Ancient ROME in fiction.
Explore captivating tales of Ancient Rome in fiction with our curated list of ancient books. Dive into historical novels, epic adventures, and timeless classics set in the glory of Rome.
Book
The Last Days of Pompeii
by Edward Bulwer Lytton
This is the classic Victorian tale of the last days of Pompeii, the doomed city that lay at the feet of Mount Vesuvius. From poets to flower-girls, gladiators to Roman tribunes, here is a plausible story of their lives, their loves, and the tragic fate that awaited them.
Book
Marius the Epicurean
by Walter Pater
About the Book Historical Fiction books set their characters and plot at some time in the past, providing adequate background on the customes and mores of that time to make it seem believable to the reader, whilst not necessarily remaining true to actual historical events in that setting. This genre became quite popular in Europe and North America during the 19th century. Examples include: A Plot and a Peerage, Uncle Moses, Vathek; An Arabian Tale, The Naulahka: A Story of West and East, The Bindweed: A Romantic Novel Concerning the Late Queen of Servia, and Hawk's Nest, or the last of the Cahoonshees. About us Trieste Publishing's aim is to provide readers with the highest quality reproductions of fiction and non-fiction literature that has stood the test of time. Our titles are produced from scans of the original books and as a result may sometimes have imperfections. To ensure a high-quality product we have: thoroughly reviewed every page of all the books in the catalog repaired some of the text in some cases, and rejected titles that are not of the highest quality. You can look up "Trieste Publishing" in categories that interest you to find other titles in our large collection. Come home to the books that made a difference!
Book
Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
A bestseller since 1880... The classic saga of the Roman Empire From a thrilling sea battle to its famous chariot race to the agony of the Crucifixion, this is the epic tale of a prince who became a slave and by a twist of fate and his own skill-won a chance at freedom.
Book
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Translated by Stanley F Conrad. Set around the dawn of Christianity with amazing historical accuracy Quo Vadis? won Sienkiewicz the Nobel Prize. Written nearly a century ago and translated into over 40 languages, Quo Vadis, has been the greatest best-selling novel in the history of literature. Now in a sparkling new translation which restores the original glory and splendour of this masterpiece, W S Kuniczak, the most acclaimed translator of Sienkiewicz in this century, combines his special knowledge of Sienkiewicz's fiction with his own considerable talents as a novelist. An epic saga of love, courage and devotion in Nero's time, Quo Vadis portrays the degenerate days leading to the fall of the Roman Empire and the glory and the agony of early Christianity.
Book
Count Belisarius
by Robert Graves
The sixth century was not a peaceful time for the Roman empire. Invaders threatened on all fronties, but they grew to respect and fear the name of Belisarius, the Emperor Justinian's greatest general. With this book Robert Graves again demonstrates his command of a vast historical subject, creating a startling and vivid picture of a decadent era.
Book
The Ides of March
by Thornton Wilder
Drawing on such unique sources as Thornton Wilder's unpublished letters, journals, and selections from the extensive annotations Wilder made years later in the margins of the book, Tappan Wilder's Afterword adds a special dimension to the reissue of this internationally acclaimed novel. The Ides of March, first published in 1948, is a brilliant epistolary novel set in Julius Caesar's Rome. Thornton Wilder called it "a fantasia on certain events and persons of the last days of the Roman republic." Through vividly imagined letters and documents, Wilder brings to life a dramatic period of world history and one of history's most magnetic, elusive personalities. In this inventive narrative, the Caesar of history becomes Caesar the human being. Wilder also resurrects the controversial figures surrounding Caesar -- Cleopatra, Catullus, Cicero, and others. All Rome comes crowding through these pages -- the Rome of villas and slums, beautiful women and brawling youths, spies and assassins.
Book
The Robe
by Lloyd Cassel Douglas
Christ's robe has a strange effect on the pagan soldier who wins it in a dice game after the Crucifixion.
Book
Spartacus
by Howard Fast
"Spartacus" is a fictionalization of a slave revolt in Rome in 71 BC, well known today because of the 1960 film version. It was originally published by Fast after being turned down by every mainstream publisher of the day. This is a reprinting of the title with a special introduction by the author.
Book
Winter Quarters
by Alfred Duggan
Camul and Acco were both Gauls of the Pyrenees living at the time of Julius Caesar, both young and proud of their noble descent; Acco, also an Ovate training to be a Druid. In avenging the girl he loved Acco brought upon himself the curse of the Goddess; and in consequence both men left home to join the Roman army. The story tells of their adventures and travels which took them to Rome and across the greater part of the Empire as far as its Eastern rim. Duggan includes a brilliant account of the fate of Marcus Crassus's expedition of seven Roman legions and Gallic cavalry which set out to plunder Seleucia and met with the Parthian horse-bowmen under their leader the Surenas. 'WINTER QUARTERS covers a remarkable amount of ground, and covers it convincingly...Mr Duggan throws the strengths and weaknesses of the era into sharp relief...damnably skilful' Sunday Times
Book
Memoirs of Hadrian
by Marguerite Yourcenar
Both an exploration of character and a reflection on the meaning of history, Memoirs of Hadrian has received international acclaim since its first publication in France in 1951. In it, Marguerite Yourcenar reimagines the Emperor Hadrian's arduous boyhood, his triumphs and reversals, and finally, as emperor, his gradual reordering of a war-torn world, writing with the imaginative insight of a great writer of the twentieth century while crafting a prose style as elegant and precise as those of the Latin stylists of Hadrian's own era.
Book
Julian
by Gore Vidal
The remarkable bestseller about the fourth-century Roman emperor who famously tried to halt the spread of Christianity, Julian is widely regarded as one of Gore Vidal’s finest historical novels. Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.
Book
Augustus: A Novel
by John Williams
A brilliant and beautifully written novel in the tradition of Robert Graves' I, Claudius," "Augustus is a sweeping narrative that brings vividly to life a compelling cast of historical figures through their letters, dispatches, and memoirs. A mere eighteen years of age when his uncle, Julius Caesar, is murdered, Octavius Caesar prematurely inherits rule of the Roman Republic. Surrounded by men who are jockeying for power-Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Mark Antony-young Octavius must work against the powerful Roman political machinations to claim his destiny as first Roman emperor. Sprung from meticulous research and the pen of a true poet, "Augustus" tells the story of one man's dream to liberate a corrupt Rome from the fancy of the capriciously crooked and the wildly wealthy.
Book
Augustus
by Allan Massie
Blending history and fiction, the author presents the memoirs of Emperor Augustus and reveals a complex leader capable of great cruelty and deceit, but also possessing forbearance and humanity
Book
The First Man in Rome
by Colleen McCullough
On New Year's Day of 110 B.C., two men whom "Fortune" favors stand with a vision and courage that will force change upon the Roman Empire.
Book
All Roads Lead to Murder
by Albert A. Bell (Jr.)
First-century Smyrna comes alive as the scene of a horrific murder. Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Luke, travelers in a caravan bound for Rome, become investigators when no Roman magistrates are available. Suspects abound: gamblers, arcane priestesses and Christians. What is the secret of one of the victims own slaves, a beautiful blond, and the German giant shadowing her?
Book
Ovid
by David Wishart
Ovid was banished by the Emperor Augustus and died in exile ten years late. No one known why he was banished. Years after Ovid's death Marcus Corvinus, grandson of the poet's patron, tries to arrange the return of his ashes to Rome for burial. But official permission is refused; and Corvinus makes the dangerous mistake of asking why the Emperor will not make space in Italy for Ovid's bones.
Book
Roma
by Steven Saylor
Critically acclaimed historical novelist Saylor tells the epic saga of the ancient city of Rome, from its mythic beginnings to its emergence as the center of the most powerful empire in the ancient world.
Book
Empire
by Steven Saylor
“May Steven Saylor’s Roman empire never fall. A modern master of historical fiction, Saylor convincingly transports us into the ancient world...enthralling!” —USA Today on Roma Continuing the saga begun in his New York Times bestselling novel Roma, Steven Saylor charts the destinies of the aristocratic Pinarius family, from the reign of Augustus to height of Rome’s empire. The Pinarii, generation after generation, are witness to greatest empire in the ancient world and of the emperors that ruled it—from the machinations of Tiberius and the madness of Caligula, to the decadence of Nero and the golden age of Trajan and Hadrian and more. Empire is filled with the dramatic, defining moments of the age, including the Great Fire, the persecution of the Christians, and the astounding opening games of the Colosseum. But at the novel’s heart are the choices and temptations faced by each generation of the Pinarii. Steven Saylor once again brings the ancient world to vivid life in a novel that tells the story of a city and a people that has endured in the world’s imagination like no other.