I have not been so excited by new poetry for a very long time. Dramatic, angry, funny, relevant: am buying another three copies for women I know will find this poetry as exciting as I do.

Extraordinary modern telling of an ancient heroine. Wise, funny, heartbreaking, thrilling and elegant. Jacob has a powerful, dramatic style. Give this book to every young woman you know…every woman you know.

I was drawn with hypnotic intensity into these dramatic and powerful poems. I felt as if I had a ringside seat to Boudica’s unfolding tale, traversing the centuries alongside her, sharing in her scorn, outrage and humour as she encounters the scant evidence of her existence. Despair at her inability to protect her daughters is palpable, rage at the atrocities perpetrated upon her people shrieks from the pages, for me there was also a sense of surprise as she discovers her own bloodlust.
She time travels effortlessly and the images and emotions conjured up by Stephanie’s penetrating words feel as if they have been mined from a seam of unconsciousness, which runs as deeply as the red and black of the “Boudican Destruction Layer.” What an immense triumph Steph.

This is a wonderful creation affording us a stunning insight into the brutal collision of forces that shaped our world. Poems like GIRLS and THIRSTY; the first thrumming with agonising violence; the second, still and silent with threat, demonstrate a poetic and theatrical skill in capturing intense moments of lives experienced beyond our knowledge – an immense achievement. Congratulations!

Heart stirring work , full of power. The poems awaken the voice of the long dead Iceni Queen in such a strong and beautiful way and the themes all resonate today. Very moving.