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’.
Pirata
Genres:
AD 25. When Clemestes, captain of a merchant ship, offers Telemachus, a young man surviving on the streets of Piraeus, the chance to join ...Read Review
Barbarians: Rebellion and Resistance to the Roman Empire
Genres:
I went to the kind of school where we learned Roman history via Latin lessons, and I’m afraid that Roman history has ...Read Review
The Exiled
Genres:
The Bay of Naples, August, A.D. 79, at the Roman Imperial summer residence. The Flavians, now under Emperor Titus, have ruled Rome since ...Read Review
Julius Caesar’s Invasion of Britain: Solving a 2,000-Year-Old Mystery
Genres:
Roger Nolan has a new theory about the route taken by Julius Caesar in his invasion of Britain in 54 BC. The received version ...Read Review
Brigantia (Vindolanda)
Genres:
Britannia, AD 100. Flavius Ferox is a centurion charged with keeping the peace on Britannia’s frontier with the barbarian tribes of the North. ...Read Review
The Lost Ten
Genres:
An exciting standalone historical thriller, The Lost Ten is set in 3rd-century Rome and has all the attributes of a top war movie. ...Read Review
In the Shadow of Heroes
Genres:
1st-century AD, Rome. The power-crazed Emperor Nero is determined to get his hands on the fabled Golden Fleece, and his armed guards will ...Read Review
The Scorpion’s Strike (Empire series)
Genres:
AD 186. The Scorpion’s Strike continues the story of Marcus Aquila’s fight for justice for himself and his family. Fresh from their ...Read Review
Commodus (The Damned Emperors)
Genres:
My all-time favourite kind of historical novel is the kind where I learn about a real person I know very little about, and ...Read Review
Triumph in Dust (Twilight of Empire)
Genres:
Triumph in Dust is the sixth and final instalment of Ian Ross’ popular Twilight of Empire series. While not exactly set in the ...Read Review