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’.
Mask of Romulus
Genres:
A combination of dual biography, travelogue, and philosophical exploration, this novel constructs a fascinating historical tapestry through two central figures: Augustus Caesar, formerly ...Read Review
Matricide: A Valerius Mystery
Genres:
This third book in the Valerius mystery series is focused on a teenager’s murder in AD 59 Baiae during the reign of the ...Read Review
Lioness
Genres:
In approximately 60 CE, a nine-year-old Brigantia princess named Morgan joins Boudicca’s army and survives their final battle. In the following years, she ...Read Review
Shadows on Colonia (The Colonia Crimes Vol. 1)
Genres:
Pandemonium, Germanic style, is unfolding in Colonia, the largest Roman city north of the Alps in 87 CE. Colonia (modern day Cologne, Germany) is ...Read Review
The Sisterhood (Lady Emily Mysteries, 19)
Genres:
The Sisterhood is Alexander’s nineteenth in her Lady Emily mystery series. Her first book, published in 2005, centers on the young and blithe ...Read Review
The Gospel of Salome
Genres:
This is a thought-provoking alternative origin story of Yeshua (Jesus). The majority of this book spans six days during riots against the Jews ...Read Review
Damnatio Memoriae (Nero and Sporus)
Genres:
Originally two books, Damnatio Memoriae is the last of a trilogy, first written for Amazon Vella, featuring the puer delicatus, Sporus, who relates ...Read Review
Vesuvius
Genres:
Vesuvius, Cass Biehn’s debut LGBTQ YA novel, starts with the theft of the helmet of Mercury—a theft that will haunt the ...Read Review
There Will Be Bodies (Flavia Albia)
Genres:
90 AD. In the latest in her Flavia Albia series, Lindsey Davis takes us to the Bay of Naples some ten years after Vesuvius. ...Read Review
Boudicca’s Daughter
Genres:
Britain, AD 60: History has not preserved the names of Boudicca’s two daughters, gang-raped by Roman soldiers and their mother flogged (as recorded ...Read Review
