What inspired Roma Nova?

I’m often asked this when I do interviews, talks or simply chatting to readers, but I don’t think I’ve ever put it all in one place on this my own blog.

Well, three things!

Ampurias mosaic

The first was when I was on holiday in north-east Spain one summer. Here’s the story…

A […]

Thank you, 'Romans' Ruth Downie and Russell Whitfield

I love being a Roman writer and being seen as one. Imagine how delighted I was to be included in a list that my writing friend Ben Kane gave to a reader seeking Roman fiction authors. Last year at the Historical Novel Society conference, I had the privilege of taking part in a workshop with […]

Lupercalia – Not an ancestor of Valentine's Day

Lupercales, Andrea Camassei (1602-1649), Prado Museum

Mid February, the time of roses and chocolate when romance is in the air… And isn’t it the quaint descendant of the old Roman festival of Lupercalia?

Er, no. ‘Quaint’ is definitely not the word.

In AD 495, Christian bishop of Rome, Gelasius, finally managed to […]