Gladiatrix

Gladiatrix is the final volume in Hendry’s ‘Victoria/Victrix’ trilogy charting the travails of a young Iceni woman, captured fighting for Boudicca in the Londinium of 60 AD. Using all her skills – strength, bravery, wiliness, charm, loyalty – she is now a free woman, running a display team of crack Amazon gladiators, and, currently at least, in the Emperor Nero’s favour. Her final mission is to carry out Boudicca’s dying wish and destroy Rome.

Hendry paints a vivid picture of the terrible excesses of Nero’s Rome in its final days, and of the struggle through the ‘Year of the Four Emperors’ to come up with an acceptable successor to him in Vespasian. Through the imaginary character of Victoria and her many allies, we gain some impression of the complicated morality of a ruthless and at the same time cultured society, and of the mixed feelings of the gladiator, forced to kill while not wishing to become a callous, casual killer. Hendry’s choice of a female protagonist gives her the opportunity to explore these emotions from a less conventional point of view. Victoria’s ambition and determination are contrasted with her compassion for others as she weaves her own complex network of friends.

A gripping read, packed with information and ideas; confusing at times with its huge cast of characters putting in only brief appearances, but definitely worth the effort.