Novels set in Ancient Rome

caleb · **Joined:** Mon Apr 21, 2003 9:24 am **Posts:** 9279

I'm trying to find as many novels set in Ancient Rome as I can. So far I have these:

John Maddox Roberts: SPQR series, Hannibal's Children, The Seven Hills
Robert Graves: I Claudius, Claudius the God
Rosemary Sutcliffe: Roman Britain Trilogy
Marguerite Yourcenar: Memoirs of Hadrian
Cardinal Wiseman: Fabiola

Anybody care to add to this list?

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 19648

caleb wrote:

I'm trying to find as many novels set in Ancient Rome as I can. So far I have these:

John Maddox Roberts: SPQR series, Hannibal's Children, The Seven Hills
Robert Graves: I Claudius, Claudius the God
Rosemary Sutcliffe: Roman Britain Trilogy
Marguerite Yourcenar: Memoirs of Hadrian
Cardinal Wiseman: Fabiola

Anybody care to add to this list?

Try the following authors:

Steven Saylor
Lindsey Davis
Ron Burns
Wallace Nichols

Like Roberts, these are mysteries set in ancient Rome.

Colleen McCulloch: Masters of Rome series.

There a couple of others, similar, that I can't recall. And there's some written as alternate history, such as the Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric Flint, or the Procurator series by Kirk Mitchell. Plus more that escape me. But are likely in boxes somewhere around here.

Long as I mentioned alternate history, LEST DARKNESS FALL/de Camp, is set in 6th century Rome.

GKC

Mrs. Timmy · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:30 am

How has no one yet mentioned Gen. Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur? :shock:

Robert Harris' Pompeii and Imperium are also excellent. :fyi:

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 19648

ghall512 wrote:

How has no one yet mentioned Gen. Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur? :shock:

Robert Harris' Pompeii and Imperium are also excellent. :fyi:

I expected someone to mention Wallace. I was trying to search my memory. And Harris is one that I was searching for. I think I have one of his in the box of books to be used as gifts for my former Latin teacher daughter, in the attic.

GKC

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 19648

Thomas Harlan's OATH OF EMPIRE series just came up.

More alternate history. Perhaps not the item desired.

GKC

caleb · **Joined:** Mon Apr 21, 2003 9:24 am **Posts:** 9279

Thanks for the additions.

I also found these, all three about Spartacus:

Howard Fast: Spartacus
Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Spartacus
Arthur Koestler: The Gladiators

And then,

Margaret George: The Memoirs of Cleopatra
Henryk Sienkiewicz: Quo Vadis

caleb · **Joined:** Mon Apr 21, 2003 9:24 am **Posts:** 9279

Quote:

I expected someone to mention Wallace.

Which is worse? Lew Wallace's Ben Hur or Cardinal Wiseman's Fabiola? Tough call, but I'd say Wiseman's book is more terrible.

Advocatus Diaboli · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:32 am

Also Emperor-series by Conn Iggulden:
-The Gates of Rome
-The Death of Kings
-The Field of Swords
-The Gods of War
-The Blood of Gods

caleb · **Joined:** Mon Apr 21, 2003 9:24 am **Posts:** 9279

Besides Harris, are there any other recommendations? Personally, I like Roberts's SPQR series. I like Margaret George and can tolerate Sutcliffe. I could not finish Yourcenar. I dislike Wiseman's Fabiola and feel that Ben Hur could use some editing. I haven't read the books mentioned by others.

Also, besides Shakespeare's works, does anyone know of plays set in ancient Rome? Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra is the only one I can think of.

Novels set in Ancient Rome

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