【 BOUDICCA’S DAUGHTER 】

Genre: Historical Fiction [Roman Empire]
Audience: Adult
Author: Elodie Harper
Published: August 2025
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 480 (hardback)

This was every bit as phenomenal as I had anticipated. Since reading Harper’s Wolf Den trilogy, I’ve been so excited for what she would write next – and this certainly didn’t disappoint. This is a beautifully woven reimagining of the Boudicca story/history, but told from one of her daughter’s perspectives: Solina.

If you’re unfamiliar with the historical figure, Boudicca is a British warrior queen from the mid-first century who rose up in rebellion against the Roman Empire. She is famously known for having two daughters who fought at her side, but history has not named them.

Harper has done a truly magnificent job in creating this story and giving both the girls an imagined identity. There isn’t much history recorded to tell us anything about her two daughters, so this felt like an epic experiment. It’s emotional, it’s hard-hitting, and it’s very, very good.

Split into several parts, this covers a lot of ground and I really must emphasise that it’s a heavy read. Covering topics of conquest, displacement, slavery, rape, murder and more, this book is one that sits with you and makes you brood, as the character’s experiences feel so damn real thanks to the excellent writing.

There’s so much packed into this, that it makes me want to go and read other people’s thoughts who have dissected the book. I’m torn between loving Solina and pitying her. While I admire her bravery, you can’t help being unsure about her choices, because of the Stockholm-like syndrome that goes on. Things get messy real fast. It’s a mix of fierceness and desperation that result in such a fascinating relationship between Solina and Paulinus that I don’t feel well-enough equipped to examine in depth.

If you’re a historical fiction lover, and in particular if you love ancient history around the Roman Empire, I can’t recommend this enough. Make sure you’re in a good mind space before starting, though! The death, grief and trauma of this book is no joke, and feels like a great tribute to what were, no doubt, two magnificent women who’s stories have been lost to the past.

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Title: Boudicca’s Daughter
Author: Elodie Harper
Add it on Goodreads

Deploying the same gripping plot dynamics and unforgettable sense of time and place that she used in the bestselling Wolf Den trilogy, Harper tells the thrilling story of the child of one of Ancient Rome’s most implacable foes, Boudicca.

There is more than one way for a woman to fight. From the author of the bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy. A dazzling new standalone novel set in the Roman world about the daughter of one of Britain’s most powerful heroines… Meet Boudicca’s Daughter.