THE second novel in a trilogy based on the Roman invasion of Britannia is to be launched in Abergavenny on Saturday 21 September by local author Douglas McArthur.

“The first book, ‘The Red Mountain’ which started in Abergavenny exceeded my expectations,” said author Doug, “particularly as the vast majority of sales were through Cablenews in Frogmore Street which has stocked the book throughout.

“The second book ‘REBELLION, End of the Beginning’ takes the story on from the defeat of the Celtic army in mid-Wales and the pursuit of Caratacus, to Anglesey and then into the Pennines where the would-be king of Britannia meets his destiny.”

The history of the Romans in Britain is ill-defined. The Celts did not leave a written record of their history so we are reliant on one or two Roman chroniclers of the time, who were more than keen to show Rome in a good light. 

“The details are tantalisingly sparse,” says Doug. “I followed the time-line as we knew it, and used the events and battles which were recorded and wove them into the story. I surprised myself well into Red Mountain when Caratacus, usually accepted as a hero of the fight against Rome seemed to become a bit of a villain. This was carried on into Rebellion but was simply the way that the book panned out.

“It’s one of the fascinating things about writing a novel based on a collection of historical facts. For instance, our local tribe, the Silures, did successfully ambush a column of a Roman legion in the eastern valleys, but no-one could say for sure which one it was. So I wrote it as the Hafodrynys Valley, better known perhaps for its place in the Industrial Revolution but every time I drive through it, I am visualising likely ambush points.”

Douglas McArthur and his family, Lu, and children Helen and Drew came to Abergavenny in 1981. Doug was posted to The Barracks, Brecon to look after the army’s public relations in Wales. Before that he was editor of Soldier News, a fortnightly newspaper for the army.

Lu had worked in a wine bar in Camberley prior to the move and wanted to own her own. The couple eventually decided that Abergavenny was just the spot, it didn’t have a wine bar, in fact there were almost no places to eat in town after 7.00, other than Chinese and Indian.

They bought a derelict house in the lower Market Street car park, behind the Town Hall (now Kongs) and from day one quickly became THE place to go, despite opposition from the town’s licensed trade.

After six years of hard work, Doug was posted to RAF Strike Command in High Wycombe, which proved to be a cross-roads. Strike was seen as a major promotion but it meant living apart five nights a week, which proved difficult leaving his wife to run the bar and bring up two children. 

Sell the bar and move to England, or resign from MOD and work full-time in Abergavenny? 

No contest said the family and they have been here ever since. Not quite accurate, as soon as school was over, both children left for Bristol, Helen eventually moving to Spain and Drew travelled the world honing his sub-aqua skills and now a safety diver and photographer in an underwater film studio in Belgium. But Abergavenny is still home.

A small print business, Kopykatz was started and run for several years, eventually closing.

On resignation, Doug was asked to start a newspaper for the Territorial forces in Wales which he gladly accepted. There was only one snag. He had to join the TA. This involved, at the age of 36 completing an officer entry course and eventually passing out of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

“I think I not only dug up most of Sennybridge training area at that time but then filled it in again. I was not very good at competing against 20 year olds, but relied on age and cunning to fend off youth and speed. I just scraped through with a pass but as my company commander said, my one pip was no bigger or smaller than anyone else’s, so I was now commissioned into The Royal Regiment of Wales.”

Then followed two short service Regular commissions, duty in Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Belize and Cyprus.

“Now I seem to be a writer,” he mused. “I started writing several books on different subjects, but nothing came to anything until I started on the Roman series starting in south Wales. I think my interest started with Castle Meadows, and how important it has been to the town as a flood plain. The path of the river has changed quite dramatically since the Roman era, but I could quite easily imagine the Legion and busy traders camped on the meadows, living and working. It’s a great asset to the town and thank goodness it floods regularly enough to deter anyone thinking it should be developed.”

With the launch of ‘Rebellion’ due on September 21, Doug is already at the keyboard,  fleshing out the story for the third book which carries on with the conflict between Rome and the Celts of Britannia. We know the final outcome of that conflict but the finer points are anyone’s guess and that’s really the point.