Young Adult Historical Novels: Ancient HistoryThis page lists historical novels for young adult readers set in ancient times, from times as early as the fourteenth century B.C. in Egypt up to the fifth century A.D. "Arthurian" period in Britain after the Romans withdrew, leaving the people of Britain to manage their own affairs. Many of these novels are also read and enjoyed by older adults. See the article Rosemary Sutcliff, about Sutcliff's books for young people. Jump to: Ancient Greece Abbreviations for Awards and Honors: ALANCB = American Library Association Notable Children's Book Ancient Greece
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Caroline Cooney, Goddess of Yesterday (2002), about a young woman who impersonates a princess after she is the only survivor of a pirate raid, and then goes to Sparta just before Helen and Paris fall in love, triggering the Trojan War. ALANCB, JFA. Esther Friesner, Nobody's Princess (2009), about the determined and beautiful young Helen of Sparta (who would later become known as Helen of Troy); #1 in the Helen of Sparta series. Esther Friesner, Nobody's Prize (2009), about Helen of Sparta and her adventures when she disguises herself as a boy to join her brothers in a quest for the Golden Fleece; #2 in the Helen of Sparta series. Priscilla Galloway, The Courtesan's Daughter (2002), about a fourteen-year-old girl from ancient Athens whose father has married a famous and well-educated courtesan, and whose plans to marry the man she loves are disrupted by an enemy of her family. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Adele Geras, Dido (2009), about the serving maid of a queen who falls in love with the same man the queen loves. Adele Geras, Troy (2001), about two sisters in Troy who fall in love with the same man during the Trojan War. Adele Geras, Ithaka (2001), about a girl who is in love with Odysseus's son Telemachos during the time when Odysseus is absent from home and his wife is besieged by men who wish to marry her and gain control of Odysseus's kingdom. Recommended for grades 7-12. Helen M. Hoover, The Dawn Palace: The Story of Medea Clemence McLaren, Inside the Walls of Troy (1996), about the beautiful Helen of Troy and the seeress Cassandra. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Elizabeth George Speare, The Bronze Bow (1961), about a young Palestinian boy who is eager to rebel against the Romans after they kill his father, until he learns the power of love. NA Rosemary Sutcliff, The Truce of the Games Rosemary Sutcliff, Heather, Oak and Olive Rosemary Sutcliff, Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad (1993), a retelling of the ancient Greek tale of the Iliad about the Trojan War. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, The Wanderings of Odysseus (1995), a retelling of the ancient Greek tale of Odysseus and his struggle to return home after the Trojan War. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Theresa Tomlinson, The Moon Riders Theresa Tomlinson, Voyage of the Snake Lady (2004), about a young warrior priestess of the Amazons after the fall of Troy who must protect her people from the vengeance of Achilles; sequel to Moon Riders. Henry Treece, The Windswept City Ancient Rome
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L.S. Lawrence, Escape by Sea (2009), about the daughter of a senator in ancient Carthage who must flee with her father after Rome attacks and destroys their city. Gladys Malvern, The Secret Sign Marissa Moss, Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome (2002), about a twelve-year-old slave boy in ancient Rome during the time of Emperor Augustus. Ancient Rome: Mysteries
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Caroline Lawrence, The Secrets of Vesuvius (2001), about four friends in ancient Rome who go to spend the summer near Pompeii just as Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt; #2 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Pirates of Pompeii (2002), about four friends who discover that in the chaos after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius numerous children have gone missing, and set out to find them; #3 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Assassins of Rome (2002), about four friends from the Roman port of Ostia who discover one of them has gone on a secret mission and decide to follow him to Rome, where they discover an assassin is at work; #4 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Dolphins of Laurentum (2003), about four friends who discover a wrecked ship and a sunken treasure; #5 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina (2003), about a girl who sets out during the holiday season of Saturnalia to find out whether a Roman widow's interest in his father is for his own sake or for his money; #6 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Enemies of Jupiter (2003), about four friends who try to discover the cause of an epidemic after the father of one of them is summoned to Rome to help treat the sick; #7 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Gladiators from Capua (2004), about three friends who arrange to be invited to Rome to see the gladiatorial games in the new amphitheatre so that they can search another of their friends, who is believed to be dead; #8 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Colossus of Rhodes (2005), about four friends who sail to Rhodes in search of the mother of one of them, and discover a criminal is using the island as his base of operations; #9 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Fugitive from Corinth (2005), about a girl whose three friends help her track down her tutor, who has fled after committing a violent crime; #10 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Sirens of Surrentum (2006), about a girl and her three friends who, while spending the summer at an expensive villa, are asked to find out if one of the houseguests is a poisoner; #11 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Charioteer of Delphi (2006), about four friends who meet a young charioteer in Rome and help him investigate who stole a famous race horse during the chariot races of the Festival of Jupiter; #12 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Slave-Girl from Jerusalem (2007), about four friends who go to the aid of a freed slave-girl accused of murder after she has difficulty proving she has been freed in a court case brought by the man who inherited the estate where she was a slave; #13 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Beggar of Volubilis (2008), about four friends on a mission from Emperor Titus to find and steal a gemstone that, according to prophecy, will assure that its owner becomes ruler of the Roman Empire; #14 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Scribes from Alexandria (2008), about four friends separated when the ship they are traveling on is wrecked in a storm near the Egyptian city of Alexandria; #15 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Prophet from Ephesus (2009), about four friends who set out to investigate a continuing rash of kidnappings and find the trail leads to distant Halicarnassus; #16 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Caroline Lawrence, The Man from Pomegranate Street (2009), about four friends who investigate the death of Emperor Titus; #17 and last in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14. Review at Rebecca's Book Blog Roman Britain
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Frances Hendry, Victrix: Triumph in the Roman Arena Frances Hendry, Gladiatrix: The Supreme Warrior Mollie Hunter, The Stronghold
Rosemary Sutcliff, The Eagle of the Ninth (1954), about a young officer in the Roman army in the second century A.D. and his quest to find his father, whose legion has gone missing in Britain; #1 in the Eagle of the Ninth series. ALANCB, CM. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, The Silver Branch (1957), about two cousins, one a junior surgeon and the other a centurion in the Roman army in Britain who discover a plot against the Emperor's life during the waning days of Roman Britain in the late third century A.D.; #2 in the Eagle of the Ninth series. CM. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, The Lantern Bearers (1959) about a young Roman cavalry officer born and raised in Britain who must decide what to do when Rome decides to pull its armies out of Britain in the fifth century; #3 in the Eagle of the Ninth series. ALANCB, CM. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, Three Legions (1980; to be reissued 2010 as Eagle of the Ninth Chronicles), an omnibus edition containing the first three novels in the Eagle of the Ninth series, The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, Dawn Wind (1961), about a fourteen-year-old Briton who sells himself into thralldom on a Saxon farm at the end of the sixth century in order to save the life of a British girl; #4 in the Eagle of the Ninth series (followed by Sword at Sunset, an adult novel). Rosemary Sutcliff, Frontier Wolf (1980), about a Roman officer sent to a post on Hadrian's Wall in Britain after he is disgraced by abandoning his fort when barbarians attack; #6 in the Eagle of the Ninth series, but set chronogically after The Silver Branch. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, Outcast (1955), about a boy who survives a shipwreck on the coast of Britain as a baby, but is cast out at age fifteen because of his Roman birth and must make his way alone in a hostile world. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, Warrior Scarlet (1958), about a boy in Britain during the Bronze Age who has a withered arm and will lose his place in the clan unless he kills a wolf by himself so he can be initiated as a man of his tribe. ALANCB, CMH, IBBY. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Rosemary Sutcliff, Bridge Builders (1960), about the people who built Hadrian's Wall, which divided Roman Britain from what is now Scotland; out of print and not readily available. Rosemary Sutcliff, The Mark of the Horse Lord (1965), about a freed Roman gladiator who agrees to impersonate the king of a tribe in northern Britain to whom he bears a remarkable resemblance. Rosemary Sutcliff, A Circlet of Oak Leaves Rosemary Sutcliff, The Capricorn Bracelet (1973), a collection of linked short stories about Roman soldiers serving at Hadrian's Wall on the northern edge of Roman Britain. Rosemary Sutcliff, Sun Horse, Moon Horse (1977), about a young artist in Iron Age Britain and the creation of the giant "Uffington Horse" carved into a chalky hillside. Rosemary Sutcliff, Song for a Dark Queen Rosemary Sutcliff, Eagle's Egg Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company (1990) , about a boy who becomes the shield-bearer to a British prince who is gathering an army to defend Britain against Saxon invaders. ALANCB. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Arthurian
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Patricia Malone, The Legend of Lady Ilena (2002), about a fifteen-year-old girl in Scotland in 500 A.D. who begins a search for the mysterious origins of her parents after her father dies. Anne McCaffrey, Black Horses for the King (1996), about a teenaged boy from a dishonored family in fifth-century Britain who gets the chance to serve as interpreter for Lord Artos when he buys horses for his warband. Recommended for grades 7-10.
Gerald Morris, The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady (1999), a humorous novel about a squire to King Arthur's knight Gawain and their adventures as they travel to meet the dangerous Green Knight; #2 in the Squire's Tales series. BBYA. Gerald Morris, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf (2000), a humorous novel about a lady who, when her castle is besieged by an evil knight, sneaks out and goes to King Arthur's court for help; #3 in the Squire's Tales series. BBYA. Gerald Morris, Parsifal's Page (2001), a humorous novel about a boy willing to do anything to become a knight's page and escape the drudgery of working in his father's blacksmith shop; #4 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (2003), a humorous novel about a reluctant knight and the Welsh lad who accompanies him on the way to King Arthur's court; #5 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Princess, the Crone and the Dung-Cart Knight (2004; titled Lady Sarah and the Dung-Cart Knight in the U.K.), a humorous novel about a thirteen-year-old girl who witnesses the kidnapping of Queen Guinevere and joins a knight and his squire on the quest to rescue her; #6 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Lioness and Her Knight (2005), a humorous novel about a determined young woman from the Orkney Isles who travels to King Arthur's court with her cousin; #7 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Quest of the Fair Unknown (2006), a humorous novel about a young man who sets out to find his father, one of King Arthur's knights, after the death of his mother; #8 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Squire's Quest (2009), a humorous novel about a squire who worries that something may be amiss in King Arthur's court; #9 in the Squire's Tales series. Gerald Morris, The Legend of the King (forthcoming in September 2010), a humorous novel about a squire who joins his friends in a final effort to save Camelot; #10 and last in the Squire's Tales series.
Rosemary Sutcliff, Tristan and Iseult (1971), about a young man in post-Roman Britain who defeats an Irish knight and is sent on a mission to win a queen for his uncle, the King of Cornwall. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Elizabeth E. Wein, A Coalition of Lions (2003), about a daughter of Artos, the High King of Britain, who travels to Africa after the disastrous Battle of Camlan to meet her intended husband, but finds the land in turmoil. Recommended for grades 7-12. Jane Yolen, Sword of the Rightful King (2004), about seventeen-year-old Gawaine, whose treacherous mother wishes to put him on the throne of Britain instead of Arthur. BBYA. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Ancient Ireland
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Rosemary Sutcliff, The High Deeds of Finn MacCool Ancient Egypt
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Esther Friesner, Sphinx's Princess (2009), about Nefertiti, the beautiful daughter of a commoner, who becomes a queen of ancient Egypt. Kristiana Gregory, Cleopatra, Daughter of the Nile (1999), a novel in the form of a diary kept by Cleopatra at the age of twelve, when her father goes into hiding after threats to his life that may endanger her, as well. Dianne Hofmeyr, Eye of the Moon Dianne Hofmeyr, Eye of the Sun Elsa Marston, The Ugly Goddess Eloise Jarvis McGraw, The Golden Goblet (1988), about a boy in ancient Egypt who wants to follow his father's profession of goldsmith, and whose half-brother is stealing from him. Recommended for grades 5-8. Myron Tim Palmer, The Egyptian Necklace June Reig, Diary of the Boy King Tut-Ankh-Amen Jill Rubalcaba, A Place in the Sun (1997), about a boy with artistic talent who, at the age of nine, is sentenced to spend the rest of his life at hard labor in the gold mines of Nubia. Jill Rubalcaba, The Wadjet Eye (2000), about a medical student in Alexandria, Egypt, who journeys to Spain after his mother dies to find his father, a soldier in the Roman Army of Julius Caesar. Biblical Times and the Ancient Middle East
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Marjorie Cowley, The Golden Bull (2008), about a brother and sister in ancient Mesopotamia who are sent away to the city of Ur during a terrible drought when their parents can no longer feed them. Helen Doss, King David Susan Fletcher, Alphabet of Dreams (2006), about a girl, her brother and Melchior, one of the three magi seeking a newborn king whose birth was foretold by the stars. BBYA pick. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Review at the Nimble Spirit website Nikki Grimes, Dark Sons (2005), a novel told in verse form which moves between the story of a modern-day African-American boy whose parents have divorced and the Biblical tale of Abraham's son Ishmael, who saw his place taken by his father's younger son, Isaac. BBYA pick. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Julius Lester, Pharaoh's Daughter (2000), about Moses as a teenager and the choice he must make between his Hebrew blood and the world he has grown up in as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. Sonia Levitin, Escape from Egypt Gloria D. Miklowitz, Masada: The Last Fortress (1998), about the seventeen-year-old apprentice physician who is the son of the leader at Masada, the last Judean fortress, as the Roman army prepares to attack it. Recommended for grades 5-12. Diane Lee Wilson, To Ride the Gods' Own Stallion (2001), about a thirteen-year-old Assyrian boy whose father sells him as a slave to the royal household, where a remarkable horse changes his life. BBYA. Top of Page
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(1988), the story of Medea and Jason and the transition from matriarchal rule and worship of a goddess to patriarchal rule and the ascendance of male gods. Recommended for grades 7-12.
(1971; also titled "A Crown of Wild Olive" in the collection 
), about two young athletes, one from Athens and one from Sparta, who compete against each other in the Olympic Games.
(2002), about a young warrior priestess of the Amazons at the time of the Trojan War. 
(1967), about a young slave boy to Helen of Troy who witnesses the key events of the Trojan War.
(1962), about a boy who joins Hannibal's march over the Alps to attack Rome with elephants. 
(1961), about an actor and a senator's daughter who fall in love during the time when Emperor Nero was persecuting Christians in Rome.
(2001), about a Roman sea captain's daughter and her friends in the port of Ostia who decide to find out who killed the dog belonging to her neighbors, who are secret Christians; #1 in the Roman Mysteries series. Recommended for ages 9-14.
(2004), about a young Celtic woman in Britain who becomes involved in Queen Boudica's revolt against Rome; #1 in the Gladiatrix trilogy.
(2004), about a young Celtic woman who has survived the aftermath of Boudica's rebellion and goes to Rome to train as a gladiatrix in order to avenge her tribe; #2 in the Gladiatrix trilogy.
(2005), about a woman gladiator who has vowed to destroy Rome as Rome once destroyed her people; #3 in the Gladiatrix trilogy.
(1974), about a brilliant young man in Scotland who is underestimated by druid leaders because he has been crippled since Romans attacked his village.
(1968; available with The Chiefs Daughter and A Crown of Wild Olive/The Truce of the Games in 
, 1972), about an encounter in a tavern between a young auxiliary cavalryman in the Roman Army and a horse breeder with a mysterious past.
(1978), about a harper in the court of Boadicea (Boudica), the queen of the Iceni tribe in Britain who leads a violent rebellion against Rome. Recommended for older teens.
(1981), about a young standard-bearer in the Roman army in Britain who must gain a promotion in order to marry the girl he loves. 
(1963), a retelling of the legend of the ancient Irish hero Cuchullain.
(1967), a retelling of the legend of Finn MacCool, the leader of a band of renowned warriors.
(2007), about a young woman who flees to Nubia with Tuthmosis, the heir to the throne of Egypt, after his mother, Queen Tiy, is murdered.
(2008), about a young woman who returns to Egypt in secret with Tuthmosis, the heir to the throne of Egypt, and lands in the midst of dangerous political struggles; sequel to Eye of the Moon.
(2002), about a fourteen-year-old Egyptian princess who dreads her future as a priestess until she is kidnapped.
(1961), about the son of an Egyptian architect, who overhears a plot to rob a tomb and make it appear that the architect and his family are guilty.
(1978), a novel in the form of a diary kept by Tutankhamen the year he was nine and became King of Egypt.
(1967), about the last days of Israel's King David and the struggle for power among his sons.
(1994), about a Hebrew slave who works for a goldsmith while Moses struggles to free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Recommended for ages 12 and up.