Take one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. At its peak it controlled vast swathes of land and many different cultures – including their associated cuisines. But what happens when you add a fantastical element to the mix? As anyone who read my short stories or novels knows, though they’re set in […]
Ancient Greece
Roman Trinkets and Small Finds
A collections of links for some funky finds from Ancient Rome. First is this Roman army multi-tool. One can envisage it as a precursor to the Swiss — sorry, Helvetican — army knife. It has a knife, spoon, and fork, a spike, spatula and small pick. Though since it’s made of silver it might have […]
Ancient Maps (a fetish)
I need to confess. I have a fetish for ancient maps. (Yeah, I know, shocking). I remember some that my father had hanging in the den, and I always loved looking at them. Given the subject period for Felix, I doubt you’ll be surprised at the squeals of glee I emitted when I came across […]
National Maritime Week – two millennia ago
A few weeks ago, Mary R. Woldering has asked me to contribute a piece for her blog, with the theme of National Maritime Week. I have chosen to address the issue of the life of ancient galley-slaves, and who really rowed the naval war galleys. Below I reproduce the full post. Hi, and welcome to the […]
Book Review: Eno and the Pirates
If you’re reading this blog, you probably figured out that I have a thing for Historical-Fantasy Mysteries. No big surprises, really. So when I came across CB Pratt’s Eno and the Pirates, I was immediately excited! Another historical-fantasy hero from the ancient world. Since I had a cold and was not in the mood for writing, […]
