The Eagle of the Ninth

First published in 1954, this historical novel follows Marcus Flavius Aquila, a young Roman centurion in Britain whose father's legion, the Ninth Hispana, vanished in the north with its eagle standard. After a battle wound ends his army career, Marcus and his British slave-turned-companion Esca travel beyond the frontier in the guise of a traveling oculist, seeking news of the lost legion and the missing eagle among northern tribes. Roman forts, native villages, and the wall country supply the route. The book is an adventure of recovery and belonging, not a military history of the Ninth.

Bound in green cloth blocked with a design in copper, black and white. Black slipcase.