num_pages: 464
description: Set in an era of brutal conflict and turmoil, this epic adventure is the first novel to tell the full story of the slave who became a saint, of the man who rose to the challenge of his time and changed the course of history. In the summer of 405AD, Irish raiders attack the western coast of Wales, carving a fiery swathe through the peaceful countryside. Among the survivors who are rounded up and taken back to Ireland is an impulsive sixteen-year-old son of a powerful Roman family. Succat is sold as a slave and put to work tending sheep. Repeated escape attempts lead to ever more brutal and savage beatings, until he comes to the attention of Cormac, a young novice druid. The two strike up an unlikely friendship and, as Succat learns the ways of the Irish people, he is given a new name by the Patrick. With a new name begins Patrick’s new he is married, and returns to his home to claim his inheritance, only to find his father’s estate in ruins. So begins a calamitous journey that will lead him to Tours, see him join the Roman Legion as a soldier, suffer the the horrors of a plague-filled Rome; and thence back to Ireland, where he will embark on a mission for which his name will be remembered throughout history. In the spirit of Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian cycle, Patrick is a gritty and unsentimental portrait of one of the Western world's great icons, featuring an accurate and compelling rendering of the historical period – an era full of brutal conflict, adventure, turmoil, and visionary inspiration.
language: English
title: Patrick: The Slave Who Became a Soldier
titlecomplete: Patrick: The Slave Who Became a Soldier
characters: Saint Patrick
genres: Fiction, Christian, Medieval, Ireland, Historical, Christian Fiction, Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
ratings_count: 2450
publisher: HarperCollins