Nor Shall My Sword Sleep

In AD 43 the Roman invasion ordered by Emperor Claudius reaches Britain, forcing the tribal kingdoms of the south to decide whether to resist or submit. Caratacus emerges as one of the most determined opponents of Roman expansion, but the death of his father and divisions among British leaders make coordinated defence increasingly difficult. Military resistance is complicated further by dynastic rivalry and competing ideas about how Britain should respond to Rome.

Boyle presents the opening of the Roman conquest through Caratacus’s struggle to hold together a coalition against a better organised imperial army. The novel mixes known figures and campaigns with imaginative reconstruction of motives, family relationships and political debate, beginning a trilogy that follows Caratacus from invasion through defeat and exile.