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By: Michael Codner

George and the Briton

Pages: 168 Ratings: 5.0
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Mark is a young British sailor who is deployed to Antioch in Syria as part of a delegation to brief the Emperor Diocletian on the liberation of Britain from a usurper. By coincidence, he meets the Tribune Constantine who introduces him to a fellow Roman Army officer, George. Mark can write in Latin so George appoints him as his clerk.


Mark is tasked to keep an account of the operations of the ‘special forces’ unit that George commands on the front line of the Eastern Roman Empire. He also keeps his own private diary and is required to provide Constantine, who is a member of Diocletian’s personal staff, with periodic accounts of operations.


As George achieves some extraordinary results and Diocletian manages to stabilise the Roman Empire following a generation of chaos and uncertainty, a new problem arises. Diocletian’s deputy, Caesar Galerius, starts seeing Christianity as a subversive religion. This becomes a challenge for George, his family, and some members of his unit.


This is the tale of Constantine and George, told through the eyes of a young soldier’s diary.

Michael Codner was born in Singapore, the son of a British Army gunner. He spent his early life there and in Germany and Hong Kong. He is a senior associate fellow for military history at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Formerly, he served in the Royal Navy as a seaman officer. He was also a professor in strategy and operations at the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. His degrees are in philosophy and psychology (Brasenose College, Oxford). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Customer Reviews
5.0
2 reviews
2 reviews
  • Christopher Hare

    An extraordinary historical novel which is an easy read as the diary of a young British sailor. It is the story of St George as a soldier in the Roman Army set in accurate history of the period 297 to 305 AD. It begins in Antioch, Syria, and ends in Glastonbury, England.

  • Joe

    I think the book was delightful, it is a worthy tale recounted well and what a set of topics to tackle in a first novel.

    It made me realise that I knew very little about England's patron saint and for that matter the others of the various regions of the British Isles.

    I was not sure what age group you aimed it at but gathered from the acknowledgements that it was for those much younger than myself. Thus in a way, having no one in that age group to invite to read it, it is difficult to perhaps review it objectively, but I will try to revert to a younger age, which some may say I never grew out of!

    I found it easy to read and the slightly staccato feel with short sentences, will, I am sure, hold the younger read.

    The way you explored the issue of cultural and religious diversity, and the need for tolerance and exclusivity, is so apt today, and needed in my opinion. Harking back over previous misdeeds as we would see them today, but not at the time, I think is unhelpful, assuming we have learn the lessons of course and don't repeat the sins. Equally imposing our culture on others is not necessarily right either but having a structure we can all agree to follow is important.

    Sexuality does not prevent you working well in a team, another good point.

    False news, or rumours that become fact through repetition, is a curse of our times. Modern technology does not help and if one is to believe it, more often than not those making comments have not bothered to read whatever they are railing against. They also use it to stoke up discord and fragment societies, again covered by you

    So well done and I hope you enjoyed writing it. Are there any others to come; St Andrew, Patrick or David?

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