Books like 'Spartacus'
Readers who enjoyed Spartacus by James Leslie Mitchell also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century europe south-europe ancient-civilization italy urban roman-empire historical-fiction slavery
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Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThey were blessed by the gods at birth with wealth and privilege. In a time of cataclysmic upheaval, a bold new generation of Romans vied for greatness amid the disintegrating remnants of their beloved Republic. But there was one who towered above them all -- a brilliant and beautiful boy whose ambition was unequaled, whose love was legend and whose glory was Rome's...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction italy politics roman-empire south-europe -
![Caesar by Colleen McCullough]()
Caesar by Colleen McCullough
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt's 54 BCE. Gaius Julius Caesar is sweeping thru Gaul, crushing the fierce, long-haired warrior-kings who stand in his way. His victories in the name of Rome are epic, but the leaders of the Republic are not pleased. They're terrified... -
![Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck]()
Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKinfolk is the story of a Chinese family. Dr. Liang moves to America in search of a better life, but his children long to return to China. Each responds to their new life in China differently, providing rich insight into the struggles between Eastern and Western culture, and the differences between generations...Categorized as:
historical-fiction classics politics fiction historical family 20th-century literary-fiction -
![The Grass Crown by Colleen McCullough]()
The Grass Crown by Colleen McCullough
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn this great drama, Marius, the general who saved Rome from barbarian invasion and became consul an unprecedented six times, has fallen into decline. Sulla, his closest associate, has withdrawn himself from his commander's circle in preparation for his own bid for power...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction italy politics roman-empire south-europe -
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![C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems by Constantinos P. Cavafy]()
C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems by Constantinos P. Cavafy
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsC. P. Cavafy (1863 - 1933) lived in relative obscurity in Alexandria, and a collected edition of his poems was not published until after his death. Now, however, he is regarded as the most important figure in twentieth-century Greek poetry, and his poems are considered among the most powerful in modern European literature... -
![Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar]()
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBoth an exploration of character and a reflection on the meaning of history, Memoirs of Hadrian has received international acclaim since its first publication in France in 1951...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction myths politics roman-empire 20th-century adult -
![A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar]()
A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLibrarian note: Alternate cover edition of: 9780976395096Set on the eve of World War II, A Mind at Peace captures the anxieties of a Turkish family facing the difficult reality entrenched in the early republic, founded on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in 1923... -
![I, Claudius by Robert Graves]()
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsInto the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, soon to culminate in the deified insanity of Caligula...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction italy myths politics roman-empire -
![Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina by Robert Graves]()
Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina by Robert Graves
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWith the same brilliance that characterized his classic I, Claudius, Robert Graves continues the tumultuous life of the Roman who became emperor in spite of himself and his handicaps. Claudius the God reveals the splendor, vitality and decadence of the Roman Empire through the eyes of the wry and bemused Claudius who reigns as emperor for thirteen years...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction myths politics roman-empire 20th-century adult -
![Augustus by John Williams]()
Augustus by John Williams
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA brilliant and beautifully written novel in the tradition of Robert Graves, Augustus is a sweeping narrative that brings vividly to life a compelling cast of historical figures through their letters, dispatches, and memoirs.A mere eighteen years of age when his uncle, Julius Caesar, is murdered, Octavius Caesar prematurely inherits rule of the Roman Republic...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction italy myths politics retellings -
![The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks]()
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPresenting the stories of Zeus and Europa, Theseus and Ariadne, the birth of Athens and the fall of Troy, in all their variants, Calasso also uncovers the distant origins of secrets and tragedy, virginity, and rape. "A perfect work like no other. (Calasso) has re-created . . . the morning of our world."--Gore Vidal. 15 engravings...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction myths retellings 20th-century adult book -
![Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton]()
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA timeless classic of sleazy London life in the 1930s, a world of streets full of cruelty and kindness, comedy and pathos, where people emerge from cheap lodgings in Pimlico to pour out their passions, hopes and despair in pubs and bars... -
![A Foreign Woman by Sergei Dovlatov, Antonina W. Bouis]()
A Foreign Woman by Sergei Dovlatov, Antonina W. Bouis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAfter leaving the Soviet Union following a series of unsatisfying relationships, Marusya Tatarovich quickly becomes the center of the Russian community in Queens, New York, but finds that it mirrors in many ways the community she left... -
![A Harvest of Secrets by Roland Merullo]()
A Harvest of Secrets by Roland Merullo
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of From These Broken Streets comes a sweeping novel of love, resistance, and courage set against the backdrop of WWII Italy.Italy, 1943. The seeds of terror planted by Hitler have brought Allied forces to Italian soil. Young lovers separated by war—one near a Tuscan hill town, the other a soldier on the Sicilian front—will meet any challenge to reunite... -
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![The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges]()
The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Borges's shortest stories, The House of Asterion was written over a period of two days. The story explores themes of death, redemption, and the nature of monstrosity. Its narrative style has been referred to as a "literary puzzle", with the narrator's identity not fully revealed until the end of the story... -
![Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke]()
Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTo Rilke himself the Sonnets to Orpheus were "perhaps the most mysterious in the way they came up and entrusted themselves to me, the most enigmatic dictation I have ever held through and achieved; the whole first part was written down in a single breathless act of obedience, between the 2nd and 5th of February, without one word being doubtful or having to be changed." With facing-page German... -
![Trilogy: The Walls Do Not Fall / Tribute to the Angels / The Flowering of the Rod by H.D., Aliki Barnstone]()
Trilogy: The Walls Do Not Fall / Tribute to the Angels / The Flowering of the Rod by H.D., Aliki Barnstone
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs civilian war poetry (written under the shattering impact of World War II). Trilogy's three long poems rank with T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets" and Ezra Pound's "Pisan Cantos." The first book of the Trilogy, "The Walls Do Not Fall," published in the midst of the "fifty thousand incidents" of the London blitz, maintains the hope that though "we have no map; / possibly we will reach haven,/ heaven...Categorized as:
classics myths retellings 20th-century anthologies children-books female-author feminism -
![شرق المتوسط by عبد الرحمن منيف]()
شرق المتوسط by عبد الرحمن منيف
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsهل يمكن أن ترمم إرادة انسان لم تعد تربطه بالحياة رابطة؟ أنا ذاك الإنسان. لا لست انساناً، السجن في أيامه الولى حاول أن يقتل جسدي. لم أكن أتصور أني أحتمل كل ما فعلوه، لكن احتملت. كانت إرادتي هي وحدها التي تتلقى الضربات، وتردها نظرات غاضبة وصمتاً. وظللت كذلك. لم أرهب، لم أتراجع: الماء البارد، ليكن. التعليق لمدة سبعة أيام، ليكن. التهديد بالقتل والرصاص حولي تناثر، ليكن. كانت ارادتي هي التي تقاوم... -
![The Persian Boy by Mary Renault]()
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratings“It takes skill to depict, as Miss Renault has done, this half-man, half Courtesan who is so deeply in love with the warrior.”–The Atlantic MonthlyThe Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander’s life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction myths politics retellings slavery 20th-century -
![Tales from Ovid by Ovid]()
Tales from Ovid by Ovid
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen Michael Hofmann and James Lasdun's ground-breaking anthology After Ovid (also Faber) was published in 1995, Hughes's three contributions to the collective effort were nominated by most critics as outstanding...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics myths retellings roman-empire 20th-century adult audiobook -
![The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad]()
The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsKaren Wynn Fonstad's THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essential volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure anthologies epic -
![Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various]()
Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture... -
![Almonds and Raisins by Maisie Mosco]()
Almonds and Raisins by Maisie Mosco
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe first in a trilogy about a Jewish family who flee Eastern Europe in the early 20th century and settle in Manchester, England. In the cold world of Manchester in 1905 the family Sandberg found the good things of life scarce and the hardships bitter as the chill northern winds. Sarah, the mother. A born survivor stranded in a land of strangers by the vicious tides of persecution... -
![The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch]()
The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt is the reign of the Emperor Augustus, and Publius Vergilius Maro, the poet of the Aeneid and Caesar's enchanter, has been summoned to the palace, where he will shortly die...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction myths politics roman-empire 20th-century adult -
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![The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi]()
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Atlantis to Xanadu and beyond, this Baedeker of make-believe takes readers on a tour of more than 1,200 realms invented by storytellers from Homer's day to our own. Here you will find Shangri-La and El Dorado; Utopia and Middle Earth; Wonderland and Freedonia. Here too are Jurassic Park, Salman Rushdie's Sea of Stories, and the fabulous world of Harry Potter... -
![Sunday In The Park With George: A Musical by Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine]()
Sunday In The Park With George: A Musical by Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsInspired by Georges Seurat's pointillist masterpiece Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte Sondheim and Lapine's musical celebrates the art of creation and the creation of art... -
![Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić]()
Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIn this collection of six tales, Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić masterfully fuses her original narrative plots with ancient Slavic folk mythology. The result is a rich, fantastic world often compared to those of Hans Christian Andersen or J. R. R. Tolkien... -
![News from the Empire by Fernando del Paso]()
News from the Empire by Fernando del Paso
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne of the acknowledged masterpieces of Mexican literature, Fernando del Paso's News from the Empire is a powerful and encyclopedic novel of the tragic lives of Maximilian and his wife, Carlota, the short-lived Emperor and Empress of Mexico...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics fiction historical 20th-century literary-fiction book adult -
![The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough]()
The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds comes a masterpiece of historical fiction that is fascinating, moving, and gloriously heroic. The reader is swept into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was ancient Rome...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction italy politics roman-empire south-europe -
![Buddies by Ethan Mordden]()
Buddies by Ethan Mordden
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"What unites us, all of us, surely is brotherhood, a sense that our friendships are historic, designed to hold Stonewall together," muses on character in Ethan Mordden's Buddies. This need for friendship, for nonerotic affection, for buddies, shines forth as an American obsession from Moby-Dick through Of Mice and Men to The Sting... -
![The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves]()
The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlong with I, Claudius, The Golden Fleece is considered one of Robert Graves's most exciting and transporting historical novels. The Golden Fleece was at one time the most sacred religious object of the ancient Greeks, and had been sent away as the result of a power struggle between the Greeks and earlier inhabitants of the Greek peninsula... -
![Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym]()
Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Calasso turned ancient legends into modern literature and created a postmodern novel out of the ancient myths of classical Greece...in Ka, Calasso attempts to do the same with the far more sprawling and elusive corpus of classical Sanskritt literature...The result is a book as brilliantly original as anything I have ever read on Hinduism.. -
![The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor]()
The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsO'Connor's 1956 account of big-city politics, inspired by the career of longtime Boston Mayor James M. Curley, portrays its Irish-American political boss as a demagogue and a rogue who nonetheless deeply understands his constituents. The book was later made into a John Ford film staring Spencer Tracy... -
![The Engineer of Human Souls by Josef Škvorecký]()
The Engineer of Human Souls by Josef Škvorecký
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Engineer of Human Souls is a labyrinthine comic novel that investigates the journey and plight of novelist Danny Smiricky, a Czech immigrant to Canada. As the novel begins, he is a professor of American literature at a college in Toronto... -
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![Saturnalia by John Maddox Roberts]()
Saturnalia by John Maddox Roberts
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlthough not everyone can define 'Saturnalia' precisely, for almost everyone the Roman holiday conjures a picture of wild abandon- celebrations where all bets are off and everyone does-or tries to do-exactly what he or she wants. (And you can often guess correctly what that is likely to be...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization historical-fiction myths roman-empire 20th-century adult audiobook book -
![Where the Air Is Clear by Carlos Fuentes]()
Where the Air Is Clear by Carlos Fuentes
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Where the Air Is Clear," Carlos Fuentes's first novel, is an unsparing portrayal of Mexico City's upper class. Departing from a traditional linear narrative, Fuentes overlays Mexican myths onto contemporary settings, showing that even the rich and powerful must succumb to the indomitable spirit of Mexico, which undermines all institutions and shapes all destinies... -
![Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor]()
Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUsing scholarly, historical insight, and evocative storytelling that brings to life the glories of ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes the reader from the bloody lines of clashing Roman armies to the backrooms of the Senate floor, where power-hungry politicians wrestle the Fates for control of Rome's destiny...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction politics roman-empire 20th-century adult audiobook -
![The 14th Colony by Steve Berry]()
The 14th Colony by Steve Berry
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain—in fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction italy politics south-europe urban 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff]()
The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Romans have abandoned Britain, leaving it open to the twin threats of civil war and Saxon invasion. When his home and all he loves are destroyed, Aquila endures years of torment before deciding to put some meaning back into his life...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe historical-fiction myths roman-empire slavery 20th-century -
![The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis]()
The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA continuation of Homer’s epic poem, Kazantzakis’s own Odyssey finds Odysseus once again leaving Ithaca on finding that the satisfactions of home and hearth are not as he remembered them... -
![The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault]()
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn this sequel to The King Must Die Theseus defies the Gods’ and claims the throne of Athens a move that culminates in the terrible, fateful destruction of the house of Minos -- the Minotaur... -
![Zayni Barakat by Gamal al-Ghitani, جمال الغيطاني]()
Zayni Barakat by Gamal al-Ghitani, جمال الغيطاني
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"In the course of my long travels I have never seen a city so devastated. After a long time I ventured out into the streets. Death, cold and heavy, hung in the air. Walls have no value here, doors have been eliminated. No one is certain that they will see another day...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics 20th-century adult book fiction historical literary-fiction -
![The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris L. West]()
The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris L. West
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe pope has died, and the corridors of the Vatican hum with intrigue as cardinals from all over the world gather to choose his successor. Suddenly, the election is concluded - with a surprise result. The new pope is the youngest cardinal of all - and a Russian... -
![All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg, Angus Davidson]()
All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg, Angus Davidson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAnna, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl in a small town in northern Italy, finds herself pregnant after a brief romance. To save her reputation, she marries an eccentric older family friend, Cenzo Rena, and they move to his village in the south... -
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![The Skin by Curzio Malaparte]()
The Skin by Curzio Malaparte
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis is the first unexpurgated English edition of Curzio Malaparte’s legendary work The Skin. The book begins in 1943, with Allied forces cementing their grip on the devastated city of Naples. The sometime Fascist and ever-resourceful Curzio Malaparte is working with the Americans as a liaison officer. He looks after Colonel Jack Hamilton, “a Christian gentleman . . -
![A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim, Larry Gelbart]()
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim, Larry Gelbart
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe book and lyrics of the first musical for which Sondheim composed the score as well. Forum opened in 1962 and is Sondheim's longest running play. Other plays for which he has written both the music and lyrics are A Little Night Music, Into the Woods and Assassins... -
![L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel]()
L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsQui ne connaît pas Merlin ? Il se joue du temps qui passe, reste jeune et beau, vif et moqueur, tendre, pour tout dire Enchanteur... -
![Sessanta racconti by Dino Buzzati]()
Sessanta racconti by Dino Buzzati
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIl mondo di Dino Buzzati è un mondo magico, misterioso, molto attraente per il lettore che, incuriosito, giunge al termine della lettura con il fiato sospeso, nell’attesa di conoscere quell’unica verità che capovolge tutto ciò che fino a quel momento sembrava essere vero... -
![The Inquisitors' Manual by António Lobo Antunes]()
The Inquisitors' Manual by António Lobo Antunes
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLike a Portuguese version of As I Lay Dying, but more ambitious, António Lobo Antunes's eleventh novel chronicles the decadence not just of a family but of an entire society - a society morally and spiritually vitiated by four decades of totalitarian rule...Categorized as:
europe south-europe historical-fiction classics portugal romance fiction literary-fiction -
![The Temple of the Muses by John Maddox Roberts]()
The Temple of the Muses by John Maddox Roberts
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Roman junior senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger has a chance to join a diplomatic mission to Alexandria, he welcomes the opportunity to temporarily elude his enemies in the Eternal City-even though it means leaving his beloved Rome...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization historical-fiction myths roman-empire 20th-century adult audiobook book
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