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Author

Richard Foreman

43 fiction

Richard Foreman is a British publisher and bestselling historical novelist whose fiction ranges across the Roman world, medieval warfare and twentieth-century Europe. After working as a bookseller and publicist for several prominent historians, he co-founded Endeavour Press and later established the independent publisher Sharpe Books. He also founded the London History Festival and has served as a judge for the Historical Writers’ Association Crown Awards. Foreman’s novels are characterised by fast-moving plots, military action and political intrigue, often viewing major historical events through the soldiers, spies and adventurers serving powerful rulers.

His Roman fiction includes the Sword of Rome series, which follows the legionary Lucius Oppius through Julius Caesar’s campaigns in Britain, Gaul and the civil war against Pompey, and the Spies of Rome novels, centred on the former intelligence agent Rufus Varro during the reign of Augustus. Augustus: Son of Rome recounts the rise of Octavian following Caesar’s assassination, while the Sword of Empire books explore conflict within the imperial army. Foreman’s medieval series include Band of Brothers, set during Henry V’s 1415 campaign and the battles of Harfleur and Agincourt, and the First Crusade trilogy—Siege, Besieged and Jerusalem—which follows the crusaders from Antioch towards the capture of the Holy City. He has also written historical crime stories featuring E. W. Hornung’s gentleman thief Raffles and novels set during the final years of the Second World War.

Periods and events

Georgian Crime and the Bloody Code Siege of Alesia Reign of Augustus Victorian Crime and Sensation Culture Roman Urban Crime and the Vigiles Battle of Crécy Hundred Years’ War Assassination of Julius Caesar Battle of Philippi Battle of Actium Marcomannic Wars Battle of Agincourt First Crusade World War II

Historical fiction

Historical fiction series by Richard Foreman (11 series)

Dick Turpin in Order

by Richard Foreman 4 books 4.3(126)

The Dick Turpin series reimagines the historical highwayman as an ambitious Georgian criminal moving between roads, taverns, theatres and aristocratic houses. Turpin confronts an assassin, a rival outlaw and the temptation of a celebrated jewel before the final story collection tests the reputation he has created. Each adventure…

1. Turpin’s Assassin

4.1(50)

2. Turpin’s Rival

4.6(33)

3. Turpin’s Prize

4.3(23)

4. Turpin’s Tales

4.0(20)

Historical Heroes in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books 4.2(37)

Historical Heroes is a three-volume collection of shorter fiction drawn from Foreman’s recurring worlds. Roman soldiers and spies appear beside a crusading knight, Dick Turpin, Raffles and the Hollywood screenwriter Pat Hobby. The books are not a continuous narrative; they are curated introductions to characters whose longer adventures…

1. Fight or Die

4.2(22)

2. The Die Is Cast

4.0(8)

3. Never Surrender

4.6(7)

The Dream of Rome in Order

by Richard Foreman 5 books 4.1(3,394)

The Dream of Rome is an omnibus collection rather than a single continuous saga. Its volumes gather the complete Sword of Rome campaigns, the two Augustus novels, the first three Spies of Rome investigations, the complete Sword of Empire sequence and three later Rufus Varro novellas. The collection…

Sword of Rome: The Complete Campaigns cover

1. Sword of Rome: The Complete Campaigns

4.0(1,651)

2. Eagles Rising

4.2(1,015)

3. Spies of Rome: Books 1–3

4.4(156)

Sword of Empire: The Complete Campaigns cover

4. Sword of Empire: The Complete Campaigns

4.2(563)

5. Spies of Rome: Blood & Death

4.3(9)

Raffles in Order

by Richard Foreman 6 books 4.0(212)

Foreman’s Raffles stories continue E. W. Hornung’s adventures of the celebrated cricketer and gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, narrated by his loyal accomplice Bunny Manders. The six primary works move through Piccadilly bookshops, the Albany, country houses and cricket grounds, bringing Raffles into contact with Sherlock Holmes, famous…

1. Raffles: The Gentleman Thief

4.0(90)

2. Raffles: Bowled Over

3.7(31)

3. Raffles: A Perfect Wicket

3.8(45)

4. Raffles: Caught Out

4.4(14)

5. Raffles: Stumped

4.1(17)

6. Raffles: Playing On

4.3(15)

The First Crusade in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books 4.2(1,275)

The First Crusade trilogy follows the fictional English knight Edward Kemp from the struggle to enter Antioch through the crusaders’ own encirclement and the final assault on Jerusalem. Bohemond of Taranto repeatedly employs Kemp as an intelligence agent, allowing the novels to move between siege lines, rival princely…

1. Siege

4.0(588)

2. Besieged

4.3(380)

3. Jerusalem

4.3(307)

Spies of Rome in Order

by Richard Foreman 6 books 4.2(663)

Spies of Rome follows the poet Rufus Varro and his former-gladiator bodyguard Manius as reluctant agents of Marcus Agrippa during the first years of Augustus’s rule. The original trilogy investigates a coup, a slave trader’s murder and a killing connected to the imperial household. Three later novellas send…

1. Blood & Honour

2. Blood & Vengeance

4.2(575)

3. Blood & Secrets

4. Blood & Poison

4.3(88)

5. Gladiator

6. Assassin

Men-at-Arms in Order

by Richard Foreman 2 books 4.3(88)

Men-at-Arms follows William Gower and the intelligence officer Sir Hugh Grey during the early career of Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince. Crécy places them in Edward III’s 1346 campaign and the battle where the sixteen-year-old prince wins his military reputation. Calais resumes the story in 1349, when…

1. Crécy

4.3(54)

2. Calais

4.3(34)

Band of Brothers in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books 4.1(1,027)

Band of Brothers follows a group of archers, men-at-arms and intelligence agents through Henry V’s 1415 campaign. The Game’s Afoot begins before embarkation with French efforts to revive Scotland’s alliance and an assassination plot in England. Harfleur moves the company into siege warfare, while Agincourt brings soldiers and…

1. The Game’s Afoot

4.1(438)

2. Harfleur

4.1(254)

3. Agincourt

4.2(335)

Augustus in Order

by Richard Foreman 2 books 4.0(1,480)

The Augustus series follows Gaius Octavius from the assassination of Julius Caesar to the point at which Caesar’s heir can compete for control of Rome. The two novels place his personal development within the collapse of republican government, showing an inexperienced claimant learning to use adoption, veteran loyalty,…

1. Augustus: Son of Rome

3.9(798)

2. Augustus: Son of Caesar

4.1(682)

Sword of Rome in Order

by Richard Foreman 4 books

Sword of Rome follows the fictional centurion Lucius Oppius through Julius Caesar’s campaigns from Britain and Alesia to the civil war against Pompey. The first three novellas establish Oppius as a soldier repeatedly diverted into intelligence work, where missions behind enemy lines and political violence in Rome demand…

1. Standard Bearer

2. Alesia

4. Rubicon

5. Pharsalus

Sword of Empire in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books

Sword of Empire follows the praetorians Gaius Maximus and Rufus Atticus during the Marcomannic Wars and the final years of Marcus Aurelius. Missions on the Danube frontier, conspiracy in Rome and a final assassination order expose the dependence of imperial strategy on officers who must act beyond ordinary…