The Silver Branch

By: Rosemary Sutcliff

Narrated by: Johanna Ward

In The Eagle of the Ninth, Marcus Flavius Aquila ventured into the wilds of Caledonia to retrieve the lost Eagle of his father's dishonored Ninth Legion.

In this new story of Roman Britain, the mutilated standard is found again by Flavius, a descendant of Marcus, and his cousin Justin, a young surgeon in the Roman army. It is found at a time when conflicting loyalties, violence, and intrigue are undermining Roman rule in Britain.

Justin and Flavius are accidentally caught up in this power struggle when they discover a plot to overthrow the Emperor. A series of adventures carries them across England and down again to the South, where they become secret agents of Rome. But when the time comes for open revolt, they are ready with a band of loyalists to carry the Eagle of the Ninth into the thick of battle to win new honor for the Eagle and for Rome.

©1957 Rosemary Sutcliff (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great historical fiction

Marcus Flavius and Justinius are two of my favorite Sutcliff characters. Both are incredibly likeable and this story of their efforts to protect the Emperor Carausius from a plot to overthrow Roman Britain is an interesting story about the opposing forces that shaped what would eventually become Anglo Saxon Britain. The Silver Branch is set about a hundred years before the fall of the Roman Empire and is one of the best examples of her ability to take what little is known for sure about Ancient Britain and weave it into a realistic story line. Johanna Ward has the perfect voice for narrating Sutcliff's lyrical writing style. Sometimes I hit the rewind just to hear a particularly lovely descriptive passage again. I have also read this book in print and the audio is great because you don't have to figure out how to pronounce some of the ancient words or places like Asklepiodotus or Rutupiae.

Great!

Terrific historical fiction set in Roman England. Wonderfully written. Engaging. Couldn’t put it down. Next please.

A treasure

The Silver Branch, like its fellow books in Sutcliffe’s Roman, Pre-Roman, and Post-Roman Britain novels, is a treasure. It offers memorable characters, variety, character growth and development, setting, learning, testing, moral development, friendship, self-sacrifice, faith under fire, and all the while the reader learns. Most of her books that one finds in the Junior or Young Adult sections of libraries are excellent fare for adults—far better than most books of anyone’s writing which sit in the Adult Fiction section.

Worth listening to.

Loved it. The plot and language were beautiful. Amazing book and a great listen.

Incredible Amazing Great

The lost legion of the Ninth rescues Roman Britain . Death to the Trater .