by Olivia Coolidge $23.40 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Olivia Coolidge provides us with a panoramic view of Roman history through biographies of twelve of the most powerful, brilliant, influential, and well-placed men spanning 450 years of the Roman Empire: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Vergil, Horace, Nero, Seneca, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian and Constantine.

Her methodology is similar to that employed in Plutarch’s Lives, but is focused across a wider range of history with a better perspective of the ultimate impact their experiences will prove to have on the assension and endurance of the Empire.

‘The history of the Romans is to a large extent a history of the people.  The heart of the Empire is Rome, a single city where every important person knows everyone else.  It is also a city where character counts for much.’ – Olivia Coolidge.

What better way can the interplay of character and events be viewed than through the lives of those who shaped the Empire and ultimately Western civilization. For ages 12+; pb 222p; 300g

by Caroline Dale Snedeker $21.45 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Here is a touching story of a young Roman boy, Flavius, and his developing compassion for his captured Greek slave Ariphron.  Ariphon was given to Flavius by his father, General Lucius Mummius, at the time of Mummius’ public Triumph for his victories in Greece and Corinth.  you will learn a great deal about Roman culture observing Flavius’ relationship with his family among the sights and sounds of Rome.

Drama, personal development, tragedy, hope, compassion, triumph – this story has it all in a form easily understood by the young reader. This book is a wonderful introduction to the study of classical Rome and Greece.  Bring this culture to life – don’t just teach language, emperors, wars and dates.  For ages 8-12; pb 94p; 200g.

by Olivia Coolidge $ This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

From the introduction:

‘Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War are among the most interesting historical books which the Romans have left us.  It is not often that a commander of Caesar’s fame has the ability to write well.  His first hand account, written in an extraordinarily simple, clear style, gives us a picture of the Gallic War which may be taken from the Roman point of view, but which is real.  Reading Caesar, we know what he knows – how the Gallic War actually was.’

The original, in Latin of course, was written for adults of Caesar’s time.  It lacked the viewpoint, character description, story line and some of the vivid imagery that would make the story exciting to children.

In 1961, Olivia Coolidge wrote this account, both factual and fictional, of the Gallic War of 58-51 BC, narrated by a fictitious soldier in Caesar’s army, which provides a more vivid and readable companion to Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War.  This book, for more than 40 years, has been one of the finest introductions to Caesar, oman civilsation, and the Gallic War available to children. For ages 11-16; pb 240p; 300g.

See The Old Schoolhouse review.

by Caroline Dale Snedeker $21.45 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

The White Isle is Britain – a barbaric land to the patrician Claudian family exiled from Hadrian’s Rome, but an island of strange enchantment and stirring adventures to Lavinia, their daughter.  Because Favonius, Lavinia’s father, had been too much in sympathy with the old Republic and had protested when the Emperor proposed to take the street Favonius’ house was on to expand his palace, Favonius incurred the Emperor’s disfavour, and was suddenly appointed ‘legatus’ to far away Britain.

After sad farewells and an abrupt cancellation of Lavinia’s wedding, the whole family began their long journey along the Roman roads through Gaul, across the channel to the white cliffs of the British coast.  The contrast between the cultures of the early British Christians and the pagan Roman aristocracy, and Lavinia’s conversion to Christianity, make a dramatic setting for the novel.

The Whilte Isle was one of the first books to bring young people a spirited picture of Roman life in Gaul and Britain and is on of CD Snedeker’s finest books.

by Caroline Dale Snedeker $21.45 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Chloe, the young daughter of a noble Roman man, has been lost to herr father, and has spent her life unknown to him, as a slave on one of his own villas.  Cruelly treated, and with no hope of freedom, her only hope is into the stories of her Grecian mother’s home town of Eresos, as told to her by Melissa, a fellow-slave and her mother’s dearest friend.

Aulus, a brave young Roman soldier, is banished from Rome and escapes to his own villa in the Italian countryside.  There he is faced by a life-threatening misfortune, is saved by the enchanting young Chloe, and falls in love with her, despite the fact that she is a slave.

This historically accurate 1934 Newberry Honor Book is a captivating story of adventure, love, Chloe’s struggle with anger and hatred she feels toward her father, and the forgiveness she learns that changes her soul.  For ages 12+; pb 206p; 300g

See The Old Schoolhouse magazine review.

by Emma Leslie $27.30 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Story Setting: Rome and Arabia in 594 – 632 A.D. The Rise of Islam

Read the First Chapter! 
Originally published in 1877; 272 pages; For Ages 12 – Adult

At a Syrian market two Christian women are sold as slaves. One of the slaves ends up in Rome where Bishop Gregory is teaching his new doctrine of “purgatory” and the need for Christians to finish paying for their own sins. The other slave travels with her new master, Mohammed, back to Arabia, where Mohammed eventually declares himself to be the prophet of God. Read the rest of this entry »

by Emma Leslie $23.40 This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Read the First Chapter!

Story Setting: Roman England in 66 – 67 A.D.

Originally published in 1873; 169 pages; For Ages 12 – AdultThe Druid priests are as cold and cruel as the forest spirits they claim to represent, and Guntra, the chief of her tribe of Britons, must make a desperate deal with them to protect those she loves. Unaware of Guntra’s struggles, Jugurtha, her son, longs to drive the hated Roman conquerors from the land. When he encounters the Christian Centurion, Marcinius, Jugurtha mocks the idea of a God of love and kindness, but there comes a day when Read the rest of this entry »

by Emma Leslie  This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Read the First Chapter!

Story Setting: Asia Minor in 163 – 166 A.D.
Originally published in 1875; 265 pages; For Ages 12 – Adult

When Flaminius, a high Roman official, takes his wife, Flavia, to the Colosseum to see Christians thrown to the lions, he has no idea the effect it will have. Flavia cannot forget the faith of the martyrs, and finally, to protect her from complete disgrace or even danger, Flaminius requests a transfer to a more remote government post. As he and his family travel to the seven cities of Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation, Read the rest of this entry »

by Emma Leslie   This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Read the First Chapter!

Story Setting:  The Roman Empire in 313 – 363 A.D. Under Constantine.
Originally published in 1875; 264 pages; For Ages 12 – Adult

There is newfound freedom from persecution for Christians under the emperor, Constantine, but newfound troubles as well. Errors and pagan ways are creeping into the Church, while many of the most devoted Christians are withdrawing from the world into the desert as hermits and nuns. Quadratus, one of the emperor’s special guards, is concerned over Read the rest of this entry »

by Richard Maybury $23.40   This product is available for purchase from Chariot Press.

Next, read Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today which shows what happens when a society ignores “Uncle Eric’s Model” and embraces fascism. To build a better future we need to know how we got where we are today. The political trend that has dominated the world for 2,000 years, including the investment markets, remains almost unrecognized. Recommended reading for Truthquest History’s Ancient Rome.

Please see here for accompanying study guide.

And here for info on how to use Bluestocking Press titles.