Ian Ross is an English historical novelist who studied painting before turning to fiction and now lives in Bath. A period spent in Italy, where he taught English and explored the remains of the Roman world, renewed an early interest in ancient history and led him towards the study of Late Antiquity. Ross has spent years researching the later Roman Empire, particularly its army, politics and frontier societies, and his fiction reflects a strong interest in the physical detail of historical life: weapons, clothing, travel, military organisation and the practical realities of campaigning. More recently he has shifted his attention to medieval England, bringing the same emphasis on close research to the political and military upheavals of the thirteenth century.
Ross first became known for the six-volume Twilight of Empire series, published between 2015 and 2019. Beginning with War at the Edge of the World, the novels follow Roman soldier Aurelius Castus through the struggles surrounding Constantine the Great, moving from the northern frontier of Britain through civil war, imperial politics and conflict with Persia. The sequence continues through Swords Around the Throne, Battle for Rome, The Mask of Command, Imperial Vengeance and Triumph in Dust. Ross then moved to the Second Barons’ War in his de Norton trilogy: Battle Song, War Cry and King’s Enemy. Centred on the fictional Adam de Norton, these novels follow the conflict between Henry III and Simon de Montfort through the battles of Lewes and Evesham, combining chivalry, tournaments and personal ambition with the unstable loyalties of medieval civil war.
