Ancient Historical Fiction

In the land of Pharaoh, Tuya has always been a slave. As a little girl, she was sold as a playmate to a wealthy child who became her best friend. But as she approaches womanhood, beautiful Tuya is betrayed and cast out. Now she belongs to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Yet her heart is owned by handsome Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers. Proud, arrogant Joseph dreams of freedom, of his own household, of Tuya as his queen.

Harald Sigurdsson has risen through bravery and glory in battle to become the commander of the legendary Varangian guard, the oath-sworn protector of the Roman throne in Constantinople; The wielder of the emperor’s axe. With the estranged Emperor and Empress consumed in a deadly palace war for sole control of the empire, Harald must somehow keep the peace. In a city where everything is taken by subterfuge, violence and deceit, what must an honourable man do to protect the empire from both its enemies and itself?

In Roman times, the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World held a deep fascination. Two of them were in Egypt: the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Marcus Didius Falco's wife Helena Justina is determined to see them before her next confinement. Conveniently, he has an uncle with a house in Alexandria. For this innocent reason (he says) they sail to Egypt. As soon as they arrive in Alexandria, a suspicious death occurs at the famous Great Library.

Victory is in sight for Kivilaz and his Batavi army. The Roman army clings desperately to its remaining fortresses along the Rhine, its legions riven by dissent and mutiny, and once-loyal allies of Rome are beginning to imagine the unimaginable: freedom from the rulers who have dominated them since the time of Caesar. The four centurions - two Batavi and two Roman, men who were once comrades in arms - must find their destiny in a maze of loyalties and threats, as the blood tide of war ebbs and flows across Germania and Gaul.

This is a historically-based novel with authentic, mythic, & fictional characters interacting across the extraordinary panorama after the Fall of Troy and the Hittite Empire during the Bronze Age Collapse. Diomedes leads his Akhaians (Achaeans) to the Isle of Kyprios (now Cyprus) to meet his lost love, Lieia, the ex-queen of the Hittites. Kyprios is where the Peoples of the Sea have gathered before their final assaults on Canaan and Aigyptos (Egypt). But Diomedes unexpectedly meets the avatar of the Goddess Aphrodite at her Temple in Paphos, the city of her birth.

It began nearly 400 years ago. The Conall clan and all their people were murdered in a surprise attack, their beloved castle and all evidence of who destroyed them burned to the ground with their bodies. In the centuries following, archaeologists searched through the ruins looking for any evidence of what or who had caused the untimely demise of such a powerful Scottish clan. All efforts were fruitless until a spell put in place by an ancient Conall ancestor finally began to work its magic.

In The Cat of Bubastes, G. A. Henty gives his listeners a fascinating picture of one of the greatest of the ancient peoples at the height of their civilization. Chebron, son of the Egyptian high priest Ameres, and Amuba, a Rebu slave in Ameres' household, are companions. Their lives are changed irrevocably when Chebron accidentally kills his sister's cat, an animal sacred to the Egyptians -- an offence punishable by death.

After a century of civil strife in Rome and Italy, the poet Virgil wrote The Aeneid to honor the emperor Augustus by praising Aeneas, Augustus's legendary ancestor. As a patriotic epic imitating Homer, The Aeneid also set out to provide Rome with a literature equal to that of Greece.

From the palaces of Alexandria reigns Cleopatra – seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt – surrounded by riches untold. Through the streets of her great city bustle scholars and sailors, politicians and priests. For those with the means, it is a comfortable life. But not all are invited to share in the wealth of Egypt's first city. When Herminia, one of Alexandria's most beloved actresses, disappears on the eve of a great performance, Cleopatra sets Tetisheri, her Eye, to investigate.

In this first of a series of four novels, the Jewish rebellion begins in a backdrop of secret tunnels and assassins, where the dreaded Sicarii can strike like lightning and blend back into the crowd just as quickly. Even trained Roman mercenaries are no match for them.

A.D. 165: The empire of Rome has reached its pinnacle. Universal peace - the Pax Roma - reigns from Britannia to Egypt, from Gaul to Greece. Marcus Aurelius, as much a philosopher as he is an emperor, oversees a golden age in the city of Rome. The ancient Pinarius family and their workshop of artisans embellish the richest and greatest city on earth with gilded statues and towering marble monuments. Art and reason flourish. But history does not stand still. The years to come bring wars, plagues, fires, and famines. The best emperors in history are succeeded by some of the worst.

Kasia grew up in a poor Jewish home with more siblings than luxuries. But when a chance encounter forces her to the palace of Xerxes, she becomes a concubine to the richest man in the world. She alone, of all Xerxes's wives, loves the man beneath the crown. She alone, of all his wives, holds the heart of the king of kings. Traveling with Xerxes through Europe as he mounts a war against Greece, Kasia knows enemies surround her, but they're not the Spartans or Athenians. The threat lies with those close to the king who hate her people.

In 40 CE, in the Au Lac region of ancient Vietnam, two daughters of a Vietnamese Lord fill their days training, studying, and trying to stay true to Vietnamese traditions. While Trung Trac is disciplined and wise, always excelling in her duty, Trung Nhi is fierce and free spirited, more concerned with spending time in the gardens and with lovers. But these sister's lives—and the lives of their people—are shadowed by the oppressive rule of the Han Chinese. They are forced to adopt Confucian teachings, secure marriages, and pay ever‑increasing taxes.

Assyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and her daydreaming brother, Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival, as they dodge the beatings of their drunken father and scrabble for scraps of food. One violent evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the beautiful, near-mythical city of Nineveh.

From Sunday Times best-selling author Ben Kane comes a collection of short stories.

There are many paths to power. They all come with a price. Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget. But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise.

When a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate. But this body is not like any she’s ever seen. Though its bones prove it was buried more than two thousand years ago, it is almost completely preserved. The mystery of the Iron Age body draws the attention of numerous groups with competing interests.

Everybody starts at the bottom when they change careers. Alerio Sisera understood the concept. He even recognized the difference between being a military man who lived by the gladius and a politician who used a pen to craft agreements. But the theory went to Hades when a series of brutal robberies required Lictor Sisera to investigate the crimes. Bringing fresh eyes to the scenes, a different perspective to the questioning, and postulating a hypothesis ended when blades were drawn.

AD 797, Cyprus. Warrior-monk Hunlaf and his crew are on a voyage to acquire an important Christian relic before it falls into the hands of the Byzantines and their scheming Empress Eirene. Hunlaf’s crew receive unexpected help as they seek their treasure, but soon find themselves betrayed. About to leave for home empty-handed, the adventurers instead sail further east: to Jerusalem, the Holy Land, abundant in relics. And dangerous intrigues.

Her head buzzed with long-forgotten memories, fleeting images that flickered in and out of her mind. Nothing tangible, and not a single one fully formed, but teasing and tantalising, as if they wanted to surface but didn't know how. AD 80. Duro of the Iceni tribe escaped life as an enslaved gladiator and is now finally home in Britannia with one thing on his mind: vengeance. For 20 years he has sought the Roman legionary who destroyed his family. What he didn't expect was Gisel: a fierce Germanic woman with long white-blonde hair, forced into slavery by the Romans.