The Sacred Bough

About the Book

In the late 4th century A.D., as the power of the Roman Empire is declining, the Emperor Valentinian 1 has a strong attachment to Christianity, a faith with which he hopes to finally replace all pagan religions and thus strengthen his regime. As a result of his belief he has acquired a number of relics which are sacred to Christianity. Towards the end of his reign he despatches a young tribune, Marcus, on a dangerous mission to cross over the wall of Hadrian in the province of Britannia and penetrate deep into the barbarian lands of Caledonia in search of what is believed to be one of the most sacred relics of all. In a small Northern village, called Forgalten, there is rumoured to be a tree grown from a cutting of the thorn crown which Christ wore at his crucifixion. This village has long been rumoured to be the birthplace of Pontius Pilate and also a place later visited by Joseph of Arimethea who carried with him the branch of thorn which he planted there. Marcus is accompanied into Caledonia by a retired centurion, a captive Nordic princess, a renegade Roman and an itinerant wine seller. Faced by many dangers from the terrain, both on land and sea, and constant attacks by the local inhabitants, the mission proves a task almost beyond their strength.

About the Author

Michael Gordon is a retired history teacher who has worked for four decades in schools and Colleges both in the U.K. and Europe. For many years he was Head Teacher of an International school and later Head of Dept. in a Sixth Form College. He has a degree from the University of Durham and a teaching qualification from the University of Hull. He has published one other novel, a Roman romance, entitled the Sacred Bough. His childhood he spent in Northumberland with his grandmother with whom he lived during the Second World war. She was a music teacher and his mother an accomplished professional violinist while his grandfather was a noted portrait painter in London. He has travelled extensively in Europe and spent time in most countries on the Continent as well as driving to Greece and the edge of the Sahara in Morocco in the 1970's. Many visits have also been made in his walking days to the Lake District. Now a more leisurely approach is made to the hills of the North West of Scotland where he and his wife spend several weeks each year. He has a great love of Classical music, plays the piano somewhat indifferently,and has a large collection of CD's and Opera DVD's. Over the years of his teaching career he sketched out ideas for several novels and short stories but has only now the time to work on these.