Felix Appius Julianus is brought to Britain in the wake of the disastrous loss of the Ninth Legion Hispana, to command its replacement, the Sixth Legion Victrix.
Centurion Valerius Silvanus, posted to the doomed Ninth and arriving only in time to learn of its destruction, is instead sent to the Sixth to help integrate the remaining soldiers of the disgraced legion.
Meanwhile, new Emperor Hadrian, successor to Trajan, who extended Rome’s borders to their farthest reach, has ordered Britain’s frontier pulled back to more a defensible line.
A great wall, splitting the island in two, is commissioned.
But the wall cuts across the middle of tribal land and is fiercely resented, and the ghosts, both living and dead, of the destroyed Ninth continue to plague the work, making both men wonder whether there are some things that cannot be kept out.
Hadrian’s Eagles by Damion Hunter is published on 22 October, 2026.
Damion Hunter is the alias of Amanda Cockrell, whose Historia feature about the Hollywood blacklist during the McCarthy era is also published today.
To discover more new historical fiction, look at Historia’s list of over 210 books coming out in 2026.
