Is anyone's interest in ancient coins paired with an interest in fiction set in the ancient world?

I don't read too much historical fiction (enjoyed Graves' books I Claudius, Claudius the God, Count Belisarius, and so on).

I have read the Latro series by the science-fiction/fantasy author Gene Wolfe, whose works are quite literary in addition to being historical. Latro is a Roman mercenary in the Hellenistic world including Ptolemaic Egypt who because of head injuries has altered perceptions. His travels and experiences are covered in a series of three books.

https://us.macmillan.com/series/latro/

 

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Thanks for the recommendations. I did read the first book in Sutcliff's series a few years ago and liked it. I kept up for a very long time with Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles, but stopped a year or two ago when they all started to seem the same. To be honest, I preferred his Sharpe books and wish he'd return to them someday.

 

I admit I had never heard of Talbot Mundy, but I just read the surprisingly gigantic Wikipedia article about him. He sounds a bit like H. Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs or Robert E. Howard. Or perhaps an anti-colonialist G.A. Henty!

In any event, I just bought "Caesar Dies" on Kindle. For 99 cents, what have I got to lose?

I also bought a couple of other novels set in ancient Rome on Kindle today: Thornton Wilder's The Ides of March, and a book called A Roman Death by the late Joan O'Hagan, with an introduction by Steven Saylor, described as follows:

"Historical thriller set in Ancient Rome. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar is at the height of his power. Lucius Scaurus, the young, good-looking fiance of a high-society girl is poisoned at the couple's own pre-wedding banquet. In the trial that follows, Roman society is shocked when the girl's mother, Helvia, is accused of not only of murder, but of incest. Cicero comes to Helvia's defence, but the killer's identity remains a mystery until the final twist - or two."

 

Mundy was a very interesting character. Agreed- 99 cents is likely a safe bet.

 

My apologies if this wasn't an appropriate subject to raise.[/QUOTE]

Excellent subject! Mary Renault is great. I like the book the richest man in babylon and I also collect hacksilver / hacksilber

 

I really enjoy the Parthian series of books by Peter Darman. Of course Rome or Greece isn't at the center of these books but both, particularly Rome is often a major player, particularly the volume on Carrhae. He has written perhaps a dozen of these but also writes other history as well. They are easy to read, well-written and highly detailed. Pacorus is the main character along with his wife Gallia (a Gaul) who leads the Amazons. All very entertaining. Here is Darman's website: https://peterdarman.com/books.html.

Steve S.

 

Great thread everyone, I'm loving all these recommendations. My interests lean more Greek, but here they are.

Everything by Stephen Pressfield - Gates of Fire, Last of the Amazons, Tides of War, The Virtues of War, the Afghan Campaign

Madeline Miller - Circe (particularly terrific!) and The Song of Achilles

Margaret George - Helen of Troy

Peter Green - The Laughter of Aphrodite, Achilles His Armour

Robert Graves - The Golden Fleece, Homer's Daughter

E.S. Kraay - The Olympian

David Gemmell - The Troy Trilogy (particularly superb) and The Lion of Macedon and the Dark Prince (this series is a little supernatural but great, too).

Christian Cameron - Tyrant Series - but I prefer just books 1 and 2

 

I too am a voracious reader, but mostly of history. I also enjoy fiction from authors such as King, Rice, Straub, etc. I agree with the comment about book versus movie - I always enjoy the movies inside my head as I read my book, more than any movie I see on screen.

 

I try not to read any historical fiction but it is hard when half of the non-fiction historians (ancient and modern) have such an axe to grind that you can't tell the real truth to their own 'truths'.

I regret the advent of the e-world because of the effect on the used book market. There was a time you could go to a used book store and find a real treasure of a dollar. Now even our local library scans donations and only puts in the book sales things that Amazon thinks is not worth the postage. Today not only do you have to find something you want but you have to find a copy someone priced without believing the Amazon algorithm.

https://www.amazon.com/ERIC-Encyclo...ncyclopedia+roman+coins&qid=1581536466&sr=8-3
This is the original Ras gave free online when ERIC II came out.

 

I almost included Song on my list, but deleted it because it's more mythology than history; Circe even moreso. But I love both books, I think Miller is fantastic! Excited to check out a few more from your list, particularly Green. I was aware of his history books but didn't know he had written novels. Cool!

Here are some more Greek novels that didn't make my original list, but not because they aren't good:
• Farewell Great King, Jill Paton Walsh - about Themistokles. Good but not great.
• The Golden Mean, Annabel Lyon - about Aristotle and Alexander. I really enjoyed it, but it will be a bit too literary/experimental (snooty?) for some tastes.
• The Sand-Reckoner, Gillian Bradshaw - about Archimedes. Good fun, nothing brilliant though.
• The Songs of the Kings, Barry Unsworth - a Troy book. I don't actually remember much about it , but as I recall it was excellent.
• A Victor of Salamis, William Stearns Davis - old, great fun!

I'm surprised Paul Waters hasn't come up (novels about Rome, ranging from the 2nd Punic War to the 4th century CE). He's often billed as "another Mary Renault." While his books are worth reading, IMO he doesn't come up to nearly her level in the quality of the writing and characterization.

I understand this attitude perfectly, and I think it's shared by many here... but I find that if I read some good historical fiction and then read some history about the same topic, I remember the history much better and don't get it confused with the fiction. Part of the interest of the fiction lies in the question: did that really happen? might it have happened? Which means you end up analyzing the sources better and getting a deeper understanding overall. Plus the fiction is a whole lotta fun I wouldn't want to deprive myself of!

 

Please pardon this slightly off-track post. It has to do with coins and books, but not ancient coins and books. Your OP reminded me of this. The Royal Mint commemorates the centennial of Agatha Christie's first novel.

 

I just finished reading a novel by Robert Low (author of the Whale Road series of books about Vikings) entitled Beasts Beyond the Wall. See https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43299329-beasts-beyond-the-wall. It's about a band of ex-gladiators sent on a dangerous mission "beyond the wall" into Caledonia in the 3rd Century CE. It's nothing new, but I found it very entertaining. No fewer than five different emperors or future emperors are characters in the book! It's the first book in a trilogy, all apparently published last year, and I've already gone ahead and ordered the second book. The first one costs $0.99 as an ebook, the other two cost $5.39 each in the same format.

I've also ordered Circe, by Madeline Miller, based on the recommendations here and being favorably impressed with the first couple of chapters, which I read as a free preview on Amazon. Even though I wouldn't call it historical fiction!

 

You're going to love Circe. I've read it twice already. It's absolutely incredible...astonishingly beautiful.