> Skip to content

Article  •  25 September 2023

 

How often do you think about the Roman Empire?

If you're spending all your waking time thinking about the Roman Empire (as many of us are), why not read about it too?

With fact and fiction, there's always more ways to think about the empire that spanned the world.

Empire Conn Iggulden

Discover the rise and fall of the world's greatest empire in the stunning second novel in THE GOLDEN AGE series, from the nation's finest historical novelist

Pericles returns home more than a hero: he's the leader of Athens, the empire's beacon of light in the dark.

Buy now

Lion Conn Iggulden

Discover the rise and fall of the world's greatest empire in the stunning first instalment of The Golden Age, an epic new series from the nation's finest historical novelist

After the Gods. After the Myths and Legends came the world of Men.

Buy now

The Barbarian Douglas Jackson

Treacheries, betrayals and bloody battles during the desperate twilight years of Rome's once all-powerful empire - this is the action-packed, thrillingly authentic new Roman historical novel from a writer acclaimed as one of the genre's very best.

Buy now

The Wall H.G. Adler

Set on and around the UK's best-known and internationally renowned Roman monument - Hadrian's Wall - here is the action-packed and resoundingly authentic new historical novel from a writer consistently acclaimed as one of the genre's very best.

Buy now

Rome: The Art of War Manda Scott

The stunning Roman novel featuring Sebastos Pantera, set during the year of the Four Emperors. ROME ON A KNIFE EDGE. A TRAITOR IN THE MIDST.

Rome: AD69. The Year of the Four Emperors. Three Emperors have ruled in Rome this year and a fourth, Vespasian, has been named in the East.

Buy now

Pompeii Robert Harris

During a sweltering week in late August, as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas around Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. 

Through the eyes of four characters - a young engineer, an adolescent girl, a corrupt millionaire and an elderly scientist - Robert Harris brilliantly recreates a luxurious world on the brink of destruction.

Buy now

Warrior of Rome VI: The Amber Road Harry Sidebottom

AD 264 - The Roman Empire is torn in two.The western provinces - Gaul, Spain and Britain - have been seized by the pretender Postumus. To the east, on the plains of northern Italy, the armies of the emperor Gallienus muster.War is coming.Everyone must choose a side.

Buy now

Rome Stories

From Livy to Henry James, from Cellini to Moravia, this collection of classic tales of the Eternal City draws on a wide range of brilliant writers from across the ages. A gorgeously jacketed hardcover anthology

Buy now

Ancient Rome

A definitive history of ancient Rome that tells the story of its dramatic rise and fall in rich visual detail

Immerse yourself in the history of ancient Rome - from its origins as a small settlement on the Palatine Hill to its peak as an empire reigning over 90 million people, and its tumultuous decline.

Buy now

Rome and Jerusalem Martin Goodman

By one of the world’s leading scholars of the ancient Roman and Jewish worlds, this is the first book to bring together these two ancient civilisations

In AD 70, after a war that had flared sporadically for four years, three Roman legions under the future Emperors Vespasian and his son Titus surrounded, laid siege to, and eventually devastated the city of Jerusalem, destroying completely the magnificent Temple which had been built by Herod only eighty years earlier.

Buy now

Rome and Italy Titus Livy

Books VI-X of Livy's monumental work trace Rome's fortunes from its near collapse after defeat by the Gauls in 386 bc to its emergence, in a matter of decades, as the premier power in Italy, having conquered the city-state of Samnium in 293 bc.

Buy now

Rome and the Mediterranean Titus Livy

Books XXXI to XLV cover the years from 201 b.c. to 167 b.c., when Rome emerged as ruler of the Mediterranean.

Buy now

The War with Hannibal Livy, Titus Livy

In The War with Hannibal, Livy (59 BC-AD 17) chronicles the events of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, until the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. He vividly recreates the immense armies of Hannibal, complete with elephants, crossing the Alps; the panic as they approached the gates of Rome; and the decimation of the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.

Buy now

Ancient Worlds Michael Scott

Ancient history for our globalised age: an epic odyssey over 900 years, taking us from the Mediterranean to India and China, taking in the birth of modern politics in Greece and Rome, the building of great empires by war and conquest, and the rise of the world’s great religions.

Buy now

More features

See all
Article
Staff recommendations: Books we've been loving

Want to know what books the Penguin NZ team have been reading and loving recently? Read on for our recommendations!

Article
5 of the hottest YA books right now (2025)

Check out some of the hottest YA books in stores now, from epic romantasy to sweet, unexpected romance.

Article
Best historical fiction books to read in 2025

From tales of Ancient Greece to epics set in the Second World War, these are the historical novels at the top of our reading piles this year.

Article
How to save money on groceries: 6 innovative budget tips

Food shopping on a budget? These tips from Money-Saving Meal Plans With Chelsea will help you spend less on food.

Article
Mother's Day Memories: Penguin Authors

For Mother's Day 2025 we're celebrating the power of books to bring us closer.

Article
Mother's Day Memories: Penguin Staff

For Mother's Day 2025 we're celebrating the power of books to bring us closer.

Article
Win mum her favourite books this Mother’s Day!

Let us know below which three of our fantastic Mother’s Day books mum would love, and we’ll send them to you in time for Mother’s Day!

Article
Our Favourite Film & TV Tie-Ins for 2025

Read on for some of the Film and TV tie-ins we're most excited about at the moment!

Article
Real Readers Review: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

A star-crossed lovers romance that spans a millennia, what do readers really think about The Favourites?

Article
Pick a Patterson

Find your next thrill with these new James Patterson books!

Article
DK Catalogue 2025

Knowledge is adventure.

Article
Penguin's 2025 Bingo

Play the new Penguin Bingo with us. How long will it take you to get bingo?

Looking for more articles?

See all articles