Ancient Rome historical novels recommendations?

[finvarre]

I wondered what is your favourite fiction concerning the Ancient Rome period? Personally, I'd vote for the Julian by Gore Vidal - I really liked his portrayal of this last non- Christian Roman Emperor,it was quite unusual. My other vote would go of course to Robert Graves - I, Claudius and Claudius and Messaline (is it the correct spelling?). I liked his Belisarius even better - it's not Ancient Rome any longer, I know, but I always thought Justinian was closely connected to the period because of his strife to regain the Western part of the Roman Empire. And, last but not least, I like Colleen McCullough's The Masters of Rome series: The First Man in Rome,The Grass Crown, Fortune's favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar:Let the Dice Fly High and the October Horse, covering the last decades of the Republic, from Marius to the months after the death of Caesar. There are more books I can think of, but they were written by Polish authors and weren't translated, i.e. Aetius, the last of the Romans by Teodor Parnicki - I only know of a German translation. Could you recommend other novels? I'd surely appreciate it!

 

[Lacedaemonian]

Pompeii by Robert Harris is the best Roman story I have read to date.

 

[Boaz]

The Conquest of Gaul and The Civil War by Julius Caesar, The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, The Fall of the Roman Republic and Parallel Lives by Plutarch, and From the Founding of the City by Livy (Titus Livius) should all be available readily in multiple English and German translations. These books are from authors who were eyewitnesses or who lived soon after the events during the end of the republic and the beginning of the empire.

Also, Colleen McCullough has written a series of historical novels about Julius Caesar. I have not read any of them, but I've read positive reviews.

 

[Stalker]

Well, Henrik Sienkewicz's Quo Vadis? is worth mentioning here. Reign by Nero, fire of Rome and massacre of Christians as the background for love of young patrician Vinitius, the friend of Petronius Arbiter, to a hostage girel Lygia. Good piece of historical fiction.

 

[Culhwch]

The only Roman historical novel I have read is the first in Conn Iggulden's Emperor series about JC, can't remember the precise title. Was quite enjoyable, and I have bought the follow-ups, but they always seem to be a ways down my to-read list. Will have to bump them up the order...

 

[Leto]

Pompeii by Robert Harris is the best Roman story I have read to date.

Prefer the original one :
The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Buwler-Lytton.


And Quo Vadis is a good reference one too.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I, Claudius by Robert Graves is a pretty good read, though the protrayal of a bumbling good-natured Claudius does seem to grate with the historical account of a bumbling malicious-natured Claudius.

 

[Stalker]

One more piece of SF with elements real historical reconstruction is The Lost Legion by Harry Turtledove. It, or course, is not about the Ancient Rome itself, but it gives a good review of tactics of Roman manipules in the battle, the logistics, and the art of retreat .
As Byzantine historian, Turtledove transfers all his knowledge of Byzantium onto Videssos he creates in the above series that makes many Byzantine features easily recognisable in Videssian world.

 

[Lanista]

Donna Gillespie - "The Light Bearer" and "Lady of the Light"
Simon Scarrow - "Eagle" series
James Duffy - "Gladiators of the Empire" series
Valerio Manfredi - "The Last Legion"
Wallace Breem - "The Eagle in the Snow"
William Altermari - "Legion"
Michael Curtis Ford - "Gods and Legions"
George Shipway - "Imperial Governor"

 

[The Ace]

Of course, if you want a bit of fun, a cracking detective story and not too many liberties taken with history, Linsey Davis, 'Falco,' novels combine some excellent stories with a background of Rome and the Empire in Vespasian's time.