November HistoryCAT - Ancient History

This month's theme is Ancient History, including Classical History. Like most historical periods, its definition is a bit nebulous, but for purposes of this thread anything from the beginning of writing (circa 3500 BCE) to the fall of the western Roman Empire in 476 CE will fit.

You could visit Egypt in the days of the pharaohs:



Or read stories and history related to the Bible:



Explore classical Greece:



And of course no tour of this kind would be complete without a sojourn in Rome and its empire:



And that's just a brief look at the many books available for your reading pleasure from just four of the many ancient civilizations waiting to be explored (although admittedly the four best-known to an English-speaking audience).

Wherever your ancient journeys take you, you can add it to the wiki.

My online reading group is reading A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum by Emma Southon next month, so that's that covered.

One of my favourite periods! I've got a non-fiction book about Roman economic history on the go that will last me til November: The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean.
>2 Robertgreaves: I think that was a BB from you...

>3 MissWatson: Quite possibly. I've got the same author's The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes, which my reading group is planning on reading next year

Just picked up the final book in the Songs of Penelope trilogy, The Last Song of Penelope. Perfect fit!

Just read an entire quarter of Ancient History! Not sure if I want to read another one. But if I do, I will read Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae which is historical fiction by Steven Pressfield that takes place in about 6 BCE.

I have set up the 2025 Category Challenge group here: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24518/2025-Category-Challenge. Feel free to stop by anytime, start suggesting CATs and KITs, and post your threads for the 2025 challenge!

(I'm posting this notification to a bunch of threads, so sorry if you see it multiple times!)

I finished The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault.

If you haven't yet visited the 2025 Category Challenge group, come on over! CAT and KIT discussion is in progress, and we're going to start voting on Wednesday, November 6. So if you'd like to suggest a CAT or KIT for next year, check out the discussion and make your proposals here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365087.

I'm posting this several places in the 2024 group, so my apologies if you see it a bunch of times!

I also finished 428 AD by Giusto Traina.

I almost forgot to record my non-fiction book, The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean, about the long-distance trade of the Romans with Africa, Arabia and Asia. It's full of amazing facts.

>11 MissWatson: Glad you enjoyed it. To me the most amazing fact was just how dependent the Empire was on Egypt as a financial base and not just a granary.

>12 Robertgreaves: My jaw dropped when I read about Marcus Aurelius selling off the imperial family trinkets to finance the war against the Marcomanni. I had never seen that mentioned before. But then, ancient historians rarely bother about the money side of things.

Today (Sunday, November 10) is the last day for voting on the 2025 CATs, so if you haven't voted yet, you can do so here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365087. See message #73 and following. Again, cross-posting in many places, so sorry if you see this message multiple times.

I have finished Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, which I think fits here. It is a retelling of the ancient Indian epic, The Ramayana, from the point of view of Rama's stepmother, Kaikeyi. I don't know anything about ancient India and how true to the original this was, but I found this quite good. And now I want to read the Ramayana to compare.

I finished Rome: Empire of the Eagles, 753 BC - AD 476 by Neil Faulkner This was a broad comprehensive history of ancient Rome from its founding through its fall. Topics covered in depth are military conquests, political upheavals, and cultural developments. Surprisingly, I don't think Julius Caesar got the press time he deserved! Even though this was NF book, Faulkner is a good story teller and its reading was smooth and flowing. 378 pages 3.5 stars CAT: November HistoryCAT: Ancient History

Starting Finished Business by David Wishart, a mystery set in Rome in AD 40.

I had read The Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch earlier this year, and I was hoping to be able to complete the trilogy before too long. This topic gave me the opportunity, so I have finished The Lantern Bearers. It tells the story of the Romans leaving Britain and the clash between the Roman Britons left behind and the invading Saxon tribes.

>17 Robertgreaves: Continuing with the next in the series, Trade Secrets

The December thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365753

COMPLETED Finished Business and Trade Secrets, set in Ancient Rome in the last few months of Caligula's reign and the first few months of Claudius's.

The Secrets of Vesuvius / Caroline Lawrence
2.5 stars

This is the second in a series of children’s mysteries, this one set in ancient Italy. Flavia is our main character; she and friends are given some kind of riddle (I’m not sure why). Later on, they try to help a boy find his biological parents. Then, the volcano at Vesuvius erupts.

All of that in a very short book. I listened to the audio and, like with the first book, there was too much I missed because it didn’t hold my attention. After the first one, I had decided to give the series another try (this one), but I think I’ll stop here. Maybe I could try a non-audio, but I don’t think I will. The boy and the volcano were the most interesting, though.

I have finished Two for the lions, tenth in the Marcus Didius Falco series.

>23 MissWatson: Half way through and then there's the second series when Falco's daughter takes over the business.

>24 Robertgreaves: I stopped buying them some time ago because they were piling up unread. I think I’ve got three or four left and then I'll decide whether to continue or not. There are so many other books waiting their turn.