Clunn, Tony. The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions: Discovering the Varus Battlefield.

Staplehurst, Kent, UK: Spellmount, 2005.

In the fall of AD 9, Publius Varus, governor of Germania, went off across the Rhine to teach the local tribes a lesson, but he fatally misjudged the situation and lost three entire Roman legions. As a result, the Empire’s expansion came to a halt in the north and the Rhine became the de facto boundary between the Latin and Germanic worlds (and still is). But where did the great battle take place?

Iggulden, Conn. Emperor: The Gates of Rome.

NY: Delacorte, 2003.

Ever since I first became seriously interested in history (living overseas at the age of ten did that), I’ve also been an avid reader of historical fiction. A skillful author, one who understands both writing and history, can communicate a great deal about the past and can do it in an interesting and even absorbing way. Someone like Cecelia Holland can put solid meat on the bones. But there are a few basic rules which Iggulden, a first-time novelist, seems not to have grasped.