03-27-2006, 10:22 AM
Ave!
One of our newest members, Alan Fisk, has very kindly sent me his review of "Imperial Governor", I've reproduced the article in it's entirety.
"IMPERIAL GOVERNOR
George Shipway, Cassell Military, 2002 (previously published 1968), £6.99 UK/$9.95 USA/$15.95 Canada, pb, 398pp, ISBN 0-304-36324-3
The narrator is the Roman general and Governor of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus. In 59 A.D. the Emperor Nero posts him to Britain with a simple mandate: make the new province profitable for Rome.
To do this the frontier must be pushed westwards and northwards, to capture the prime mineral-producing areas of Britain. Suetonius Paulinus makes plans for an audacious campaign to secure the coveted territories, but he is aware of the restiveness of the tribes of East Anglia and Essex, the Iceni and the Trinovantes, who have suffered harsh exactions from Roman administrators and moneylenders. Suetonius Paulinus knows that they are soon to suffer more, and fears an insurrection in the east while the weight of his army is in the west.
The western campaign is successful, carrying the Roman armies as far as Anglesey, where they destroy not only the military power of the local tribe, the Ordovices, but also wreak revenge upon the Druids. Shipway's terrifying Druids are not the gentle stargazers of modern politically-correct orthodoxy.
As we know, Queen Boudicca of the Iceni does launch rebellion from East Anglia, and the Romans are stretched to their limits before they defeat it.
In the aftermath, Suetonius Paulinus launches a policy of harsh reprisals, but he is eventually recalled from his post for a reason that astonishes him.
Shipway is not afraid to represent Suetonius Paulinus as a harsh, ruthless, and unforgiving man, who tends to see weakness or cowardice as the motives for anyone who disagrees with him. Shipway also makes a serious attempt to create a narrator whose attitudes are those of his own time and culture, even where we would find them shocking or reprehensible.
This is a very masculine book. Suetonius Paulinus meets Boudicca only once, in a scene that perhaps should have been played up more. The only other female character is Queen Cartimandua of the northern tribe of the Brigantes, with whom Suetonius Paulinus has a passionate affair that will haunt him all his life.
The historical and military detail is minute and, so far as this reviewer can judge, accurate. The tale is grim in tone, but Shipway's Suetonius Paulinus is not without sensitivity. If you like military historical novels that are hairy-chested but thoughtful, this will be one for you.
Alan Fisk"
Please also see Viventius' posts of 24 March, within this topic, for an article written by Alan on George Shipway.
Alan was attracted to the RomanArmyTalk Forum because of this topic.
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
One of our newest members, Alan Fisk, has very kindly sent me his review of "Imperial Governor", I've reproduced the article in it's entirety.
"IMPERIAL GOVERNOR
George Shipway, Cassell Military, 2002 (previously published 1968), £6.99 UK/$9.95 USA/$15.95 Canada, pb, 398pp, ISBN 0-304-36324-3
The narrator is the Roman general and Governor of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus. In 59 A.D. the Emperor Nero posts him to Britain with a simple mandate: make the new province profitable for Rome.
To do this the frontier must be pushed westwards and northwards, to capture the prime mineral-producing areas of Britain. Suetonius Paulinus makes plans for an audacious campaign to secure the coveted territories, but he is aware of the restiveness of the tribes of East Anglia and Essex, the Iceni and the Trinovantes, who have suffered harsh exactions from Roman administrators and moneylenders. Suetonius Paulinus knows that they are soon to suffer more, and fears an insurrection in the east while the weight of his army is in the west.
The western campaign is successful, carrying the Roman armies as far as Anglesey, where they destroy not only the military power of the local tribe, the Ordovices, but also wreak revenge upon the Druids. Shipway's terrifying Druids are not the gentle stargazers of modern politically-correct orthodoxy.
As we know, Queen Boudicca of the Iceni does launch rebellion from East Anglia, and the Romans are stretched to their limits before they defeat it.
In the aftermath, Suetonius Paulinus launches a policy of harsh reprisals, but he is eventually recalled from his post for a reason that astonishes him.
Shipway is not afraid to represent Suetonius Paulinus as a harsh, ruthless, and unforgiving man, who tends to see weakness or cowardice as the motives for anyone who disagrees with him. Shipway also makes a serious attempt to create a narrator whose attitudes are those of his own time and culture, even where we would find them shocking or reprehensible.
This is a very masculine book. Suetonius Paulinus meets Boudicca only once, in a scene that perhaps should have been played up more. The only other female character is Queen Cartimandua of the northern tribe of the Brigantes, with whom Suetonius Paulinus has a passionate affair that will haunt him all his life.
The historical and military detail is minute and, so far as this reviewer can judge, accurate. The tale is grim in tone, but Shipway's Suetonius Paulinus is not without sensitivity. If you like military historical novels that are hairy-chested but thoughtful, this will be one for you.
Alan Fisk"
Please also see Viventius' posts of 24 March, within this topic, for an article written by Alan on George Shipway.
Alan was attracted to the RomanArmyTalk Forum because of this topic.
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
![[Image: spedius-mcmxliii.gif]](http://www.nhmgs.org/images/spedius-mcmxliii.gif)
