Simon Scarrow (born 3 October 1962) is a British writer. Scarrow completed a master's degree at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, then at City College Norwich. He is best known for his '' Eagles of the Empire'' series of Roman military fiction set in the territories of the Roman Empire, covering the second invasion of Britain and the subsequent prolonged campaign undertaken by the rump of the

Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

. , there are 23 books in the series; the latest, ''Revenge Of Rome'', was published in 2024. He has written another series, ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

'', focussing on

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, the first title of which, '' Young Bloods'', was published in 2006. The second volume, '' The Generals'', was published on 31 May 2007 and the third volume, '' Fire and Sword'', in January 2009. The fourth and final novel of the series was published in June 2010 and is called '' The Fields of Death''. He began publishing a new series in 2011, entitled ''Gladiator''. In 2021, Scarrow authored an audiovisual walking tour for the Roman Colosseum entitled ''Blood and Sand'' on the BARD''EUM'' mobile app.

Books

Asked by the ''Edinburgh Book Review'' about the inspiration behind his interest in the Roman era, Scarrow said, "Firstly, great

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

teachers – Gordon Rodway and then Reg Nash, who inspired a love of the language and more enduringly a fascination with Roman history and culture. Secondly, when I was growing up in the seventies swords and sandals epics seemed to be on the TV regularly. Not to mention the brilliant '' I, Claudius''". Scarrow cites the inspiration for his 'earthy' characters as being from his time in the Officer Training Corps.

''Eagles of the Empire'' series

The '' Eagles of the Empire'' series centres upon two main protagonists, Quintus Licinius Cato and Lucius Cornelius Macro, who are both Roman soldiers. Macro, a veteran with nearly 15 years' service (at the start of the first novel) in the Roman Army, has recently been appointed to the Centurionate. Cato is in his teens, grew up in the Imperial Palace as a slave, and at the start of the series joins the Eagles as Macro's Optio. The first book starts in 42 AD. The books cover the experiences of the two soldiers, initially as experienced centurion and new

optio In a Roman army an (, from , 'to choose', so-called because superior officers chose the ; : ) held a rank in a (century) similar to that of an executive officer. The main function of an was as an , the second-in-command of a century, alth ...

, in battles in Germania and the invasion of Britain by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

as part of the Legio II Augusta. The 6th book, '' The Eagle's Prophecy'', has them serving as part of the Imperial Navy east of Italy. The 7th and 8th put them in Rome's eastern provinces as agents of the Emperor's secretary Tiberius Claudius Narcissus. The 9th sees them shipwrecked on the island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, fighting against a full-scale uprising. The 11th is set in Rome with the leads hoping to save the emperor from the shady Liberators. ''The Blood Crows'' is set once again in Britannia. The two protagonists are faced with defeating tribal rebels. The two characters Cato and Macro were also used in one book of the '' TimeRiders'' series: ''Gates of Rome''. They served as supporting characters when the three protagonists travel back to ancient Rome. Scarrow allowed his brother Alex to make use of the characters in his novel. In 2007 the publisher announced the intention to cease using the word "Eagle" in the title of books in this series, starting with ''Centurion''. The change was apparently because the publisher wanted to attract more new readers to the series. #'' Under the Eagle'' (2000) #'' The Eagle's Conquest'' (2001) #'' When the Eagle Hunts'' (2002) #'' The Eagle and the Wolves'' (2003) #'' The Eagle's Prey'' (2004) #'' The Eagle's Prophecy'' (2005) #'' The Eagle in the Sand'' (2006) #'' Centurion'' (2007) #'' The Gladiator'' (2009) #'' The Legion'' (2010) #*''Blood Debt'' (2009, short story) #'' Praetorian'' (2011) #'' The Blood Crows'' (2013) #'' Brothers in Blood'' (2014) #''

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

'' (2015) #'' Invictus'' (2016) #'' Day of the Caesars'' (2017) #'' The Blood of Rome'' (2018) #'' Traitors of Rome'' (2019) #'' The Emperor's Exile'' (2020) #'' The Honour of Rome'' (2021) #'' Death to the Emperor'' (2022) #'' Rebellion '' (2023) #'' Revenge of Rome'' (2024)

''Revolution'' series

'' The Revolution Quartet'' centres upon the lives of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. The first book in the quartet starts in 1769, and follows the two young men through their youth and on to their military careers. #'' Young Bloods'' (2006) #'' The Generals'' (2007) #'' Fire and Sword'' (2009) #'' The Fields of Death'' (2010)

''Gladiator'' series

The '' Gladiator'' series is aimed at the

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

audience, unlike his ''Eagle'' series. # '' Gladiator: Fight for Freedom'' (2011) # '' Gladiator: Street Fighter'' (2012) # '' Gladiator: Son of Spartacus'' (2013) # '' Gladiator: Vengeance'' (2014)

''Roman Arena'' series (with T. J. Andrews)

:Also acts as something of a prequel to the ''Eagle series'' as it features an earlier appearance of both characters Macro and Narcissus. #''Arena'' (2013) ## ''Barbarian'' (2012) ## ''Challenger'' (2012) ## ''First Sword'' (2013) ## ''Revenge'' (2013) ## ''Champion'' (2013) :::n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

''Invader'' series (with T. J. Andrews)

#''Invader'' (2016) ##''Death Beach'' (2014) ##''Blood Enemy'' (2014) ##''Dark Blade'' (2014) ##''Imperial Agent'' (2015) ##''Sacrifice'' (2015) :::n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

''Pirata'' series (with T. J. Andrews)

#''Pirata'' (2019) ##''The Black Flag'' (2019) ##''The Gates of Stone'' (2019) ##''Hunters of the Sea'' (2019) ##''Sea of Blood'' (2019) ##''The Pirate Chief'' (2019) :::n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

''Roman Caratacus'' series (with T. J. Andrews)

#''Warrior'' (forthcoming 2023) ##''The King in Rome'' (2022) ##''The Druids' Lair'' (2022) ##''Brothers of the Sword'' (forthcoming 2023) ##''The War Prince'' (forthcoming 2023) ##''Lord of War'' (forthcoming 2023) :::n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

''Inspector Horst Schenke'' novels

Mystery thrillers set in Berlin, Nazi Germany and focusing on Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke. * '' Blackout'' (2022) -- Berlin, December 1939 * ''Dead of Night'' (2023) -- Berlin, January 1940 * ''A Death in Berlin'' (2025) -- Berlin, May 1940

Stand-alone novels

The following are books which are either stand-alone novels or have yet to be confirmed as parts of a series. * '' The Sword and the Scimitar'' (2012) -- covers the

Great Siege of Malta The Great Siege of Malta (Maltese language, Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May t ...

* '' Hearts of Stone'' (2015) -- covers WWII period Greek island of Lefkas * '' Playing With Death'' with Lee Francis (2018) -- Crime story

Writer in Residence

In November 2006, Scarrow was accepted to fill the post of Writer in Residence at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, a position he said he was "honoured to accept".

Personal life

Scarrow lives in Norfolk with his wife, Louise, and their dog. He gives talks on history and writing at festivals. His leisure interests include skiing and scuba diving.

References

External links

* (Scarrow brothers Alex and Simon)
Simon Scarrow at Facebook
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scarrow, Simon 1962 births English historical novelists Writers of historical mysteries Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Alumni of the University of East Anglia People educated at Kent College Living people Place of birth missing (living people)