Jane Alison
The Love-artist. FSG, 2001.
Re-imagines Ovid’s sojourn on the east coast of the Black Sea after he is banished by Emperor Augustus.

Render Unto Caesar. Forge, 2003.
In 16 B.C., Hermogenes, a Greek trader from Alexandria, travels to Rome to claim monies owed to his family.

William Dietrich
The Scourge of God. HarCol, 2005
In 451, as the much feared Attila the Hun seems poised to invade the Roman Empire, a plan to assassinate him is devised.

Lloyd C. Douglas
The Robe. Houghton, 1942
Marcellus, a jaded young Roman soldier, wins the robe of the crucified Jesus Christ, and it changes his life. Followed by The Big Fisherman (1948).

Karen Essex
Kleopatra. Warner, 2001.
Fictional account of Egypt's most famous queen’s youthful ascension into politics and prominence. Followed by: Pharaoh (2002)

Colin Falconer
When We Were Gods. Crown, 2000.
Motivated by both ambition and love, Cleopatra attempts to protect her beloved Egypt by forging diplomatic and personal bonds with Rome that inevitably result in deception and warfare.

Howard Fast
Spartacus. 1951.
Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion.

Michael Curtis Ford
Gods and Legions. T. Dunne, 2002.
Summoned to Rome by his uncle, the emperor Constantine, Julian, a naive student of philosophy, is hastily proclaimed Caesar and dispatched to Gaul to reclaim Roman territory from the barbaric Germans.

The Last King: Rome’s Greatest Enemy. St. M, 2004.
A fictional biography of Persian-born, Greek educated King Mithradates the Great, one of the most feared & respected enemies of Rome.

Ernest K. Gann
The Triumph. S&S, 1986.
In this sequel to The Antagonists (1970), Flavius Silva, having witnessed the mass suicide of the defenders of Masada, becomes involved in the struggle for the roman throne.

Donna Gillespie
The Light Bearer. Berkley, 1994.
Auriane, the daughter of a Chattian chieftain fated to lead her tribe against Rome but also to disgrace it by murdering her father, leads her tribe against Rome while Marcus Julianus tries to preserve justice under Nero and Domitian.

Dewey Gram
Gladiator. Onyx, 2000.
A Roman general who is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Robert Graves
I, Claudius. Modern Library, 1934.
In this novel of intrigue and double-crosses among the Roman elite, Claudius--whose limp and stammer cause everyone to think him simple-minded and thus leave him alone--is determined to see justice be done and Rome returned to a Republican form of government.

Hella S. Haasse
Threshold of Fire. Academy Chicago, 1993.
Hadrian, a devout Christian, wants to eradicate paganism, while Claudius Claudianus, an exiled Roman poet, writes about the ill effects of Christianity on the Roman state.

Conn Iggulden
Emperor: the Gates of Rome. Delacorte, 2003.
Gaius (the future Julius Caesar) and Marcus (Brutus) grow up as friends and students of a powerful gladiator, and as the empire plunges toward civil war, they are thrust into the middle of a bitter conflict that will test their friendship. Followed by: Emperor: the Death of Kings (2004).

Barbara Hambly
The Quirinal Hill Affair. St. M, 1983.
C. Marcus Silanus, a young philosopher, believes that his missing love has been abducted by terrifying religious cult known as Christians.

Robert Harris
Pompeii. RH, 2003.
In 79 A.D. 79, engineer Marcus Attilius Primus sails to Pompeii to repair a broken aqueduct at the base of Mount Vesuvius and is troubled by the strange natural occurrences that may portend something far more serious than a blocked water supply.

Benita Kane Jaro
The Key. Dodd, Mead, 1988.
Catullus's best friend, lawyer Marcus Caelius Rufus, tells about Catullus from his birth in Verona until his refusal to relinquish Clodia who refuses to marry him.

The Door in the Wall. Permanent, 1994.
After Caelius associates himself with Julius Caesar to get the power he has always craved he becomes disgusted with Caesar's cruelty and personal depravities

Patrick Larkin
The Tribune. Signet, 2003.
When Lucien Aurelius Valens, discovers the murdered body of a member of the Roman Senate who was also an ally of the Emperor, he must rely on his courage to find the truth. It is a quest that will change his destiny.

Paul L. Maier
The Flames of Rome. Doubleday, 1981.
During the early days of Christian Church in the reigns of Claudius & Nero, some Romans support the rights of Christians.

Antionette May
Pilate's Wife. Morrow, 2006.
Although she loves another, Claudia evokes the power of Isis to beguile the ambitious Pontius Pilate. And when her best friend confides her devotion to a religious radical named Jesus of Nazareth, Claudia is beset by terrifying premonitions of war, injustice and devestation.

Colleen McCullough
Master of Rome Series
Myriad characters and great historical detail highlight this epic series tracing the origins and ultimate demise of the Roman Empire. Full of political intrigue, romance, drama, and war.

The First Man in Rome. Morrow, 1990.
The Grass Crown. Avon, 1992, 1991.
Fortune’s Favorites. Morrow, 1993.
Caesar’s Women. Morrow, 1996.
Caesar: Let the Dice Fly. Avon, 1999.
The October Horse. S&S, 2002

Kathleen Morgan
Enchant the Dream. Kensington, 1996.
Forced to live as a slave to the cruel Secundus, chaste Germani priestess Gaelle falls in love with fellow slave Cerdic, a former Celtic chieftain for whom she defies her dangerous master and risks her life.

Vincent Panella
Cutter’s Island. Academy Chicago, 2000.
Expands on a little known event from Julius Caesar’s life when, at the age of 25, he is captured by Sicilian pirates as he attempted to flee Rome during the dictatorship of Cornelius Sulla.

Simon Scarrow
Under the Eagle. T. Dunne, 2001.
Battle-hardened centurion Macro and Cato, a new recruit who had been previously a pampered slave, form a friendship when the latter proves himself a capable soldier. They head for Britain with the invading Roman army in 42 A.D. where they will stumble into a plot to overthrow the emperor. Followed by: The Eagle’s Conquest (2002) and When the Eagle Hunts (2004).

Henryk Sienkiewicz
Quo Vadis?
In the time of Nero, the Roman noble Petronius retains his pagan beliefs even though they conflict with Christianity.

Gore Vidal
Julian. Heinemann, 1964.
Julian the Apostate, who was raised as a Christian, tries to restore the pagan gods when he becomes Emperor in 361 A.D.

Lew Wallace
Ben-Hur. 1880.
Judah Ben-Hur faces a life sentence in the galleys after being falsely accused of trying to assassinate the governor of Jerusalem.

Leonard Wibberly
The Testament of Theophilus. 1973.
Although born a slave, Tiberius overcomes his humble beginnings and becomes a wealthy Roman citizen.

Thornton Wilder
The Ides of March. Harper, 1948.
Depicts the tragedy of Jesus Christ through letters and journals.

Roman Mysteries

Gordianus the Finder series by Steven Saylor
Few people know the streets of first century Rome better than savvy citizen Gordianus, who has well earned his nick-name, “The Finder.” A man of integrity, Gordianus finds that all too often, the search for truth and justice is fraught with danger.

Roman Blood. St. M, 1991.
Arms of Nemesis. St. M, 1992.
Catalina’s Riddle. St. M, 1993.
The Venus Throw. St. M, 1995.
A Murder on the Appian Way. St. M, 1996.
The House of the Vestals. (short stories) St. M, 1997.
Rubicon. St. M, 1999.
Last Seen in Massilia. Minotaur, 2000.
A Mist of Prophecies. Minotaur, 2002.
The Judgment of Caesar. Minotaur, 2004.
A Gladiator Dies Only Once. Minotaur, 2005.

Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis
In Imperial Rome circa 70 A.D., Marcus Didius Falco, a cynical young plebian with Republican leanings, often finds himself working as a special investigator for Emperor Vespasian, because he is good at what he does and knows the meaning of the word “discretion.”

The Silver Pigs. Crown, 1989.
Shadows in Bronze. Crown, 1990.
Venus in Copper. Crown, 1991.
The Iron Hand of Mars. Crown, 1992.
Poseidon’s Gold. Crown, 1994.
Time to Depart. Mysterious, 1995.
Last Act in Palmyra. Mysterious, 1996.
Two for the Lions. Mysterious, 1998.
A Dying Light Corduba. Mysterious, 1998.
Three Hands in the Fountain. Mysterious, 1999.
One Virgin Too Many. Mysterious, 1999.
Ode to the Banker. Mysterious, 2001.
A Body in the Bathhouse. Mysterious, 2001.
The Jupiter Myth. Mysterious, 2002.
The Accusers. Mysterious, 2003.
Scandal Takes a Holiday. Mysterious, 2004.

Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger series by John Maddox Roberts
Decius Caecilius is a rising young politician from an important old Roman family whose connections get him into high places. An amiable young man, he earns a reputation as both an investigator and a playboy, which does not endear him to his family.

SPQR: The King’s Gambit. Avon, 1990.
SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy. Avon, 1991.
SPQR III: The Sacrilege. Avon, 1992.
SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses. Avon, 1992.
SPQR V: Saturnalia. Minotaur, 1999.
SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion. T, Dunne, 2001
SPQR VII: The Tribune’s Curse. T. Dunne, 2003.
SPQR VIII: The River God’s Vengeance. T. Dunne, 2004.
SPQR IX: The Princess & The Pirates. T. Dunne, 2005.

Claudia Seferius series, by Marilyn Todd.
Glamorous, self-centered vineyard owner and former prostitute Claudia Seferius is a woman trying to make it in a man’s world. Her gambling debts, questionable business practices, and loose morals often bring her under the scrutiny of handsome investigator, Marcus Cornelius Orbillo, with whom romance might be in the offing.

I, Claudia. Macmillan, 1995.
Virgin Territory. Macmillan, 1996.
Man Eater. Macmillan, 1997.
Wolf Whistle. Macmillan, 1998.
Jail Bait. Macmillan, 1999.
Black Salamander. Macmillan, 2000.
Dark Horse. Severn, 2002.
Dream Boat. Severn, 2002.
Second Act. Severn, 2003.
Widow’s Pique. Severn, 2004.
Stone Cold. Severn, 2005.

Livinius Severus, by Ron Burns
Livinius Sevenus, a principled lawyer who has married well would just as soon avoid contact with the dark underside of Rome, but trouble and intrigue have a way of turning up on his doorstep.

Roman Nights. St. M, 1991.
Roman Shadows. St. M, 1992.

Created and maintained by: Lynne M. Kennedy.

©Copyright 1999, 2006 Sachem Public Library. All rights reserved.

Sachem Public Library 150 Holbrook Road
Holbrook, New York 11741

631 588-5024
sachemlibrary.org