Beric the Briton

Beric the Briton, A Story of the Roman Invasion (1893) is a historical novel by British author G. A. Henty. It tells of the Roman invasion of Britain through the eyes of a "half Romanized" Briton, Beric. Plot: The main character is Beric, a young Briton under Roman subjugation. After he is raised to the rank of chief among his tribe, known as the Iceni, he and his tribe rise up against Roman rule under Queen Boudica. The strong but untrained Britons have success for a short time, but are quickly conquered again by the well-trained legionaries. Beric and a small band of men fight to the last from the swamps, conducting a sort of guerrilla warfare. At last he and his men are captured, and Beric is sent to Rome as a gladiator. While in Rome, he becomes friends with some who belong to the rising sect of Christians. When a Christian girl is given to the lions in the Roman amphitheatre, Beric dashes to the rescue and kills a lion single-handedly. Taken as a guard to Nero, the mighty emperor, Beric is horrified at the drunken revelry which takes place, and escapes from the palace. At last he is enabled to go back to Britain, though not after many more adventures. (wikipedia.org)