Book Review: Boudicca’s Daughter by Elodie Harper

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Boudicca’s Daughter by Elodie Harper

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Historical Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Union Square Co. (September 2, 2025)

Length: 438 pages

Author Information: Website

I became a huge fan of Elodie Harper after her Wolf Den trilogy, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard about Boudicca’s Daughter. While Boudicca herself was a legendary warrior queen, not nearly as much attention has been paid to her children. That leaves a lot of space for imagination, and this novel seeks to tell the saga of the Iceni’s famous rebellion against Rome and its aftermath through not only the eyes of Boudicca (called Catia here), but her daughter Solina’s as well.

Fans of Harper’s historical fiction will find themselves back in comfortable territory as the book opens with an introduction to Catia—wife to a powerful druid, and mother to two independent, strong-willed young women. The early chapters portray her as a natural leader and a formidable fighter, unwilling to bow to Roman oppression. While her open revolt ultimately failed and led to her death, her fierce spirit and defiance continued living on in the heart of her youngest daughter, Solina.

This sets up the next part of the story, which shifts predominantly to Solina’s perspective, and this is where creative magic starts happening. While the details surrounding her mother’s uprising is a matter of record, at least in outline—there’s only so much room for reinterpretation of those events—what became of Solina is a space ripe for speculation. Taken captive by the Roman general Paulinus and later whisked away to the heart of the empire itself, our protagonist soon faces the ultimate test of learning just how far she is willing to go to survive. Forced together with the man who crushed her people and destroyed her way of life, she finds herself caught between hostility and a reluctant attraction to his complicated nature. As their relationship grows, Solina must reconcile her proud past with the brutal reality of her future.

All this results in a novel that is as much about legacy as it is about survival. Solina is a fascinating mix of strength and vulnerability—someone who is painfully naïve at times, and who certainly makes her fair share of mistakes. But she is also someone who never gives up. Growing up in the shadow of her mother’s legend while also facing the cruelty of Rome, it’s easy to forgive her misguidedness and accept that she will make some questionable choices along the way. Solina’s journey is really one of finding herself, showing how sometimes staying alive just means putting one foot in front of the other, even when emotions are running high.

If you’ve read The Wolf Den, the writing style and the themes here will also feel familiar. Harper’s prose is vivid, and she has a knack for making environments come alive on the page. That said, nothing is ever perfect. The pacing is a little wobbly in places, especially in the early sections. For such a famous historical figure, Boudicca and her rebellion only got what felt like perfunctory treatment. Events were glossed over in broad, dry strokes. Almost like the story was eager to get Catia’s part over with, so that it can move on to Solina’s instead. Indeed, the latter’s chapters feel a lot more fleshed out, as in far richer in detail and emotionally engaging. Still, I get it—the novel is called Boudicca’s Daughter, after all. I only wish its sections felt more even in terms of balance.

In the end though, Elodie Harper’s storytelling is irresistible. The women in history that she features are all forces to be reckoned with—but they are also very flawed and very human. While Boudicca’s Daughter might not have reached the heights of the Wolf Den trilogy, it still packed a punch that more than made up for its stumbles. If you enjoy richly drawn characters in deeply immersive historical fiction, this will prove a worthwhile read. I look forward to more of the author’s work to see how she will next reimagine the past.