Vita and the Gladiator

Here’s another story of the Roman Empire that will really help young readers begin to understand this important part of world history.  Set in London during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, it is the story of Vita who on the day of her twelfth birthday has slipped out disguised as a slave, to see a play but on her return finds her father, a respected Roman magistrate, brutally murdered and her mother and brother missing.  In her disguise as a slave, she finds herself in a cell in the gladiators’ arena with a wolf and a British woman, Brea.  Both Brea and Vita are seeking retribution for the killing of their fathers, and gradually they begin to trust each other and work together to find the culprit.

Life in Roman Britain was violent and the story does not shy away from this, from the killing of Vita’s father, to the combat between the gladiators, and the slaughter of the bull, and other beasts.  Vita’s life as a slave is not easy either and she is grieving for her father, worried about her mother and brother and hiding the secret of her birth from Brea.  Ally Sherrick has captured well the hierarchy of Roman society, but also the history of the tribes in Britain at that time, with Brea being revealed as a direct descendant of Boudicca, so there is much for the reader to absorb.  It is an exciting story, full of the flavour and smells of Roman Britain, but also the customs and religion of both the Roman citizens and the tribes.

There are extensive notes at the end for readers to follow up and it is good to see Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth given prominence as further reading.