The Eagle of the Ninth
 First edition | |
| Author | Rosemary Sutcliff |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | C. Walter Hodges |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | 1954 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 255 |
| Followed by | The Silver Branch |
The Eagle of the Ninth is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall.
Plot
Discharged because of a battle wound that has left him lame in one leg, a young Roman officer Marcus Flavius Aquila tries to discover the truth about the disappearance of his father's legion in northern Britain. Disguised as a Greek oculist and travelling beyond Hadrian's Wall with his freed ex-slave, the British native hunter Esca, Marcus finds that a demoralized and mutinous Ninth Legion was annihilated by a great rising of the northern tribes. In part, this disgrace was redeemed through a heroic last stand by a small remnant (including Marcus' father) around the legion's eagle standard. Marcus' hope of seeing the lost legion re-established is dashed, but he is able to bring back the gilded bronze eagle so that it can no longer serve as a symbol of Roman defeat – and thus will no longer be a danger to the frontier's security. Rewarded by Rome for his services, he decides to settle as a landowner and farmer in Britain with his British wife, Cottia, and his freed friend, Esca.
Development
The Eagle of the Ninth is one of Sutcliff's earlier books, but may be her best-known title. It is the first in a sequence of novels, followed by
Historical basis
Sutcliff wrote in a foreword that she created the story from two elements: the disappearance of the
At the time Sutcliff wrote, it was a plausible theory that the unit had been wiped out in Britain during a period of unrest early in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138).[2] Scholarly opinion now disputes this, for there are extant records that have been interpreted as indicating that detachments of the Ninth Legion were serving on the Rhine frontier later than the year 117, and it has been suggested that it was probably annihilated in the east of the Roman Empire. This in turn is disputed by other historians, who assert that it was indeed destroyed in northern Britain.[3] Sheppard Frere, a Romano-British historian, has concluded that "further evidence is needed before more can be said".[4]
In other media
Radio
- The The Pines of Rome was used as the theme music.[5]
- It was adapted again by the BBC in a full-cast radio drama in 1996 starring Tom Smith.[6]
Television
- A BBC television series was made of the book in 1977, scripted by Bill Craig, Donald Bull and Arden Winch, and with Anthony Higgins as Marcus Aquila.[7]
Film
- A film adaptation titled The Eagle was released in 2011,[8] directed by Kevin Macdonald and with Channing Tatum as Marcus Aquila and Jamie Bell as Esca.[9]
References
- ^ Reading Museum's Silchester Eagle PDF Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-791-76833-1..
- ^ Miles Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic Kings of Roman Britain p 180-5 (2010)
- ISBN 0-7102-1215-1 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Lawton, Anthony (2 April 2010). "The Eagle of the Ninth BBC Radio in 1957 | Rosemary Sutcliff Discovery of the Day". ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF (1920-92). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- BBC Programme Index. 2 June 1996. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- IMDb page for "The Eagle of the Ninth"(1977 TV series).
- ^ IMDb page for "The Eagle" (2011 movie).
- ^ Raphael, Amy (5 April 2009). "We went from a state of crisis to State of Play". The Observer.
External links
- Blogsite on The Eagle of the Ninth and all Rosemary Sutcliff books by her godchild and literary executor
- Reading Museum PDF on the Silchester Eagle
- Eagle of the Ninth, 6-part BBC Scotland 1977 TV series produced by Pharic MacLaren. Original BBC publicity notes and synopsis of the story, plus cast list and synopses for each episode.