Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a frequent subject of Victorian historical fiction and also popular throughout the 20th century. It was similarly popular in movies, though it fell out of fashion for a couple of decades until the game-changing success of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, released in 2000. Since then the floodgates of fictional Rome have been torn open.
But Rome means different things to different people. For some it is a military story of imperialism and war in foreign lands. For others it is the victim-tale of the conquered (especially if the conquered happen to be British or Judaic). For others it is broadly cultural: how could people be so similar to us and so different? There is a broad strand of historicals that touch on the New Testament stories, including many new ‘gospels’ and a wealth of faith stories, as well as some militantly anti-Christian novels. There are Roman detective novels, military historicals, sea stories, epics, and literary novels.
Biographical novels are perhaps the richest vein – for literature and ‘box office’.
Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman World
Genres:
Romulus founded Rome in 753 BCE by opening the gates to enslaved men and making them free citizens. Then on, the story of Rome ...Read Review
A Land Aflame
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The Second Punic War during the Spanish Campaign of 215-206 BCE. Rome has triumphed over Carthage in Italy and Sicily, but in Spain… ...Read Review
Peacock
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Late-Roman Spain. Teen sex slave Ganymede flees his burnt-out brothel home only to be sold on to Syrianus, governor of the Empire’s ...Read Review
The Eve of War
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This first book of three deals with Rome’s Social War, that is, the war against the Socii, or Italian allies (91-87 BCE). ...Read Review
The Roman Empire
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Jacob F. Field has written several books of popular history, engaging works that manage to appeal both to novices and history enthusiasts alike. ...Read Review
Warlord of Britannia
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Rome, AD 61. Nero is emperor. Caius Placonius Felicitas, historian and scribe, has accepted a commission from Caratacus, one-time king of the Catuvellauni, now ...Read Review
The Impossible Gladiator
Genres:
AdventureChildren/Young AdultTime-slip
In this third book in the Time Keys series Sim, Jeopardy and Nelson are holidaying in Rome when world-famous illusionist Kinetic vanishes during ...Read Review
Murder in Purple and Gold
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Floralia (April) 90 CE. Roman lady detective Flavia Albia stumbles upon a corpse near the Circus Maximus and enters the glamorous and competitive world ...Read Review
The Farewell of the Gods: A Novel of the Late Roman Empire (Embers of Empire)
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The Farewell of the Gods is the final volume in the 4th-century Roman Empire series Embers of Empire, featuring Marcus Numidianus, now Intelligence ...Read Review
Inferno (The Nero Trilogy)
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The final chapter of Iggulden’s Nero trilogy provides a fittingly poignant conclusion to the story of one of Rome’s most hated ...Read Review
