Ben Kane (born 6 March 1970) is an Irish novelist who specialises in

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. He is best known for his ''Forgotten Legion'', ''Spartacus'', and ''Hannibal'' book series. His 2011 novel, ''Hannibal: Enemy of Rome'', made the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' bestseller list. He has had multiple ''Sunday Times'' bestsellers since. Translated into 14 languages, his books have sold more than a million and a half copies worldwide. In 2013, Kane and two friends walked the entire length of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

for charity while wearing full Roman military kit, including

hobnail In footwear, a hobnail is a short nail with a thick head used to increase the durability of boot Sole (shoe), soles or provide traction. History Hobnailed boots (in Scotland "tackety boots") are boots with hobnails (nails inserted into the ...

ed boots; they raised nearly £19,000 for Combat Stress and Medecins Sans Frontieres. In 2014, they walked again in Italy, raising over £26,500. A documentary film was made about their walk, entitled ''The Road to Rome'', with

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

providing voiceover. In 2016,

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

conferred an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree upon Kane in recognition of his historical research. For some years, he has been supporting and raising money for Park in the Past, a Roman fort-building project near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. In May 2023, Kane signed a four-book deal with Orion. In May 2024, Kane published the novel ''Stormcrow'', set in Ireland. In October 2024, Kane and his fellow authors of ''A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii'' sold dramatic rights for the work to

Amazon MGM Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

and

Scott Free Productions Scott Free Productions is a film and television production company founded by English filmmakers and brothers Ridley and Tony Scott in 1995. The result of multiple mergers between companies established by the Scott brothers since 1971, it curre ...

Bibliography

''The Forgotten Legion''

# ''The Forgotten Legion'' (2008) # ''The Silver Eagle'' (2009) # ''The Road to Rome'' (2010) # "The March" (short story, 2018)

''Hannibal''

# ''Hannibal: Enemy of Rome'' (2011) # "Hannibal: The Patrol" (short story, 2013) # ''Hannibal: Fields of Blood'' (2013) # ''Hannibal: Clouds of War'' (2014)

''Spartacus''

# ''Spartacus: The Gladiator'' (2012) # ''Spartacus: Rebellion'' (2012)

''Eagles of Rome''

# "The Shrine" (short story, 2015) # "Eagles in the East" (novella, 2019) # ''Eagles at War'' (2015) # "The Arena" (short story, 2016) # ''Hunting the Eagles'' (2016) # ''Eagles in the Storm'' (2017) # "Eagles in the Wilderness" (novella, 2019) # "Io Saturnalia!" (novella, 2023)

''Clash of Empires''

# ''Clash of Empires'' (2018) # ''The Falling Sword'' (2019)

''Lionheart''

# ''Lionheart'' (2020) # ''Crusader'' (2021) # ''King'' (2022)

Other

* ''A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii'' (2014 – Kane contributed one chapter) * ''Sands of the Arena and Other Stories'' (2021) * ''Napoleon's Spy'' (2023) * "Centurion of the First" (novella, 2023) * ''Stormcrow'' (2024) * ''Rome'' (forthcoming May 2025)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Ben Living people 1970 births Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Alumni of University College Dublin Kenyan medical writers