Iron and Rust (Throne of the Caesars, Book 1)

Description

A monumental new roman series is here. 3rd century Rome, like you've never seen it before: murder, coup, terror on the streets, counter-rebellions and civil war. In a single year six Emperors will lay claim to the Throne of the Caesars... SPRING AD235. When Emperor Alexander is cut down in a dawn attack, his murder marks the end of the Severan dynasty and the rise of a hero born from the barracks. Maximinus Thrax is a man of steel and violence, and his reign will come to nothing without the seal of approval from the Senate. As Rome is rocked with uncertainty, the merciless war against the barbarians rages in the north, and personal tragedy, as well as the whispers of conspirators, will drive Maximinus to the borders of sanity. In a world of intrigue, murder, passion and war, men will sacrifice everything to sit on the Throne of the Caesars.

Harry Sidebottom was brought up in racing stables in Newmarket where his father was a trainer. Educated at various schools and universities, including Oxford, he took his Doctorate in Ancient History at Corpus Christi College. He has taught at various universities including Oxford, where he is now Fellow and Director of Studies in Ancient History at St Benets Hall, and Lecturer in Ancient History at Lincoln College. He has travelled widely, especially around the Mediterranean, including trips travelling as a guest speaker on a Cunard liner and a memorable solo journey into Albania not long after the fall of the dictator Enver Hoxha. All his life he has gone racing, and played and watched rugby and cricket. He was a founder member of Woodstock Rugby Football Club and has recently discovered the pleasures of real tennis.

Praise for Iron & Rust: 'An amazing story of bloodlust, ruthless ambition and revenge' The Times Praise for Harry Sidebottom: 'Sidebottom's prose blazes with searing scholarship' THE TIMES 'Superior fiction, with depth, authenticity and a sense of place' TLS 'A storming triumph...wonderful fight scenes, deft literary touches and salty dialogue' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Explosive action and knuckle-whitening drama' GUARDIAN 'Sidebottom knows how to keep readers hooked from first to last' DAILY EXPRESS Praise for the Warrior of Rome series: 'The point of the novel, however, is action, heroic deeds, and gore. The qualities a writer of such stories needs - imagination stimulated through the soles of his feet as he walks the scenes of his tale, and a sound knowledge of the period - are abundantly possessed by Sidebottom ... a gripping book' TLS 'The latest in this series of novels on Rome's Persian Wars, Lion of the Sun, is, like the first two, a book to keep you up well past your bedtime. It's all about war and killing; I loved it' EVENING STANDARD 'The lionisation of war makes my blood run cold, but Dr Harry Sidebottom's prose blazes with such searing scholarship that there is enormous enjoyment in this rumbustuous tale of the late Roman Empire ... Sidebottom treads in the footsteps of the greatest mimetic historian-storytellers of the 18th and 19th centuries. He makes you feel as though you are there' Bettany Hughes, THE TIMES 'Harry Sidebottom works on Rome's 3rd-century army the magic that Patrick O'Brian applied to Nelson's navy. He has the touch of an exceptionally gifted story-teller drawing on prodigious learning' Tim Severin, author of the Viking Trilogy