This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books Set in Another Time”.
This is perfect for me as historical fiction is one of my favourite genres. There are many different ways I could approach this topic, but I’ve decided to list ten books I’ve read that are set in the Ancient World (most of my historical reading is set in much more recent periods). To make the list more fun, the final two books aren’t just set in the ancient past, they were also written then.
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1. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie – Christie’s only historical novel is set in Ancient Egypt and deals with a series of murders in the household of the priest Imhotep. The book is written mainly from the perspective of Imhotep’s daughter, Renisenb, who has just recently returned to her father’s home after being widowed and finds that many tensions and rivalries have formed between the family members during her absence. It’s an unusual Christie novel, but one I really enjoyed!
2. I, Claudius by Robert Graves – This is the first part of Graves’ fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor, Claudius, who ruled from AD 41 to 54. This book deals with Claudius’ childhood and his experiences during the reigns of his three predecessors, Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. I found it a bit intimidating at first due to not being very familiar with the lives of the emperors, but I did enjoy the book and am still planning to continue with the second one.
3. The King Must Die by Mary Renault – This is the first of Renault’s two novels about the life of Theseus, the Greek hero most famous for the slaying of the Minotaur. One of the things I loved about this book and its sequel, The Bull from the Sea, is the way Renault gave logical, rational explanations for the various aspects of the myth instead of magical ones, which made the two books feel more like historical fiction rather than mythology retellings.
4. Babylonia by Costanza Casati – This book is set in the 9th Century BC at the time of the Assyrian Empire and tells the story of the legendary Semiramis, who is thought to be based on the historical Assyrian queen, Sammuramat. I had never read a book set in this period before, so I found it fascinating. It’s also beautifully written and I would happily recommend it to anyone interested in reading about periods of Ancient history other than Greek, Roman or Egyptian!
5. The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff – This book is set during the time of the Roman Empire, in what we now call Scotland and the north of England. The story follows the gladiator Phaedrus who becomes part of a plot to impersonate King Midir of the Dalriadain. Although it’s marketed as a book for younger readers, I found it had a lot to offer adults too.
6. House of Names by Colm Tóibín – Set in Ancient Greece, this is a retelling of the tragic story of the House of Atreus, described in Aeschylus’ trilogy, the Oresteia. Written from the perspectives of first Clytemnestra, then her children Orestes and Electra, I wasn’t very familiar with this story at the time when I read Tóibín’s novel, but having read several other retellings since then I think I might get more out of this one if I read it again.
7. The Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris – I’m cheating slightly here because this is three books, not just one: Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator, which together tell the story of the Roman statesman and lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero, as seen through the eyes of his slave and secretary, Tiro. I loved all three of these novels and had never imagined reading about Roman politics could be so exciting!
8. Priestess of Ishana by Judith Starkston – I’m including this one because it’s the only book I’ve read set in the Bronze Age. It’s historical fantasy but set in a world based on the real Hittite Empire and the main character, Tesha, is inspired by the historical Puduhepa, a priestess of Ishtar. There are three other books in the series, but I’ve only read the first one.
9. The Odyssey by Homer – The first eight books on my list are historical fiction, but the final two are works that were both set and written in the ancient past. There are many different versions of Homer’s Odyssey, and I read a translation by T.E. Lawrence from 1932. It was very readable and captured the excitement of Odysseus’s adventures, but I would be interested to see how a more modern translation compares.
10. The Epic of Gilgamesh – This epic poem was written on a set of clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia which were discovered in the 19th century and are believed to date from around 2000 BC. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, a powerful Sumerian king, and his relationship with his friend Enkidu. I read a translation by Andrew George and found it surprisingly easy to read and also very enjoyable.
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There are several more books I could have included on this list, but I had to restrict myself to ten and wanted to represent as many different periods and locations as I could.
Have you read any of these? Which other books set in the Ancient world can you think of?
She Reads Novels 
I love this twist on the theme for this week. I’ve read a lot of these but I’ve never read Gilgamesh. I’m definitely tempted though as it’s been featured in a couple of novels I’ve read lately
I was a bit intimidated by the thought of reading Gilgamesh, but I enjoyed it and it turned out to be easier to read than I expected. I can definitely recommend the Penguin Classics edition translated by Andrew George.
I knew you’d have lots of titles to choose from today. I love that you went with ancient history for your list. The only one of these I’ve read is The Odyssey. I’d really like to read the Agatha Christie one. Any book set in ancient Egypt. ;D
Yes, there were lots of ways I could have approached this week’s topic! I haven’t read many books set in ancient Egypt, but the Christie novel is great.
I’ve read I Claudius and Claudius The God, and also the Mary Renault – the follow-up, The Bull From The Sea, is also good, though very sad in places. Rosemary Sutcliff wrote wonderfully about prehistoric and Roman times, she’s one of my favourite authors, and I’m going to try Babylonia. But my favourite recent books set in ancient times are the three novels by Elodie Harper – The Wolf Den, The House With The Golden Door and The Temple of Fortuna. They follow the life of Amara, an enslaved Greek woman forced to work in a brothel in Pompeii, and at times they’re a difficult read, but ring absolutely true. Highly recommended.
I’ve read the first two Elodie Harper books and loved them. I agree that they’re not particularly comfortable books to read at times, but they’re very immersive and I’m hoping to find time to read the third one soon – preferably before her new standalone novel about Boudicca comes out this summer.
I get really confused with Clytemnestra & co. There seem to be umpteen different versions of what happened to each of them after the Trojan War!
It’s very confusing! Since reading House of Names I’ve read two or three other books about Clytemnestra and they’ve all been entirely different.
I haven’t read any of these but it’s so interesting to see the variety on everyone’s lists. Here’s mine for this week: https://portobellobookblog.com/2025/02/25/top-ten-tuesday-25th-february-books-set-in-another-time-toptentuesday-amreading-historicalfiction-bookrecommendations-tuesdaybookblog/
Yes, there’s a lot of variety this week. It’s a topic that can be approached in so many different ways.
The only ones I’ve read here are The Odyssey and Gilgamesh, I’ve read a few books by Rosemary Sutcliff, but not that one. I’m very interested in Death Comes as the End.
Here’s my list: https://franlaniado.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/top-ten-tuesday-alternate-universes-and-histories/
Death Comes as the End is great – similar in many ways to Christie’s contemporary mysteries, but obviously with a completely different setting!
Now you’ve got me even more curious!
I’m not a big histfic reader at the best of times but I tend to particularly avoid books set in the ancient world and I’m not sure why. It might be the glut of Greek myth retellings. Of the modern novels here, I’ve only read the Colm Toibin, which I found disappointing, though kudos to him for getting in ahead of the glut. I have randomly also read Gilgamesh but not the actual Odyssey (I have read a version aimed at children!!). Need to sort that.
I used to avoid books set in the ancient world as well – for some reason I found it harder to connect with the plots and characters than I do with more recent periods of history. I enjoy ancient settings more now than I used to, but I agree that there are far too many Greek myth retellings around at the moment!
Lovely list. The books I’ve read that were set the furthest in the past were the Earth’s Children series by Jean Auel, set in the stone age (or there about). After that, the Masters of Rome books by Colleen McCullough set during Ancient Rome. But I think the oldest written book I’ve read is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Oh, wait… I’ve also read a couple plays by Sophocles!
Oh, and Medea by Euripides as well as Lysistrata by Aristophanes – which I LOVED.
I forgot about the Earth’s Children series – I read the first two or three books years ago, before I started blogging, and remember enjoying them. I’m impressed that you’ve read so many of the ancient Greek plays!
I had a very interesting High School, which made sure we read very widely.
I adored Babylonia and also appreciated that it was set within a different time than many of these kind of retellings. I truly love the authors way with words too. I haven’t read any of the others yet but House Of Names was already and on my TBR and I’ve just added most of the others. After loving Mother Of Rome I really want to try more Roman inspired reads. I didn’t realise Christie had written an Egyptian set tale. And I’m curious about Mary Renault’s approach to the Greek myths. Have you tried Claire Heywood’s books before? Because the one that I read, The Shadow of Perseus, did the same thing and like you it fascinated me. Don’t get me wrong I adore all things fantasy but I loved seeing how the mythology of the time could be worked and shifted into the historical world for a change
Yes, Babylonia was a bit different and made a change from ancient Greece and Rome. I did enjoy Costanza Casati’s other book, Clytemnestra, as well, but that’s more of a familiar story to me. I haven’t tried Claire Heywood yet, but will add The Shadow of Perseus to my TBR. There are so many Greek mythology books around at the moment it’s difficult to keep up with them all!
I loved both but I think Babylonia was probably my favourite too. It utterly blew me away. Let me know how you find it if you end up reading it 🥰 and very true. There’s so many on my TBR that I doubt I’ll ever catch up 😂
Hello Helen, I have regrettably not read a lot of fiction set in ancient times, but I would like to read more, so thank you for all these recommendations! 😁
Blessings, Jessica 💌
I never used to read many books set in ancient times either, but seem to read more of them now – mainly Ancient Rome or Greek mythology, though. I hope you get a chance to try some of these recommendations 🙂
Love Renault, Graves, Sutcliff. I need to try Robert Harris. For serious historical fiction I would add the Wolf Den trilogy, and The Corn King and the Spring Queen by Naomi Mitchison. Oh, and Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin. In a less serious vein, Death Ex Machina was an fun mystery set in ancient Greece, improbable but entertaining.
Robert Harris is great. He writes about a lot of different time periods, but I think he captures Ancient Rome particularly well. I enjoyed the first two Wolf Den books and am hoping to read the third one soon, but I haven’t read the others you’ve mentioned – thanks!
I read ‘I, Claudius’ *eons* ago after watching the BBC(?) adaptation. The only other one listed is ‘Imperium’ which I read several years ago and keep meaning to finish the trilogy. Maybe this year? [lol]
I am a BIG fan of Ancient History – both fact & fiction – but do struggle reading outside the Greek/Roman world. Although there doesn’t seem to be much fiction (in English at least) outside that [comfort] zone to pick from.
I’ll see if I can at least press my nose up to the borders of the Roman Empire – Egypt & Britannia maybe… [lol]
If you enjoyed Imperium, I can definitely recommend the other two in the trilogy which I thought were at least as good, maybe better. I also struggle to read much ancient history outside of Greece and Rome, but have recently read a novel inspired by ancient Irish/Celtic myth, which I’ll be reviewing soon!
What a great top ten! If I read about ancient times, it tends to be about Rome, Egypt and Greece indeed, so I love that you included other periods. The Cicero trilogy is great and I also enjoyed ‘The house of names’.
Yes, it can be difficult to find books set in other periods of ancient history apart from Rome, Egypt and Greece!