Fangirling

[eachase.livejournal.com]

We all know that MWT fangirls over Rosemary Sutcliff the way we fangirl over her, but even so... I just re-read _The Eagle of the Ninth_ and it's so crystal clear how it inspired MWT. The themes, plot structure, intercultural issues, ... anyway.

I also noticed some familiar names. (I'm terrible with names. I can literally read and love a book and not be able to tell you the characters names, so I'm sure this isn't news to anyone else who has read it.) But...

Centurion Quintus Hilarion = commander from whom Marcus takes over at Isca Dumnoniorum

Hilarion = one of Eugenides' attendants

Aulus = surgeon at Isca Dumnoniorum

Aulus = an Eddisian soldier & minor prince

Comments

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Love The Eagle of the Ninth! I've been wanting to re-read it since I finished RotT, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I believe Aulus was a common personal name throughout Roman history. Hilarion has the same root as our word "hilarious" and meant happy or cheerful, which always amused me when attendant Hilarion was particularly grumpy. (Of course, almost all of the attendants' names now make me a little sad.)

Have you read the other books in Sutcliff's Roman Britain series? All together they are pretty epic.

[eachase.livejournal.com]

Yes, I read the trilogy a few years ago. The Silver Branch was my favorite, so I'm looking forward to re-reading that one, too. Someday I'm going to take a year and try to read as many of the books/authors that MWT has mentioned as I can. I may have to retire first.

My MIL requested historical fiction for Christmas, so I bought her the trilogy and explained that if she didn't like them, or did, but didn't want to keep them, she could re-gift them to me later. (Yes, we are that kind of family!)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Eagle of the Ninth in ages--good catch on the names. I wonder if it was intentional on Megan's part, or just one of those times when something is in your head and you're not sure where it came from. It has to be hard for her to choose all those names for her characters.

[eachase.livejournal.com]

We should ask. And assume "not telling" means yes. :-)

I just started Floodpath (the 2nd half of Emily B. Martin's duology) and she uses the name Moira. I'm wondering if that's a MWT reference.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

For me, reading Sutcliff is a game of spot the MWT references! XD

Love Eagle of the Ninth, and how it was clearly a direct inspiration for Thick as Thieves. Only the guard was the indigenous character, and the slave was a member of the invading empire. Also, Roman occupied Britian is an often ignored era in historical fiction.

PS: I also like the movie... Don't @ me. :)

[eachase.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fun game!

In their joint book launch Intisar Khanani and Emily B. Martin talked about the role of slavery/human trafficking in their new books (The Thief of Sunlight & Floodplain, respectively). I can't think of any other Roman Britain fiction I've read, either. (I did read A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers, but that's just Roman, not British.)

I haven't seem the movie, so no comment either way. :-)