Reviewing Etched in Starlight, by Rosie Chapel

Etched in Starlight is a novel featuring the converging historical paths of two people of the first century CE. One is a Roman legionnaire, Maxentius, the other a Jewish physician named Hannah. Their fates collide in 66 CE when Jewish rebels attack the Roman fortress of Masada to challenge Rome’s occupation of Judea. Maxentius is […]

Smallpox and the Columbian Exchange

In my last post about the Columbian Exchange, I mentioned in passing what happened to the Incas and Aztecs when they met with Europeans after 1492. Today, it is time to flesh out that story and how it relates to the Columbian Exchange by describing the importance of smallpox. You might have heard a version […]

Review of Antonius, Son of Rome, by Brook Allen

The book Antonius, Son of Rome is a historical fiction novel by Brook Allen. It’s the first book of a trilogy about Marc Antony, or Marcus Antonius. The date of publication is 2018. To read my other recent book reviews, please check out: Dying of Whiteness, by Jonathan Metzl Opium and Absinthe, by Lydia Kang […]

Marcus Junius Brutus Dies by His Own Hand

The name Marcus Junius Brutus is well-known in history, not least because of Julius Caesar’s dying remarks to him in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. The real Marcus Junius Brutus was a leader of the group of conspirators who plotted against Caesar and carried out his assassination in 44 BCE. They thought they were restoring the […]