocked that women rule this damp island. When her husband dies, corrupt magistrates seize Boudica's possessions, rape both daughters and whip her. Big mistake. Boudica leads an uprising. London burns to the ground. Colchester and St. Albans follow. The mightiest empire of the world wobbles. Historians dismissed Boudica as a myth until 1919. In that year, archeologists digging under London, St. Albans and Colchester found thick layers of ash thirteen feet down. That depth matches Boudica's time. The "myths" also said Boudica's revolt killed 80,000 Romans. So two thousand years later, this warrior queen gained acceptance as a true figure. "SHE FIGHTS FREE," a historical fiction by Gary Sutton, shows how the Romans and Britons lived and fought. Boudica's struggle for freedom also reveals the culture clashes before the war. Sutton is a retired CEO. He discovered Boudica while studying Roman history at Oxford. "She belongs alongside Cleopatra and Joan of Arc," he says, "but being illiterate, only the Romans reported her story. Maybe this will help."

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003