Rome

Slattsy

Can anyone recommend one or two historical books on the Roman Empire.
Fictional and or non fictional. Obviously a lot of fictional book have a lot of factual content.

Eagle in the Snow is one I have already.

Thanks

You might like Imperium, by Robert Harris. It's a fictionalised biography of the Roman statesman during the last days of the Roman republic, told from the perspective of his secretary. It's the first of a trilogy, but I haven't read the others yet. Really enjoyed it.

Also check out Roma, by Stephen Saylor. It tells the story of ancient Rome through the experiences of two families, and is a slightly more dynamic read than Imperium.

Simon Scarrow is the author of several books on the Roman Empire and it's expansion, I haven't read any of them but they're quite highly rated on Goodreads.

r3nu4l

Candie wrote: »

You might like Imperium, by Robert Harris. It's a fictionalised biography of the Roman statesman during the last days of the Roman republic, told from the perspective of his secretary. It's the first of a trilogy, but I haven't read the others yet. Really enjoyed it.

Nobody has read the third one yet

Both Imperium and Lustrum were fantastic and I'm eagerly awaiting the third one. These are much less action oriented books, mostly set in Rome itself and they focus on the life of Cicero. The books are centred around politics and intrigue.

There are some excellent books on the Roman Empire in general.

Rubicon is an excellent read about the last days of the republic and the rise of empire in Rome.

If you want historical fiction with lots of action then Conn Igguldon's Emperor series is fantastic. The author also notes places where he has deliberately veered away from historical fact which is always good There is plenty of intrigue but lots and lots of action as well. The books are set both in Rome and outside Rome, towards other places in the empire.

The books in order to be read are:

The Gates of Rome
The Death of Kings
The Field of Swords
The Gods of War

The Blood of Gods is a fifth book in the series and was released this year, I haven't read this.

HansHolzel

Try The Satyricon. Written by one of Nero's buddies.

Paddy Samurai

Slattsy wrote: »

Can anyone recommend one or two historical books on the Roman Empire.
Fictional and or non fictional. Obviously a lot of fictional book have a lot of factual content.

Eagle in the Snow is one I have already.

Thanks

Eagle in the snow is a great read ,one of my favourites.I have read Con Iggulden and Scarrow as well,and IMO Scarrow is a light read while Iggulden is the better writer.
You could try Harry Sidebottom who is top notch,he really knows his Roman history and writes a great story.

http://www.harrysidebottom.co.uk/Books3

Legion by William Altimari and Druid King by Norman Spinrad are great stand alone novels.

Aenaes

I, Claudius by Robert Graves is a brilliant read. It focuses mainly on Emperor Claudius but gives the backstory of the Julio-Claudian dynasty with a little guesswork/embellishment thrown in.

Ben Kane also writes alot of thrillers set in or around the Roman Empire, ranging from the Second Punic War or Spartacus' revolt.

Einhard

I'd second Robert Harris' books already mentioned, and also Pompeii which was quite a good read. Also, Rubicon is an entertaining and well-written account of the fall of the Roman Republic.

Aside from reading, this is an excellent podcast on the history of Rome. Really stupdendous. http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/the-history-of-rome.html

r3nu4l

r3nu4l wrote: »

Nobody has read the third one yet

I was just thinking earlier that the other two could be my holiday reading.

How inconsiderate of Robert Harris!

Manach

The Silver Pigs: by Lindsey Davis I'd also recommend, along with the others that people have mentioned. Set in Vespasian's era.

Quatermain

Stephen Saylor has been mentioned, and I'd give his Roma Sub Rosa series a try. They're whodunnits that revolve around a private eye named Gordianus the Finder, and offer a nice little slice of politics and family life at the same time.

cloudatlas

Fiction: Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series and 'Asterix'

Non- Fiction: "Rubicon" by Tom Holland

For those with Kindles, I've just noticed the Amazon.co.uk Kindle 'author deal of the day' is the Emperor series by Con Iggulden. It comprises 5 books at the discounted price of 99p each, a big reduction on the usual retail price of £3.99 each or thereabouts.

I haven't read them, but they might be of interest to others looking for Roman era fiction. They seem highly rated in the Amazon reviews.

Someone might be interested in some cheap holiday reading

The deal runs until midnight on Thursday 19th December.

nompere

Candie wrote: »

For those with Kindles, I've just noticed the Amazon.co.uk Kindle 'author deal of the day' is the Emperor series by Con Iggulden. It comprises 5 books at the discounted price of 99p each, a big reduction on the usual retail price of £3.99 each or thereabouts.

I haven't read them, but they might be of interest to others looking for Roman era fiction. They seem highly rated in the Amazon reviews.

Someone might be interested in some cheap holiday reading

The deal runs until midnight on Thursday 19th December.

But not in Ireland, I think.

I had a discussion with Amazon only yesterday, because the deal page showed £0.99 but the book page showed £3.60 or something else, depending on the particular book.

This is what they said:

Please be informed that only selected Kindle Daily Deal titles are available to International customers.

As you are residing in Ireland, you have been charged full price for the Kindle account.

Publishers grant ebook rights on a country by country basis, so not all Kindle Daily Deal titles will be available in all countries.

The correct book price and availability for your country of residence will be displayed on the Kindle book detail page when you are signed into Amazon.co.uk.


And it's the same today with the Iggulden books.

That's a shame. And I thought I was doing the Rome era readers a favour

Sorry folks, I didn't realise. I've never actually had that issue with deal of the day so I didn't know it was a thing at all.

Apologies to all.

nompere

Candie wrote: »

That's a shame. And I thought I was doing the Rome era readers a favour

Sorry folks, I didn't realise. I've never actually had that issue with deal of the day so I didn't know it was a thing at all.

Apologies to all.

Nor had I until yesterday. I've never found it on the actual deals of the day, it's the Author specials, yesterday and today. Whether that will be the case on another Author special in the future remains to be seen.

The Iggulden books themselves are well worth reading, so any UK based readers can certainly acquire some very keenly priced books.

chasmcb

I'd second Robert Graves' 'I, Claudius' mentioned above, along with its sequel 'Claudius the God'.

Suetonius's 'The Twelve Caesars' is a racy gallop through the lives of the early emperors -and was one of the source materials for Graves's novels.

Aenaes

chasmcb wrote: »

I'd second Robert Graves' 'I, Claudius' mentioned above, along with its sequel 'Claudius the God'.

I didn't realise there was a sequel. I may be on the look-out for it.

Another one I enjoyed was Plutarch's "Makers of Rome: Nine Lives". It gives a brief biography of nine prominent Romans.
Their lives deal mostly with the machinations of the Republic up to the founding of the Empire.

Jawgap

+1 on Rubicon, Lustrum and Imperium.

I'd also add Peter Heather's "The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History" and "The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian Popes & Imperial Pretenders."

Simon Baker - "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire"

and

Richard Miles - "Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization"