Making Ancient Rome Come Alive

Marcus Tullius Cicero, by Bertel Thorvaldsen as copy from roman original, in Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I make my way through a lengthy Latin graduate reading list, I sometimes need a dose of inspiration to keep going. I find such inspiration in reading high quality historical fiction on ancient Rome. Those of you who want to experience getting excited about the great names of ancient Rome such as Cicero, Caesar, and Cato should take a look at the following books which I highly recommend. The Robert Harris books are my favorites. Steven Saylor is also good. These authors have been recommended by a classicist whose opinion I trust; and they make use of ancient historical sources such as Sallust, Livy, and Pliny the Younger.