Rome book series in reading order

by David Wishart

by Albert A. Bell Jr.

by John Maddox Roberts

by Jack Ludlow

Ancient Rome is Lindsey Davis's setting, worked as hard-boiled detective fiction. The Silver Pigs (1989) introduces the informer Marcus Didius Falco, and the series keeps a metal in most titles: Shadows in Bronze, Venus in Copper, The Iron Hand of Mars and Poseidon's Gold. Flavia Albia takes over the later books, reaching Murder in Purple and Gold in 2026. Forty-four titles make up the catalogue, at a median of 349 pages.

Steven Saylor

25 books• 7 series

Gordianus the Finder investigates murders in Rome across Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. Roman Blood (1991) opens the run, followed by Arms of Nemesis (1992), Catilina's Riddle (1993), The Venus Throw (1995), A Murder on the Appian Way (1996) and Rubicon (1999). Saylor also wrote the Ancient World novels, the last of them Dominus in 2021. Twenty-five titles are catalogued, at 320 pages on median.

Imperial Rome is Douglas Jackson's territory. The Gaius Valerius Verrens novels run through the catalogue, with Rufus, Marcus Flavius Victor, the Warsaw Quartet and the Glen Savage Mystery alongside. Twenty catalogued books open with Caligula (2008) and Claudius (2009), continue through Hero of Rome (2010), Defender of Rome (2011), Avenger of Rome (2012), Sword of Rome (2013) and Enemy of Rome (2014), and reach Blood Enemy (2026). Gladiators, soldiers and Roman history fill the subject list.

Harry Sidebottom writes historical fiction and history set in ancient Rome, with 22 books catalogued from Ancient Warfare (2004) to Those Who Are About to Die (2026). Warrior of Rome and Throne of the Caesars are the named series, and the character Ballista appears in the subjects. Fire in the East (2008), King of Kings (2009), Lion of the Sun (2010), The Caspian Gates (2011) and The Wolves of the North (2012) are among the novels. Iron And Rust (2014) and Blood and Steel (2015) follow.

Ben Kane is an Irish historical novelist, born in Kenya in 1970 and trained in veterinary medicine at University College Dublin before he turned to fiction. Rome supplies most of his material: the Forgotten Legion Chronicles, Spartacus, Hannibal, Eagles of Rome and Clash of Empires work through soldiers, slaves and imperial war, while Richard the Lionheart moves to a later period. Kane's 29 catalogued books run from The Forgotten Legion (2008) to A Land Aflame (2026) at a median of 480 pages. His novels have been translated into 14 languages and have sold over a million and a half copies.

Imperial Rome is Robert Fabbri's subject. The Vespasian novels follow the future emperor through the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius, and Alexander's Legacy and the Crossroads Brotherhood stories sit alongside them. Twenty-five catalogued books run from 2011, the year of Tribune of Rome, Rome's Executioner and The Crossroads Brotherhood, to Beyond the Grave (2026). Fabbri continues to publish.

Marcus Corvinus, an investigator in ancient Rome, carries David Wishart's historical mystery series. The early titles take Roman figures as their subjects: I, Virgil (1995), Ovid (1995), Nero (1996), Germanicus (1997), Sejanus (1998). Later books turn to cases, among them Old Bones (2000), Last Rites (2001) and White Murder (2002). An Angus series sits beside the Roman run, with whiskey among its subjects. The catalogue holds 28 books reaching Dead Mens Sandals (2020), at a median of 294 pages.

Simon Scarrow

65 books• 11 series

Simon Scarrow writes historical fiction, most of it Roman. Quintus Licinius Cato and Lucius Cornelius Macro lead the Eagle series, which opens with Under the Eagle (2000). The Roman Arena, Gladiator and Pirata lines share that setting, while the Revolution Quartet and the Berlin wartime thrillers featuring CI Schenke move elsewhere. Sixty-six catalogued books reach The Sword of Rome, and Sons of the Reich is scheduled for 2027.

Colleen McCullough

24 books• 2 series

Colleen McCullough was an Australian novelist, born in 1937 and died in 2015, who trained as a neurophysiologist before publishing fiction. Her 24 catalogued books span 1974 to 2013, opening with Tim, written while McCullough worked as a research assistant at the Yale School of Medicine, and closing with Bittersweet. The Thorn Birds (1977) sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and was adapted as a television miniseries. Masters of Rome is her Roman historical sequence, from The First Man in Rome (1990); Carmine Delmonico is her detective. The catalogue is likely complete.

Anthony Riches writes historical fiction set in the Roman world. Catalogue subjects name Marcus Valerius Aquila and Gaius Julius Civilis, and place the books in the Roman Empire and in Britain of the Roman period, with action and adventure and war and military among the tags. The listing holds 21 books published between 2009 and 2026, opening with Wounds of Honour (2009) and reaching Field of Blood (2026). Empire, Swords of Troy and Michael Bale are the groupings recorded against the name. Riches holds the sole credit on all 21 titles.

John Maddox Roberts (1947-2024) wrote science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction, including the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children. The catalogue lists 52 books between 1977 and 2010, from The Strayed Sheep of Charun (1977) to The Year of Confusion (2010). Subjects record Decius Caecilius Metellus, Rome and private investigators beside the science fiction and fantasy. Other groupings include Falconer, Stormlands, Cingulum, Gabe Treloar, Space Angel and Act Of God. Eric Kotani shares the credit on 4 titles and Robert Jordan on 1, and the listing also carries Conan and Dragonlance shared-world material.

Albert A. Bell Jr. has 21 catalogued books from 1988 to 2020, covering historical mysteries and studies of the New Testament world. Daughter of Lazarus (1988) is the earliest title, and A Guide to the New Testament World (1994) followed. Rome appears among the subjects, and Pliny the Younger is one of four series, with The Blood of Caesar (2008) in the list. Bell also writes the Steve and Kendra, Palmetto Antique and Walker Farm mysteries.

Jack Ludlow writes historical fiction, and the catalogue's subjects place it in Rome, Italy, France and Spain, taking in the Crusades, mercenary troops and the Spanish civil war of 1936 to 1939. Ludlow has 15 catalogued books published between 2007 and 2016, all credited to Ludlow, from The Pillars of Rome (2007) to Hawkwood (2016). Republic, Conquest Trilogy, Road to War, Crusades Trilogy and Last Roman Trilogy are the five series filed under the name.

Historical fiction is Kate Quinn's field, and the 17 catalogued books run from Mistress of Rome (2010) to The Astral Library (2026). Rome, gladiators, the Borgia family, nobility, both World Wars and espionage all appear among the subjects. Quinn's series are Empress of Rome and the Borgia Chronicles, and The Alice Network (2017) and The Huntress (2019) are among the later titles. Quinn is an American writer and still publishing.

Gaius Petreius Ruso, a reluctant sleuth in the Roman world, is the figure Ruth Downie's mysteries follow. Downie, an English author born in 1955, has 10 catalogued books in the Medicus Investigation series, opening with Medicus (2006) and closing with Prima Facie (2019). Several titles carry a second name: Terra Incognita also appears as Ruso and the Demented Doctor, and Caveat Emptor as Ruso and the River of Darkness. Physicians, Rome, Britain and historical crime make up the subjects.

Nick Brown writes historical fiction set in Rome, with Cassius Corbulo recorded as the central figure and Agent of Rome as the character entry. Two listings stand in the catalogue: Agent of Rome Short Stories/Novellas and a run of standalone novels. Thirteen books sit under Brown from The Siege (2011) to Tarchon (2023), among them The Imperial Banner (2012), The Far Shore (2013), The Black Stone (2014), The Emperor's Silver (2015) and The Earthly Gods (2016).

Robert Harris

23 books• 3 series

Robert Harris writes historical thrillers and political non-fiction. Non-fiction opens the catalogue: A Higher Form of Killing (1982) on chemical warfare, Gotcha! (1983) on the press and the Falklands, later joined by Selling Hitler (1996). The novels run from Fatherland (1991) through Enigma (1995), Archangel (1998), Pompeii (2003) and Imperium (2006), with a Cicero series among the named sequences. Harris's 23 catalogued books reach Agrippa in 2026.

Conn Iggulden writes historical fiction about empires and wars: the Emperor books on Rome, the Conqueror series around Genghis Khan, the Wars of the Roses, the Athenian novels and a Nero trilogy. The Gates of Rome (2002) opens a catalogue of 42 books reaching Inferno in 2026, and The Dangerous Book for Boys (2006) heads the non-fiction. The Empire of Salt fantasy appeared under the name C.F. Iggulden.

Harry Turtledove

141 books• 28 series

Harry Turtledove, born June 14, 1949, is an American historian and novelist of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and mystery, based in Southern California. The catalogue counts 142 books, starting with Wereblood and Werenight (1979), published as Eric G. Iverson, and listing The Succulent Succubus for 2027. Other pen names are H. N. Turteltaub, Dan Chernenko and Mark Gordian. The Videssos Cycle, Southern Victory / Timeline-191, Worldwar, Colonization, Crosstime Traffic, The War That Came Early and Gerin the Fox are among the series. World War II and the American Civil War are frequent subjects.

Stephanie Dray writes historical fiction about women close to power. Cleopatra's Daughter, Lily of the Nile (2011), Song of the Nile (2011), Daughters of the Nile (2013), opens the catalogue, and the later books turn to American history: America's First Daughter (2016), My Dear Hamilton (2018), The Women of Chateau Lafayette (2021) and Becoming Madam Secretary (2024). Nine titles are catalogued, long at a median 487 pages.

Margaret George

9 books• 1 series

Margaret George, born in 1943, is an American historical novelist who writes epic fictional biographies, researched in detail and long in the telling, the median catalogued book runs to 630 pages. Rulers and figures out of history and scripture are the subjects: Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Magdalene, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Elizabeth I and Nero. Nine books are catalogued, from The Autobiography of Henry VIII (1986) to Emperor Nero: The Splendour Before The Dark (2019). Several reached the New York Times bestseller list, the Cleopatra novel became an Emmy-nominated ABC miniseries in 1999, and the novels have been published in 21 languages.

Stephen Dando-Collins

36 books• 1 series

Stephen Dando-Collins, born 1950, is an Australian historical author writing on antiquity, on American, Australian, British and French history, and on the two world wars. The Roman legions supply his best-known subject, in Caesar's Legion, Nero's Killing Machine, Cleopatra's Kidnappers and Rebels Against Rome. Standing Bear Is a Person turns to Native American legal history, and Caesar the War Dog is his children's series. 36 titles run from 1986 to 2023.

Paul Doherty writes historical mysteries set largely in England, with 127 books catalogued from The Death of a King (1985) to The Meadows of Murder (2026). Recurring detectives include Hugh Corbett, Brother Athelstan, Kathryn Swinbrooke and Amerotke. Other series cover the Canterbury Tales Mysteries, Ancient Rome, Egyptian Mysteries, Nicholas Segalla, Mathilde of Westminster, Margaret Beaufort and Vlad Drakulya. Satan in St Mary's (1986) and Spy in Chancery (1988) are among the early titles.

Marine archaeologist Jack Howard is the figure David Gibbins built his fiction on. Gibbins, born in 1962, is an underwater archaeologist as well as a novelist, and the 14 catalogued books mix archaeological expeditions, treasure troves and antiquities with action and suspense. The catalogue opens with Atlantis (2005) and reaches Daughter of Attila (2025); Total War Rome is a second series beside Jack Howard. Gibbins remains actively publishing.