18 books like Spartacus

What to read after Spartacus — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Antonina, or, The fall of Rome Wilkie Collins · 1800 · 224p · ≈ 7h · Challenging The author draws on historical accounts of the final days of Rome and adds fictional characters and details to bring the time to life in more of a vignette form rather than a novel. Chapters include an account of the instigation of the conflict between Rome and the Goths; contrast between the rich and the poor; conflict between Christian and pagan worshippers; view of the weak emperor Honorius;… Shares: Rome in fiction, Rome, History

Quo Vadis? Powieść z czasów Nerona Henryk Sienkiewicz · 1895 · ★ 4.2 · 743p · ≈ 24h · Demanding Nero's insanity threatens the woman of one man's dreams and all of Roman Christianity. As princess of a now vanquished kingdom, the lovely Lygia lives a hostage in first-century Rome. As an arrogant nobleman accustomed to getting his way, Vinicius decides he will have this strikingly beautiful young woman. But the princess's deep Christian faith rattles the pagan Vinicius -- who first tries to… Shares: Rome in fiction, Rome, History

The Gadfly Ethel Lilian Voynich · 1897 · 198p · ≈ 6h · Challenging The Gadfly was published in 1897, and its original publishers feared a hostile public reaction to its theme of revolution. Instead, it quickly became a classic of socialism, one of the very first politically aware novels. A story of love and conspiracy, it was based in part on the early life of Sidney Rosenblum, better known as "Reilly Ace of Spies" -- Voynich's boyfriend at the time. Shares: Revolutionaries, History

Lays of ancient Rome Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1800 · ★ 4.1 · 95p · ≈ 3h · Challenging Lays of Ancient Rome is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. Macaulay also included two poems inspired by recent history: Ivry (1824) and The Armada (1832). Shares: Rome, History

Night of the wolf Alice Borchardt · 1999 · ★ 3.9 · 478p · ≈ 15h · Moderate The Silver Wolf, Alice Borchardt's acclaimed novel of a shapeshifter's struggle to survive as woman and wolf amid the Dark Ages, announced the arrival of a ferociously gifted writer. Now, with her masterful weaving of adventure, history, and magic, Borchardt delves deeper into the shape-shifter legend, and brings an earlier, more savage time brilliantly to life.The fearsome legions of Julius… Shares: Rome, History

Lili Annie Wang · 2001 · ★ 4.0 · 320p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Derrière le portrait d'une jeune Chinoise dans les années 1980, l'histoire d'une prise de conscience sociale qui aboutit aux événements de la place Tian'anmen en 1989. [SDM]. Shares: Revolutionaries, History

Conspirata Robert Harris · 2010 · ★ 4.4 · 340p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Internationally bestselling author: "Imperium" was hailed as "quite possibly Harris's most accomplished work to date" ( "Los Angeles Times" ) and has received rave reviews from across the globe. Robert Harris's novels have sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into thirty-seven languages..- Powerful protagonist: Cicero returns to continue his struggle to grasp supreme power in… Shares: Rome, History

Catilina's Riddle Steven Saylor · 1993 · ★ 4.0 · 468p · ≈ 15h · Moderate 63 BC: Gordianus attempts to find out why headless bodies keep appearing on his newly-inherited farm and contend with hostile neighbors—all cousins of his benefactor—while he is entangled in republican conspiracy and counter-conspiracy. in Rome, Meto celebrates his toga party, on his sixteenth birthday. Shares: Rome, History

Imprimatur Rita Monaldi · 2002 · 599p · ≈ 19h · Moderate In den Gassen der ewigen Stadt wartet der Tod: Der historische Kriminalroman »Imprimatur« von Monaldi & Sorti jetzt als eBook bei dotbooks. »Monaldi & Sorti sind die Erben Umberto Ecos!« L' Express – Rom anno domini 1683. Er ist der beste Agent des französischen Sonnenkönigs, betraut mit einem Auftrag, bei dem das Schicksal Europas auf dem Spiel steht – doch nun sitzt Abbé Melani in der Herberge… Shares: Rome, History

Secretum Rita Monaldi · 2004 · 764p · ≈ 25h · Moderate July 1700, Rome. Atto Melani once a celebrated castrato soprano, now a spy in the service of King Louis XIV, the Sun King mingles with other high-ranking guests at the villa of Cardinal Spada. Shares: Rome, History

The Princess Casamassima Henry James · 1886 · 511p · ≈ 17h · Challenging The illegitimate and impoverished son of a dressmaker and a nobleman, Hyacinth Robinson has grown up with a strong sense of beauty that heightens his acute sympathy for the inequalities that surround him. Drawn into a secret circle of radical politics he makes a rash vow to commit a violent act of terrorism. But when the Princess Casamassima—beautiful, clever and bored—takes him up and introduces… Shares: Revolutionaries, History

Che Jon Lee Anderson · 1997 · ★ 4.1 · 819p · ≈ 27h · Moderate "Author obviously admires Guevara and thus tends to exaggerate his role in the Cuban Revolution; however, he has managed a degree of objectivity sufficient for production of the best biography of the guerrilla thus far. Author's research is wide and deep, his work is careful and meticulous, and he always remains close to the facts. Few will continue to venerate the memory of Guevara after reading… Shares: Revolutionaries, History

Ben-Hur Lewis Wallace · 1961 · ★ 4.1 · 208p · ≈ 6h · Moderate Ben-Hur is a heroic story of a fictional hero named Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Jerusalem.  Because of an unfortunate accident, Ben-Hur is sent to slave in the mines while his family is sent to leprosy caves. As Messala (his old friend that became his enemy) is dying from being crushed in a chariot race, he reveals where Ben-Hur's family is. On the road to find them, Ben-Hur meets… Shares: Rome, History

Blue Hand Edgar Wallace · 1923 · ★ 4.1 · 248p · ≈ 8h · Challenging Jim Steele, a clerk for a prominent London attorney, has the distasteful task of assisting a notorious client, Digby Groat, who stands to inherit the Jonathan Danton fortune. Danton’s infant daughter and closest heir, Dorothy, was thought to have died in a boating accident twenty years ago. Adding to the mystery, Dorothy’s mother, Lady Mary Danton, also disappeared around the same time. Jim… Shares: Adventure

The House Without a Key Earl Derr Biggers · 2015 · 248p · ≈ 8h · Moderate Published in 1925, The House Without a Key introduces the kindly detective Charlie Chan, conceived by Earl Derr Biggers as a counter to the “Yellow Peril” stereotypes common in the era’s society. John Quincy Winterslip, having been sent by his family to convince his aunt to return to Boston, arrives in Honolulu to find that a rich family member with a shady past has been murdered. Detective… Shares: Adventure

The Emperor's candlesticks Baroness Emmuska Orczy · 1908 · 100p · ≈ 3h · Challenging The Emperor's Candlesticks (1899) is a historical novel by Baroness Orczy and was her first book as an author. Shares: Adventure

I, Claudius Robert Graves · 1934 · ★ 4.2 · 427p · ≈ 14h · Challenging Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus lived from 10 B.C. to 54 A.D. Despised as a weakling and considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the mad Calgula to become emperor in 41 A.D. I, Claudius is written in the form of Claudius' autobiography and is one of the classics of modern fiction, the… Shares: Rome, History

Memoirs of a Revolutionist Peter Kropotkin · 1899 · ★ 4.2 · 502p · ≈ 16h · Challenging Published in Atlantic monthly Sep. 1898-Sep. 1899 under title The autobiography of a revolutionist. Graphic details of Russian conditions and of an eventful life. — A.L.A. Catalog 1904 “Kropotkin’s story is a singularly rich, diversified, and romantic one, and it is attractively told. Nothing more interesting in its way has ever been written than the chapters relating his prison life and escape.… Shares: Revolutionaries, History

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