"The story of the passions of women and the yearnings of men."

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, historian, and author, William Dietrich's recent poignant novel is set in Northern England in 367 A.D, where Hadrian's Wall, which incidentally is the title of the book, once stood. Today, it is a world heritage site in recognition of this magnificent Roman civil engineering project. Built of stone, it was wide enough to permit centurions to march three abreast along most of its length of 55 miles. During this era, Rome had much difficulty in defending their northern British frontier against the barbarians.

Dietrich crafts an action packed novel making for some heady reading. A Roman senator, who is deeply in debt and wishing to maintain his career and social status among his peers, pawns off his beautiful young daughter, Valeria, to Lucius Marcus Flavius. It is a marriage of convenience, for Marcus gains the position of Praefectus and commander of the Petriana Cavalry at Hadrian's Wall, due to his future father-in- law's influence. I guess the adage, who you know and not what you know, was as important during Roman times as it is today.

Brushed aside for this honorable position was Galba Brassidias, who had waited patiently for years to take over the command of Hadrian's Wall. Galba cannot hide his rage, when he is told that a new alliance of families had taken place and a position had to be found for a new officer. Apparently, Marcus specifically requested the post of commander of the Petriana cavalry.

And so the drama unfolds as Valeria rides to meet her future husband, who is stationed at the wall, unaware of the brutal events that are about to be unleashed. To add a little more spice to the plot, Dietrich introduces another character, Arden Caratacus, the barbarian chieftain, who once served Rome, however now disdains all that is associated with this mighty empire, and is determined to smash its power and win Valeria for his own.

This is a powerful story-driven novel, and Dietrich never loses sight of his characters' fundamental flaws, all of which are intertwined with tantalizing themes of love, lust, seduction, treason, revenge, cowardice, conspiracy, expediency, opportunism, and bravery. It is also the story of the passions of women and the yearnings of men.

Moreover, Dietrich must be commended for successfully blending into the saga philosophical discourses pertaining to cultural and sociological differences between Romans and the barbarians. As the author states in the Epilogue: "one of the challenges of this novel was to convey the prejudices Romans had toward the world outside their empire while suggesting that Celtic tribes were not quite the troglodytes that Roman commentators would have us believe." Which leaves us to the observation made by the Roman investigator, who was sent to find out what actually happened at the wall, and who asserted, "I could write it in four words: She fell in love. But in love with what? A man? Or a place outside the suffocation of my own empire."

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted May 2, 2004

Summary

The Wall. When the Roman emperor Hadrian first envisioned the awesome edifice in A.D. 122, he used stone, wood, and iron to shield Roman Britannia forever from the unconquered Celtic barbarians. Stretching over seventy milesto divide the island, Hadrian's Wall has maintained the security of the Roman Empire's northern outpost for more than two hundred years. Now a Roman bride has come who will unleash jealousy, passion, and an epic war that will shake a tired and tottering empire to its core. Tribune Marcus Flavius has secured command at the Wall not through battles fought or wars won, but through his arranged marriage to Valeria, a senator's daughter. He replaces a brutal veteran, Galba Brassidias, an ambitious soldier whose skill in battle is rivaled only by his Machiavellian brilliance. But Galba will do anything it takes to regain his position and dominate the young woman who fascinates and infuriates him. The intrigue on the Roman side of the Wall is matched by the plotting of Celtic warriors determined to rid their land of the invaders. They are led by the dynamic and mysterious barbarian chieftain Arden Caratacus, a man who seems to know as much about hated Rome as he does of his own people, and who is determined to win the young woman for himself. Theirs is a story of swirling emotions, ancient warfare, desperate romance, and the final great clash of Roman and Celtic cultures. All will be decided on the field of battle, where the fate of an empire may rest in the strength of Hadrian's Wall.