Some Great Greek Roman and Medieval Fiction
Explore the best Greek, Roman, and Medieval fiction books! Dive into epic tales of ancient heroes, legendary battles, and timeless love stories in this curated list of historical novels.
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I, Claudius
by Robert Graves
Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. A masterpiece.
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Claudius the God
by Robert Graves
A modern classic of historical fiction written in the form of Claudius's autobiography. Claudius the God is the second part of Robert Graves's two-part account of the life of Tiberius Claudius, "the cripple, the stammerer, the fool of the family" who became Emperor of Rome in spite of himself in 41 A.D. With the same crystalline brilliance that characterizes its classic antecedent, Claudius the God evokes the vitality, splendor, and decadence of Imperial Rome at the beginning of its decline. It is not only a superb re-creation of a colorful moment in history but, through the eyes of the bemused and wry emperor, a compelling and ironic account of human nature as well.
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Gates of Fire
by Steven Pressfield
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life.”—Pat Conroy At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army. Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history—one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale. . . .
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Tides of War
by Steven Pressfield
Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens’ favorite son and the city’s greatest general. A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory. But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies. For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides — and ended up trusted by neither. Narrated from death row by Alcibiades’ bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation.
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The Ten Thousand
by Michael Curtis Ford
In Ancient Greece, an army of mercenaries, camp followers, dreamers, and glory seekers sets off to help a rebellious foreign general. In the months that follow, these men--trained and hardened in 30 years of war in Greece--engage in pitched battles, witness untold horrors, and begin Xenophon's march of the Ten Thousand across the desert, over rivers, and into the jaws of hell itself. Martin's Press.
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The Sword of Attila
by Michael Curtis Ford
Only one man has the power and courage to preserve Rome from utter destruction-but to save the Empire, he must first overcome the Sword of Attila. In an epic campaign that historians have called the most crucial in history, two great warriors match strength and tactics in a colossal struggle for the fate of the known world. Ultimate authority in the fragile Western Empire rests on the shoulders of one man. Adhering to the ancient code of honor on which Rome was founded, he wages a single-minded struggle against barbarian invasions and internal decadence to prevent a catastrophic reign of terror. Respected and feared by friends and enemies alike, he is Count Flavius Aetius, Supreme General of the Legions-better known to history as the Last of the Romans. Facing him is a foe who has led his Asian hordes on a rampage of conquest and terror, from the barren steppes of the north to the very sands of Persia, ruthlessly destroying vast swaths of civilization. Now he and his army of fierce horsemen have penetrated deep into Europe and are poised to strike at the heart of the empire, the city of Rome itself. The entire world shudders at mention of this man's name-Attila the Hun. Horrified victims call him the Scourge of God. On a sweltering June day in A.D. 451, the fates of these two titans of antiquity collide in a conflict of such massive carnage and heroism as to dwarf nearly every other single battle in history. Though little known today, this monumental contest on a remote plain in Gaul determined the fate of Europe-and the very course of civilization. In The Sword of Attila, Michael Curtis Ford once again demonstrates his mastery as a chronicler of battle, honor, and ancient worlds.
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Emperor
by Conn Iggulden
This critically acclaimed novel takes the reader on a breathtaking journey from the grandeur of Rome to the savagery of its most far-flung provinces, as one of history's greatest narratives unfolds.
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Emperor
by Conn Iggulden
After being captured and ransomed by pirates and left to seek revenge on foreign soil, Julius Caesar is reunited with his lifelong friend, Marcus Brutus, to protect the city of Rome from an uprising led by rebel slave Spartacus.
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Emperor
by Conn Iggulden
Follows the exploits of Julius Caesar on the fields of battle as he leads Rome's legions on a trail of conquest that takes them beyond the city, victories that lead to unrest at home as his political adversaries rise to power in his absence.
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Imperial Governor
by George Shipway
LondiniumÂżs burning. . .This does for the Roman governor, Suetonius Paulinus, what I, CLAUDIUS did for the stuttering Emperor whose armies invaded Britain in AD43: an obscure historic figure is suddenly centre-stage. And he has a terrific story to tell. Sent to Britain to conquer the gold mines in Wales, he faces the fury of the tribes united by Queen Boudicca in opposition to the corrupt officials entrenched in NeroÂżs favour. Somehow, Paulinus must seize the gold and defeat the rebellion without earning the enmity of an increasingly unstable Emperor. Packed with fascinating detail of life in Roman Britain Âż and in the ranks of the Legions in particular Âż this is first-class historical fiction in the tradition of John Masters or Alfred Duggan. 'Engrossing, exciting and lit by a kind of imaginative realism which makes characters, supposed to have been dead two thousand years, vivid and aliveÂżI am reminded of Alfred Duggan' - John Masters
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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.
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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.
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Patrick
by Stephen R. Lawhead
Slave, soldier, lover, hero, saint,—his life mirrored the cataclysmic world into which he was born. His memory will outlast the ages. Born of a noble Welsh family, he is violently torn from his home by Irish raiders at age sixteen and sold as a slave to a brutal wilderness king. Rescued by the king's druids from almost certain death, he learns the arts of healing and song, and the mystical ways of a secretive order whose teachings tantalize with hints at a deeper wisdom. Yet young Succat Morgannwg cannot rest until he sheds the strangling yoke of slavery and returns to his homeland across the sea. He pursues his dream of freedom through horrific war and shattering tragedy—through great love and greater loss—from a dying, decimated Wales to the bloody battlefields of Gaul to the fading majesty of Rome. And in the twilight of a once-supreme empire, he is transformed yet again by divine hand and a passionate vision of "truth against the world," accepting the name that will one day become legend . . . Patricius!
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The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read #1 New York Times Bestseller Oprah's Book Club Selection The “monumental masterpiece” (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career. Look out for the prequel, The Evening and the Morning, coming from Viking in September 2020. “Follett is a master,” extolled the Washington Post on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.
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Glastonbury
by Donna Fletcher Crow
Sweeping through 1500 years of history, Glastonbury tells the story of Christianity in England--from the first confrontations between druids and Christians to the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.