Ancient Historical Fiction

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.

This "powerful, fresh, and unflinching" reimagining from the award-winning author of the Penelope trilogy breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men (Jennifer Saint). On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate...

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.

The world of Dragon Heart is thrown into confusion when they become the target of their Viking brothers. Raiders come from every direction to take what Dragon Heart and his people have built. This is the time of Viking fighting Viking for control of the land that will become England.

When a kid is dragged to Central Park in New York on a Saturday (when he could be at home watching the ball game), the last thing he wants is a history lesson from his mom. But then his mother starts telling him a story. A story about the giant structure sitting in right in front of them—Cleopatra’s Needle. It turns out that an enslaved boy and hundreds of other people spent more than six hundred days carving the Needle out of stone and pulling it upright. And another kid’s drawings were used to create the hieroglyphs on its sides.

From his birth in 106 BC in the hill town of Arpinum, Cicero, the educated son of a wealthy member of the equestrian order, is destined for greatness. From his tumultuous family life to his tenuous alliance with Julius Caesar to a fateful love affair with the Roman empress Livia and, finally, to the political role that will make him a target of powerful enemies, A Pillar of Iron is the story of Cicero's legacy as one the greatest influences on Western civilization.

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.

“Page-turning . . . Set against the political and religious turmoil of the times, the Thoenes’ story vividly reimagines the evolving friendship between Jesus and Lazarus.” —Publishers Weekly LAZARUS—the man Jesus raised from the dead in one of the most extraordinary encounters with The...

In a time when darkness covered the earth and mankind had forgotten its Creator, one man found favor with God—and one woman found his heart. Noah and Naamah tells the timeless story of devotion, faith, and divine purpose amid the storm of a fallen world.

Eastern Roman Empire, AD 310. In the shadow of Emperor Diocletian’s anti-Christian edicts, Demitria makes a meager living harvesting coral and pearls for a merchant who turns a blind eye to her faith. By night, Demi goes upriver with her brother, Theseus, to obtain provisions for fellow believers in the port city of Myra. While willing to risk her own life to ensure others are safe and fed, Demi lives with a desperate fear for those she loves and carries secret shame over her greatest failure.

Norman Mailer's dazzlingly rich, deeply evocative novel of ancient Egypt breathes life into the figures of a lost era: the eighteenth-dynasty Pharaoh Rameses and his wife, Queen Nefertiti; Menenhetet, their creature, lover, and victim; and the gods and mortals that surround them in intimate and telepathic communion. Mailer's reincarnated protagonist is carried through the exquisite gardens of the royal harem, along the majestic flow of the Nile, and into the terrifying clash of battle.

A riveting account of the five heated months in which King Charles I attempted to arrest five dissident Members of Parliament by bringing an armed force to the House of Commons—a shocking act of political terrorism that pushed England toward civil war and planted the seeds of the American...

When Pheodora's husband is unexpectedly thrown into debtors' prison, she is shocked to learn that a loan from her generous sister would jeopardize her brother-in-law's religious aspirations. Forced to pin her hopes on two she-goats whose spotless white offspring could be sold for an upcoming Yom Kippur sacrifice, Pheodora must struggle to keep the animals - and her family - alive.

Present Day. When Hanna returns to Norfolk from years working abroad, the strange dreams of her adolescence return: indistinct figures in tunics, mighty soldiers in armour, gladiators, temples, an Iceni warrior woman leading her people. Gradually Hanna’s dreams begin to slip into the present as visions in the famous mists rolling across the fens, and as shocks of recognition when a new face moves to her childhood home. As Hanna realises that she has a connection with a tragedy that occurred many years before, so Brea has to understand that her fate is bound up with her Roman master.

AD 1139 - When her husband perishes in a skirmish, the Lady Cantia du Bexley Penden is distraught. Her husband was assisting the mighty Viscount Winterton in the battle for the throne between Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois, caught, like most men, in a vicious struggle for the rightful ruler of England.

After regaining the throne, Irini ensnares Constantine in a web of deceit, convincing him to divorce Maria and banishing his wife and daughters to Abbess Thekla’s island convent—where Maria slowly descends into madness. But Irini’s thirst for dominance knows no bounds. Manipulating Constantine into turning against the soldiers who once betrayed her, she ignites a brutal civil war, plunging the empire into chaos—army against army, mother against son. As the battle rages, Irini orchestrates a final, ruthless strike, capturing Constantine and leaving him blinded and powerless.

The New York Times bestseller from Margaret George, author of Mary, Called Magdalene and Elizabeth I With her amazing ability to summon the voices of historical characters, Margaret George tells the story of the woman whose face "launched a thousand ships" in Helen of Troy. Laden with doom...

A classic historical romance novel from New York Times bestseller Lisa Kleypas (“One of today’s leading lights in romantic fiction” —Seattle Times), Because You’re Mine is a breathtaking tale of romantic intrigues and uncontained passions that showcases this acclaimed author at...

In Cahokia, the corn crop is failing again and a warchief - and the warrior woman he may never possess - are disgusted by their Chief's lust for tribute. Now even the gods have turned their faces, closing the underworld to the seers. If the gods have abandoned the people, there is no hope - unless it comes in the form of a young girl who is learning to Dream of Power.

Suffering invasions, riots, and hunger, the decaying Roman Empire staggers against its most ancient enemy—Persia. Undefeated in over a century, the Shahanshah’s vast armies cross the Tigris, hungry to reclaim lands that once had been the jewel of their heritage. Driving Persia’s invasion are the vaunted Immortals, an elite band of Persian warriors unmatched in prowess. Set against the invading forces are the undermanned and ill-equipped forces of Flavius Belisarius.