Public bathing – My visit to the past

Painting of Baths of Caracalla by Laurence Alma Tadema

Baths were such an intrinsic part of the Roman world that we can’t think of one without the other. Everybody went to the baths – everybody. Read how here.

Well, none of us like to smell. A recent trip to the former bathhouse in […]

Persecuting the Pagans

British Museum display (Author photo)

Probably because of various Hollywood films, it’s “general knowledge” that those nasty Romans spent all their time killing Christians.

Well, no…

Romans, for the most part, were comparatively tolerant in matters of religious belief and allowed countless religious sects, cults, saviours and redeemers to proselytise without restrictions. Most […]

You have to know history before you can 'alternate' it

Roma Novan heroines, ancient and modern

To write alternative history with authenticity, it’s helpful to be as well-versed and researched as an author writing a more conventional historical novel.

Let me unpick that… Alternate (or alternative) history is based on the premise that the standard timeline diverged at a certain point and followed […]