Ancient Historical Fiction

Debut author Shen Tao introduces listeners to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun. In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying...

Roma, año 77 a.C. El cruel senador Dolabela va a ser juzgado por corrupción, pero ha contratado a los mejores abogados, ha comprado al jurado y, además, es conocido por usar la violencia contra todos los que se enfrentan a él. Nadie se atreve a ser el fiscal, hasta que de pronto, contra todo pronóstico, un joven patricio de tan solo veintitrés años acepta llevar la acusación, defender al pueblo de Roma y desafiar el poder de las élites. El nombre del desconocido abogado es Cayo Julio César.

When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews - young and old, powerful, and helpless.

Rome 174 AD. As the war continues in the north, Marcus Aurelius orders Gaius Maximus and Rufus Atticus to return to Rome. Enemies lurk in the shadows in the capital, spreading propaganda and sowing dissent. The praetorian guards must lure their enemies out - and defeat them. Yet Maximus is returning home for something, or rather someone, else: Aurelia. The soldier will be caught between his duty and his happiness. Rufus Atticus will also be forced to make a choice, between duty and family.

An epic story of loss, love and redemption. The Lady Peyton de Fluornoy is as resistant to marriage as Alec is, but she gradually begins to warm to the man who has given up on life. Alec comes to know a lady of spirit, beauty and intelligence. Before their marriage can happen, however, Alec's father is blackmailed by a neighbor who wants Peyton for his own son. Now deeply in love, Alec elopes with Peyton and an entirely new world of danger and passion opens up for them both.

1215 A.D. - Dashiell "Dash" du Reims is the eldest son of the Earl of East Anglia and a cousin to the great House of de Lohr. Much like his warring and politically-involved cousins, Dashiell is also waist-deep in the political turmoil that is sweeping England at this time. As the Captain of the Guard for the powerful, and senile, Duke of Savernake, his is in the middle of the baron's rebellion against the king.

1444 A.D.: She's a mercenary, a tough lady warrior known as the Lady of the Moon. Samarra le Brecque is hired by the father of a reluctant groom to take his son to the Caves of St. Agnes in Cornwall, where the groom's intended will be waiting. According to local legend, if a man and a woman touch the red stains upon the walls of the cave, said to be left by doomed lovers, then the man and woman shall fall in love forever. But the situation doesn't go as planned.

Desperately fleeing the Huns in old Germania, the Suevi tribe sells Melia, a girl on the cusp of womanhood, into slavery, hoping to bribe its way into Gaul. Caught in the middle of the chaotic diaspora, Melia survives the cruelty of her owner, the candlemaker, and excels at making beautiful tapers and votives. But when the Suevi and thousands more barbarians storm across the frozen Rhine at midnight, New Years Eve, AD406, Gaul is transformed overnight, and Melia’s life is ripped apart again.

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas is sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but finds freedom with Alexander the Great after the Macedon army conquers his homeland. Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper.

AD 1205 - It's years after The Dark Lord Jax de Velt tore through the Welsh marches and captured several castles. Still he holds lands that do not belong to him. Out of the ashes from this dark and lawless time rises the son of one of the men Jax de Velt put to the stake. Bent on revenge against The Dark Lord, Bretton de Llion has grown up in obscurity, hidden from de Velt's rage, and has learned to hate the very world around him. His sense of vengeance against de Velt has been his guiding force for years.

Inanna is an impossibility. The first full Anunnaki born on Earth in Ancient Mesopotamia. Crowned the goddess of love by the twelve immortal Anunnaki who are worshipped across Sumer, she is destined for greatness. But Inanna is born into a time of war. The Anunnaki have split into warring factions, threatening to tear the world apart. Forced into a marriage to negotiate a peace, she soon realizes she has been placed in terrible danger.

Jerusalem and the Sinai desert, AD 55. In the turbulent aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, agents of the Roman Empire receive information about a pilgrim bearing an incendiary letter from a religious fanatic calling himself Paul the Apostle to insurrectionists in Corinth. What's in the letter could bring down an empire. The Romans hire a former legionary, a solitary man-at-arms named Telamon to intercept the letter and destroy the courier. But once he meets the courier, Telamon experiences an extraordinary conversion.

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress' rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, but that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

Raised as an orphan by her aunt, Chariline has only been told a few pieces of her parents’ tragic love story. Her beautiful dark skin is proof that her father was Cushite, but she knows nothing else. While visiting her grandfather before his retirement as the Roman official in the queen’s court, Chariline overhears that her father is still alive, and discovering his identity becomes her obsession. Both her grandfather and the queen have reasons for keeping this secret, however, and forbid her quest. So Chariline sneaks on the ship of a merchant trusted by friends.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its center is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader, Agamemnon.

A classic medieval-gothic love story complete with ghostly wanderings, a spooky castle, and a damsel in distress.... In the Dark Ages on a remote coast of Cornwall, there was a legend of a wicked lord who was burned to death for his deeds. Everyone in Cornwall knows to avoid Baiadepaura Castle because of the ghostly happenings, said to be the spirit of Lord de Paura, who has returned to seek revenge for his grisly death.

Medea, daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, longs for a different life. Since childhood, she has been separated from her sister, shunned by her mother, and beaten and tormented by her brother and father. All because Medea was born with a unique and seemingly dangerous talent: witchcraft. But when a dashing young hero, Jason, arrives to claim the famed Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea sees her opportunity for escape.

When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God's plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love.

Ranofer struggles to thwart the plottings of his evil brother, Gebu, so he can become master goldsmith like their father. Young listeners will love this exciting tale of ancient Egyptian mystery and intrigue.

After being branded during the battle of Jericho, Moriyah has had no prospects for marriage - until now. She hopes to please the man, but things go horribly wrong and she is forced to flee for her life. Seeking safety at one of the Levitical cities of refuge, she is unprepared for the dangers she faces, and the enemies - and allies - she encounters on her way. Seven years ago, Moriyah was taken captive in Jericho and branded with the mark of the Canaanite gods. Now the Israelites are experiencing peace in their new land, but Moriyah has yet to find her own peace. Because of the shameful mark on her face, she hides behind her veil at all times.