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Ancient Rome

Chiselbury

Chiselbury

Chiselbury Publishing was founded 2011 to make the works of James Leasor, one of the bestselling and most prolific British authors of the second half of the 20th Century, available to new and old readers. It now has the works of over 30 authors, non-fiction and fiction, established bestselling authors and first-timers, in print or nearing publication. In all we have over 80 books in print.
Sharpe Books

Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon From the Publisher Chiselbury Publishing was founded 2011 to make the works of James Leasor, one of the bestselling and most prolific British authors of the second half of the...

The Glutton and the Flatterer

The Glutton and the Flatterer

Vitellius came from a long line of talented courtiers, but when he gained the big job, it was a little more than he bargained for.

The Emperor Vitellius was not a man of whom Roman historians have ever been proud. He was one of four emperors in 69 CE, the year after the death of Nero, and was famed mainly for eating massive helpings of seafood. Since his nasty death by a thousand cuts, slowly...

Migration & The End of Empire

Migration & The End of Empire

The view that it was immigration that brought down the Roman Empire does have truth to it, but the idea that the theory can now be applied to the modern West is simplistic.
Peter Heather

Migration & The End of Empire However you line up the different factors involved, there’s no doubt that immigration played a major role in the unravelling of the western half of the Roman imperial system. By the end of the fifth century AD, from Anglo-Saxons north...

Bellatrix, by Simon Turney

Bellatrix, by Simon Turney

Bellatrix is the second of Simon Turney’s new Legion XXII historical adventure novels.
Lucy Herbert

It follows on directly from the first, The Capsarius (which incidentally has one of the most gripping openings I have read recently). Equally enthralling, this follows legionary capsarius or doctor Titus Cervianus, with his tent-mates, his cohort and his legion, the...

Kush: The End of the World

Kush: The End of the World

In his recent novel Bellatrix, the bestselling author has taken the Romans south of Egypt to the wondrous kingdom of Kush.

In the Legion XXII books (Capsarius and Bellatrix) our intrepid Romans come up against the warrior queen of Kush, but who was she, who were her people, and why did this conflict occur? Well, without wanting to drop a plethora of spoilers for the books, here’s a...

Review: Legion at the British Museum

Review: Legion at the British Museum

Our editor visited the new exhibition and came away impressed.
Oliver Webb-Carter

Legion at the British Museum When one imagines the Roman Empire, as so many do as we recently learnt, the sheer scale implies some kind of chaotic organisation. With the boundaries stretching from Scotland to Libya, and from Portugal to the Caspian Sea, the...

Vesuvius in the Age of Revolution

Vesuvius in the Age of Revolution

Mt Vesuvius has been an object of fascination for many years.
John Brewer

Vesuvius in the Age of Revolution Volcanic is the first and only book I have written not focused on Britain, the only one that concerns the history of science, and the only one centred on Italy. So why the departure, the urge to explore something new? Restlessness...

Crassus: The First Tycoon

Crassus: The First Tycoon

The wealthiest of the First Triumvirate inevitably flew too close to the sun.

Marcus Licinius Crassus was famous for a boast. No one should be considered rich, said the richest Roman of his time, unless he could finance an army from his own income. Twice he lived up to that boast, the first time against Spartacus gaining himself only...

Fiona Forsyth on Poetic Justice

Fiona Forsyth on Poetic Justice

The author discusses her latest novel, the story of the exiled poet Ovid.
Fiona Forsyth

Fiona Forsyth, you have moved on from the Lucius Sestius mysteries to a new series. How does it feel to say goodbye to characters like Lucius? When the story demands a certain resolution then it is easy to say goodbye. I’m not going to say I cried when killing off...

Alistair Tosh on Warrior

Alistair Tosh on Warrior

The novelist discusses his latest story from his trilogy.

Alistair, congratulations on your third book, Warrior. Since we last spoke, our heroes, Lucius Faenis Felix and Cai Martis, have travelled to Hispania and Felix’s homeland from the Northern Britannia of Hunt. What sort of man is Felix? Well firstly, thanks for having...