Ancient Historical Fiction

Two tiger cub brothers are torn from the jungle and taken to Rome. The stronger cub is trained as a killer at the Coliseum. Emperor Caesar makes a gift of the smaller cub to his beautiful daughter, Aurelia. She adores her cub, Boots. Julius, a young animal keeper, teaches Aurelia how to earn Boots’s trust. Boots is pampered while his brother, known as Brute, lives in the cold and darkness, let out only to kill.

AD 1192 - Sir Christopher de Lohr is Richard the Lion Heart's champion, a man the Muslims nicknamed "The Lion's Claw". Blond, battle scarred, and powerful, he is what all men fear. After the fall of Acre, Christopher makes a promise at the deathbed of a dying comrade to marry the man's incorrigible but wealthy daughter. Christopher returns home to marry the woman, but the only thing he is interested in is her substantial dowry. He has no use for a wife and resents being forced into the marriage.

The deadly conspiracy against the children of Ealdorman Coenwulf is to be resolved. Those involved have been unmasked and arrested. But will justice prevail? While the court convenes to determine the conspirator’s fate, King Wiglaf’s position is precarious. His wife, Queen Cynethryth, has been implicated in the plot and while Wiglaf must remain impartial, enemies of the Mercia still conspire to prevent the full truth from ever being known.

An ancient highlander who’s never been allowed to love. A modern woman who keeps men at arm’s length. Can their passion overcome their pasts? Althea Jarden’s botanical fieldwork keeps her happily busy, but it has kept her from relationships as well - by design. But all the self-reliance in the world can’t prepare her for being taken to ancient Scotland and what she finds there.

Jack and Annie are off in search of another story in jeopardy, this time at a monastery in ancient Ireland. Trouble arrives when Vikings land, and Jack and Annie must find a way to escape!

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband, Khalid, the caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse - one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire.

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.

The imaginative talents of Caroline Lawrence (author of the Roman Mysteries series) and Laura Jenkinson Brown (illustrator of Greek Myth comics) combined with the expertise of Dr Sophie Hay, Prof. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill and Dr Olivia Elder, with just a dash of the CSCP magic that made the Cambridge Latin Course so well-loved, bring the ancient town of Pompeii to life in a truly unique way.

When David stumbles upon a tragic young woman in a sordid Limehouse pub, he has no idea she’d recognize him as the last vampyre alive, nor that she’d be the one to pull out his story. Yet as he recalls his life from the sweltering vineyards of ancient Rome to the cold horrors of medieval Romania—as well as his tumultuous past with the mad and mysterious Lucius—he realizes she is much more than what she seems. Gothic horror and mythological fantasy blend seamlessly together in this thrilling adventure, breathing new life into vampire lore as it reveals its true origins.

The year is 79 A.D. The place is Ostia, the port of Rome. Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea captain's daughter, is about to embark on a thrilling adventure.

By sheer force of the pharaoh's will, the City of the Sun rises from hot, barren sands. But as this monument to his strength flourishes, the king's ties to sanity begin to fray. His religious zeal and unchecked power lead him to commit one atrocity after another, and soon, those who dwell in the throne's shadows must enter into a fatal conspiracy to prevent Egypt from crumbling altogether.

Lavinia never asked to be fought over. But now her childhood sweetheart has waged a war that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, all because Lavinia's father has promised her to somebody else–Aeneas. Aeneas, rumored to be the son of Venus, is famed for his bravery, cunning, and his vision for a new great Empire. He is also secretive, slippery—and Lavinia wonders why he will never discuss the past he left behind. So when a stranger arrives in the camp with stories about Aeneas that suggest he is not what he seems, Lavinia realizes she has to take her future into her own hands.

It is AD 81. The Roman emperor Domitian seizes power. Afflicted by classic paranoia, the self-styled Master and God sees enemies everywhere - and he is right. The Senate loathes him, his advisers are terrified, he cannot trust his wife, and barbarians menace the frontiers. As he vents his suspicions, no one is safe.

Tungar is a smart, but proud and vain boy. He dreams of being a general for the warrior king Asoka. Will the king want Tungar by his side? Or is he looking for a different sort of warrior?

Zhou never seems to beat his brother, Cheng, at anything. But when Zhou finds a jade dragon, his luck changes. Soon, Zhou is beating Cheng at everything. Will Zhou and his jade dragon be able to keep up the winning streak, or will he lose his luck?

A woman from the present day will do anything to escape the ordeal of medieval Scotland. But will she betray the man she loves? Lily Stover can no longer cope. Nothing in her previous life as a chef could have prepared her for her grim new reality. Starvation, beatings, and daily terror are her routines. The only flicker of hope is the memory of the massive warrior who once fought to free her. She can still see his golden eyes glaring into hers. War Master Cadeyrn can no longer sleep. His dreams are haunted by the lovely lass whose face silently pleads to him for help.

His younger brother will be greater than he . . . With those words, Menashe's dreams collapse. As Yosef's eldest son, his position had seemed secure. But now Efrayim—bold, charming Efrayim, who's everything Menashe is not—is taking his place. With their people. With the pharaoh. With Jendayi, the slave Menashe loves. Efrayim, meanwhile, sees his dreams confirmed. Surely it's his destiny to unite the Egyptians and Hebrews. To marry a princess and achieve splendor surpassing that of his brother.

In the kingdom of Eire, banshees chill the air, and water-wights lurk in the rivers. But magic is outlawed by the king, and jealously hoarded by his Druid priests. Neve is the youngest daughter of the king, and Ronan is a Druid's apprentice turned thief, making a living by selling stolen spells. They should be enemies, but their shared hatred of the Druids—and a dark magic that has marked them both—makes them unlikely, if uneasy, allies.

The epic second Roman adventure in The Centurions series, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow. Correus and Flavius, half brothers and rivals, have found the life of a Centurion to be a dangerous one. After imprisonment and torture, Flavius has found his strength and proven his mettle. Correus, son of a slave, has found glory on the battlefield. But now the brothers have been stationed to Wales, a land full of barbarians, mud and freezing rain. Here they must face the pain of lost love, the shame of lost battle, and the thrill of a new era for their beloved Rome. And in Wales awaits a princess that could change one of their lives forever.

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