The Eagle and The Dove

Titus Flavius Vespasianus was a Roman emperor who reigned from 69 to 79 AD. The fourth and last in the ‘Year of the 4 Emperors’, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years.

The empire was starting to enjoy 10 years of peace since Nero and, during this period, Rome had ambition. One of those ambitions was to return to the land of druids and blue painted warriors after years of complete oblivion. Britain was a ripe fruit ready to be easily harvested. Or was it?

Octavius Andreasius Salvinius, Praefectus Castrorum and third in command of Legion XX Valeria Victrix, embarked on an epic journey all around the Roman Empire, hoping to obtain his last victory laurels before leaving the army after more than 20 years of service fighting the enemies of Rome.

He recalls past disasters, overcoming appalling weather conditions, defeating feared tribes coming from the hills of Caledonia, avoiding falling into the trap of imperial politics, had been led by the most prestigious Roman generals whose names became legendary, who belong to history, and finally found unexpectedly love at the tender age of 50 years old.

“By Endurance, we conquer”

The motto of the Shackleton family summarises well the different challenges that life leaves in the path of Oliver Whitfield. After having spent a happy youth in Switzerland, he embraced a successful career in the private sector in international finance. At 33, providence gave him the occasion to move to the UK. It was during this period that his interest in writing was born. He returned to the continent and worked hard to improve his style and skills in English writing. A job opportunity gave him the initiative to return to the land of William Shakespeare and increase his time spent writing during the pandemic, which started as a simple text but became a novel of great antique adventure.