Ancient Historical Fiction

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author and creator of The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday comes one of the most incredible stories in all of history. A young boy, out of nowhere, is chosen to be the emperor of most of the known world. What he learns, what he does, who he is, will echo in eternity.

The great Parthian Civil War is over, leaving behind an empire exhausted by years of bloodshed. But no sooner have hostilities ended than Armenia, the client state of Rome, declares war on the empire and unleashes its army against Parthia. Even Dura’s mighty army cannot stave off a series of defeats as the enemies of Parthia circle the empire like hungry wolves. And Pacorus knows that Marcus Licinius Crassus is also marching east to extend Rome’s rule from the Euphrates to the Indus and enslave the whole of Parthia.

The New York Times bestselling and legendary author of Helen of Troy and Elizabeth I now turns her gaze on Emperor Nero, one of the most notorious and misunderstood figures in history. Built on the backs of those who fell before it, Julius Caesar’s imperial dynasty is only as strong as the...

AD 652. After surviving dark intrigues at the Merovingian court of Frankia, Beobrand is finally able to undertake the mission his queen set him: to escort a party of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. But Beobrand's life is never easy. His party includes a scheming novice churchman whose ambition is boundless, and a mysterious envoy from Frankia. Entering the lands of the Langobards, Beobrand discovers unexpected similarities to his native Northumbria in their speech and customs... and their willingness to spill blood.

Along the 13th century Anglo-Scottish border, life is complicated. Enemies one day, allies the next. Scottish clan chiefs and English earls securing their homes and families amidst thievery and chaos. Pawns of kings with bigger games to play, leaving the border lords and ladies to fend for themselves. The men of the Border Series wield swords and lead armies. They are alpha males who have no idea they are about to be brought to heel by ladies who refuse to choose between duty and love. These women want it all, and they aim to have it.

Although the rightful Jarl of Orkney, Einar is not yet strong enough to overcome his rival, King Eirik. Einar and the Wolf Coats raid the pagan ceremony that will confirm Eirik's power, but due to his injured sword hand, Einar fails to kill Eirik and he and his men must flee. They seek the protection of the King of the English. In exchange for his help, the crew must undertake a perilous mission: sail to Brittany and bring a renowned scholar back to England.

Han Li thinks he is the smartest poet and most talented painter in China. His master, Lin Cho, tries to warn him about his arrogance, but Han Li does not listen. When Lin Cho becomes ill before he can finish his painting for the emperor, what will Han Li do?

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?

Born in the Greek city of Miletus, Aspasia was destined for a life of tragedy. Her wealthy father vowed to abandon any female child, so Aspasia was secreted away, educated independently of her family, and raised as a courtesan. She discovered at an early age how to use her powers of intellect as ingeniously as those of the flesh. Ensconced in the Persian harems of Al Taliph, she meets the man who will change her fate: Pericles, the formidable political leader, statesman, ruler of Athens, and Aspasia’s most cherished lover.

Mano Majra is a place, Khushwant Singh tells us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the 'ghost train' arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of...

A thousand years ago, the mighty Cahokian civilization dominated the North American continent. At the heart of the empire stood a vast city, teeming with tens of thousands of residents, traders, and travelers. The city of Cahokia sent settlers and priests throughout the continent, from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico, carrying word of the power of their gods. People who wouldn't bow to that power were conquered or slaughtered. Power rested in one being, Morning Star, a god resurrected in the body of a living man.

The seventh of Joan Grant's Far Memory novels, So Moses Was Born, is set in Egypt, in the time just before the birth of Moses. The story is a familiar one: Found in the bulrushes, Moses's upbringing in the court of Egypt gave him the influence and power to set the Israelites free. Joan Grant enlarges the picture by depicting the events that led up to the discovery of the baby Moses, convincingly portraying the man she believed was his father, Ramoses II, through the words of his reclusive half-brother Nebunefer.

After Yung-lu's father dies of mercury poisoning, the young girl leaves for Chang'an. She is determined to take her father's place as a warrior. When Yung-lu arrives, she is met with two big surprises. The emperor is taking mercury, and the army is not what she had imagined. Will Yung-lu become a warrior? More importantly, will she save the emperor from mercury poisoning?

Ambu is Princess Lakshmi's servant, but the two are more like sisters. After Ambu secretly teaches Lakshmi how to swim, the princess hopes to win a swimming contest against a boy. Will anything get in her way of being the water princess?

An unexpected betrayal forces Hasting to abandon his closest ally. With his heart turned black, he rekindles the savagery of his race. In sacking Nantes, his bravery and luck earn him a place in the skalds' songs. Word of his deeds reach his kin in the North, and more and more sea captains sail to Francia to join him, hoping his luck might help theirs.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back one hundred years to a time when two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convinced the world that they had done the impossible and photographed fairies in their garden. Now, in her newest novel...

Rolf, son of Hiarandi the Unlucky, is a character who exemplifies the effect of Christ's teachings upon the Icelandic people during their heroic age. The book is set in Iceland in the days when Christianity has come to the island though the old customs still linger. Hiarandi, at the urging of his wife, does an unprecedented thing: he lights a signal fire on a dangerous point of his land, thereby challenging the accepted custom which places lucrative salvage at higher value than the saving of life.

King Aethelred II, who men will one day call The Unready, rules over a land divided by the shadowy spin of his mother Queen Ælfthryth and the sprawling power of the Church. The Viking Warlord, Olaf Tryggvason smelling the Kingdoms weakness brings the vicious Jomsvikings to the Saxon coastline ravenous for war and plunder.

It's AD 123, and the sun is shining on southern Gaul. Ex-military medic Ruso and his British wife, Tilla, are back after a long absence - but it's not the reunion anyone had hoped for. Ruso's brother has left him in charge of a farm he has no idea how to manage, a chronic debt problem, and a gaggle of accident-prone small children. Meanwhile his sister Flora has run away to rescue her boyfriend, who's accused of murdering a wealthy guest at a party.

“Captivating...Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight.” -- People From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story...