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Eagle of the Ninth Feelings & Ramblings
I’ve been thinking about The Eagle of the Ninth and why I love it so much (as you do), and I ended up writing kind of a long thing about it… It’s a little bit ramble-y, be warned lol!
I first read Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth when I was twelve or thirteen, and to be honest, the first couple of chapters felt a little slow and boring to me. But I was already getting attached Marcus and his personality and his worldview, so I kept going, and of course it got much more interesting from there. I loved Esca, Cub, Cottia, Esca and Marcus’s relationship, and the thrilling adventure of the story so much, and I was so sad when the book was over. As soon as I finished it, I immediately flipped back to the beginning and read it a second time, which took at most three days, and I enjoyed it even more now that I knew and loved the characters and their stories. I think I read it a third time soon after that, too.
I just loved it so much. I loved that it was an adventure story set in ancient Roman Britain, I loved the detail and nature imagery, and most of all I loved the characters, especially Marcus. He was probably one of the first characters in a book/movie/media in general that I really felt like I related to: I’m sure other people have very different interpretations of him, but to me he’s always come across as a dreamer and an optimist, who was good to his friends but sometimes impatient and annoyed, very resilient, rather innocent about the world, and also strong and a badass. These were traits that I really related to, or that I wanted to have. I felt like Marcus was a lot like me only more confident, and that kinda inspired me to try to at least act more confident, which actually helped quite a bit.
It was many years until I actually reread The Eagle again after that, though I still thought about it on and off. But eventually I decided to read it again when my sister brought the book on a family camping/road trip over the summer. The first night of the trip, I was so excited for the opportunity to read it again that I read a good chunk of it in our tent instead of sleeping, while the wind roared outside. The atmosphere felt very fitting for reading The Eagle, and I was so happy that I still adored the story and related to Marcus just as much as before. I discovered new things that I relate to about him as well, like his struggle with not knowing what he’s going to do with his life after being injured. I also had even more appreciation for Esca just in general, and I found new things I related to about him as well, especially his loyalty to Marcus. It almost felt like coming home to realize this book still means so much to me after so long, and I was immediately inspired to write fanfic for it to express just how much I love the characters. I even kinda felt inspired to be more confident like I did when I first read it.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk about how much this book means to me tbh! Hopefully this wasn't too weird to read, and hopefully it was enjoyable! :D
I first read Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth when I was twelve or thirteen, and to be honest, the first couple of chapters felt a little slow and boring to me. But I was already getting attached Marcus and his personality and his worldview, so I kept going, and of course it got much more interesting from there. I loved Esca, Cub, Cottia, Esca and Marcus’s relationship, and the thrilling adventure of the story so much, and I was so sad when the book was over. As soon as I finished it, I immediately flipped back to the beginning and read it a second time, which took at most three days, and I enjoyed it even more now that I knew and loved the characters and their stories. I think I read it a third time soon after that, too.
I just loved it so much. I loved that it was an adventure story set in ancient Roman Britain, I loved the detail and nature imagery, and most of all I loved the characters, especially Marcus. He was probably one of the first characters in a book/movie/media in general that I really felt like I related to: I’m sure other people have very different interpretations of him, but to me he’s always come across as a dreamer and an optimist, who was good to his friends but sometimes impatient and annoyed, very resilient, rather innocent about the world, and also strong and a badass. These were traits that I really related to, or that I wanted to have. I felt like Marcus was a lot like me only more confident, and that kinda inspired me to try to at least act more confident, which actually helped quite a bit.
It was many years until I actually reread The Eagle again after that, though I still thought about it on and off. But eventually I decided to read it again when my sister brought the book on a family camping/road trip over the summer. The first night of the trip, I was so excited for the opportunity to read it again that I read a good chunk of it in our tent instead of sleeping, while the wind roared outside. The atmosphere felt very fitting for reading The Eagle, and I was so happy that I still adored the story and related to Marcus just as much as before. I discovered new things that I relate to about him as well, like his struggle with not knowing what he’s going to do with his life after being injured. I also had even more appreciation for Esca just in general, and I found new things I related to about him as well, especially his loyalty to Marcus. It almost felt like coming home to realize this book still means so much to me after so long, and I was immediately inspired to write fanfic for it to express just how much I love the characters. I even kinda felt inspired to be more confident like I did when I first read it.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk about how much this book means to me tbh! Hopefully this wasn't too weird to read, and hopefully it was enjoyable! :D
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I think that the scope for so much fanfic comes with the fact that Esca is such a private person and that all we ever know of him is what he tells Marcus.
I bought the book as an adult to replace my childhood copy and it's so well written that it stands the test of time to be enjoyable even as an adult. I wish I could remember which on of Lindsey Davis' novels is dedicated to Rosemary Sutcliff but she's been an inspiration to a lot of people, and I'm pretty sure out of all her books, it's Eagle of the Ninth that's been the most inspiring.
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May I ask if you're interested in taking part in
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I've only written one fanfic for anything Sutcliff, and that was EotN, so we'll see how it goes!
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Esca is definitely a very private and fascinating character, and I love that so many fic writers explore his POV so much. He's a lovely character to write and read tbh.
And I agree, it just feels sort of timeless, ya know? I'm definitely going to have to get my own copy someday... That's so lovely that she's inspired other writers like that! I'm going to have to check out Lindsey Davis I think, I bet her books are great if she's taken inspiration from Sutcliff!
Thanks so much for the comment and for sharing your thoughts! <3 :D
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May I hope you are considering participating in Sutcliff Swap this year? :)
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And yes, I think most of Sutcliff's characters feel similarly human—flawed, and also good.
Ooh yes, I might do that! :D I've kinda wanted to try it before but haven't had the opportunity! Are the signups on here?
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I have an AO3 account already, & I've actually read The Silver Branch & Outcast too! EOT9 is probably the one I know best tho lol :)