Harry Sidebottom

Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the best-known figure of the ancient world—the Roman gladiator. 'Grippingly original' Tom Holland 'Fascinating' Matthew Kneale 'Thrilling... every page sizzles' Alice Loxton Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both...

A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank. Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is...

On 8 June AD 218, a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy led an army into battle during a Roman civil war. Rallying his retreating troops in person, against all expectations, he was victorious. Varius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as Heliogabalus, was proclaimed emperor. The following four years were to be the strangest in the history of the empire. Heliogabalus...

'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' David Aaronovitch, The Times A Financial Times, BBC History and Spectator Book of the Year On 8 June 218 AD, a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy, egged on by his grandmother, led an army to battle in a Roman civil war. Against all expectations, he was victorious. Varius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as...

AD265 - In the shadow of Mount Etna, slaves are rising up. As the rebel leader declares Sicily the new land of the free, men and women are slaughtered, and cities across the island are sacked and burned. When a ship is wrecked off the island's west coast, all but two survivors are cut down in the surf by the...

334 BC. Alexander the Great is just twenty-one years old when he sets out with a small army to challenge Persia, the largest and most powerful empire in the world. Together, his Macedonian army marches East into the unknown—winning battles against overwhelming odds, storming impregnable fortresses from the Aegean through to India. But there is another Alexander. Prince of the...

Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator. Wonderfully panoramic ... endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read - Literary Review Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator...

AD 265, Gaul - The Roman Empire is on the brink. Emperor Gallienus has amassed a huge army across the Alps to seize back the mountains from the usurper Postumus. War has come. Ballista and his cavalry are on the frontline, battling in the most brutal of conditions. But if he is to survive the campaign and finally retire to...

AD265 - In the shadow of Mount Etna, slaves are rising up. As the rebel leader declares Sicily the new land of the free, men and women are slaughtered, and cities across the island are sacked and burned. When a ship is wrecked off the island's west coast, all but two survivors are cut down in the surf by the...