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Author

Douglas Jackson

1956

Douglas Jackson writes Roman military fiction that combines battlefield action with imperial politics, provincial unrest and the career of a continuing soldier hero.

Douglas Jackson was born in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders in 1956. He left school at fifteen and entered journalism, eventually working for major Scottish newspapers including the Daily Record and The Scotsman. He began writing fiction while commuting and drew on a long interest in archaeology and Roman history. His first published novel, Caligula, appeared in 2008 and was followed by Claudius, both centred on the imperial household and the dangerous position of people serving close to power.

Jackson’s principal historical achievement is the Gaius Valerius Verrens series, which begins with Hero of Rome. Valerius serves through the Boudican revolt, Nero’s reign, the Jewish rebellion and the civil wars of the Year of the Four Emperors, allowing the sequence to move between Britain, Rome and the eastern provinces. The books balance large battles with intelligence work, patronage and the uncertainty faced by an officer whose survival depends on changing rulers. Jackson is particularly suited to readers interested in first-century Rome, legionary warfare and the political consequences of military loyalty.

Periods and events

Reign of Nero Roman–Parthian Wars Roman Britain under the Flavians Holocaust Year of the Four Emperors Reign of Vespasian World War II Special Operations Executive Late Roman Britain Hadrian’s Wall Late Roman Empire Apostolic Age and Early Christianity Boudican Revolt Roman Conquest of Britain

Series

Series by Douglas Jackson (4 series)

Gaius Valerius Verrens in Order

by Douglas Jackson 9 books 4.4

The Gaius Valerius Verrens series follows a Roman officer whose career begins during the Boudican Revolt and carries him through the violent final years of Nero’s reign, the Year of the Four Emperors and the consolidation of Flavian rule. Valerius moves between Britain, Rome, the eastern frontier, Judaea…

Hero of Rome

4.3

Defender of Rome

4.3

Avenger of Rome

4.6

Sword of Rome

4.5

Enemy of Rome

4.4

Scourge of Rome

4.5

Saviour of Rome

4.5

Glory of Rome

4.6

Hammer of Rome

4.5

The Warsaw Quartet in Order

by Douglas Jackson 4 books 4.5

The Warsaw Quartet follows Jan Kalisz, a former senior Polish investigator forced to work for the German criminal police after the occupation of Warsaw. Secretly serving the Polish resistance, Kalisz investigates murders that the occupying authorities value according to the nationality and usefulness of the victims, while concealing…

Blood Roses

4.4

Blood Sacrifice

4.6

Blood Vengeance

4.4

Blood Enemy

4.5

Marcus Flavius Victor in Order

by Douglas Jackson 2 books 4.3

The Marcus Flavius Victor sequence is set during the early fifth-century collapse of Roman authority in the West. Marcus, a veteran cavalry commander shaped by decades on Britain’s northern frontier, first undertakes a final and increasingly suspicious inspection of Hadrian’s Wall. He then leads a small company out…

The Wall

4.4

The Barbarian

4.3

Roman Trilogy in Order

by Douglas Jackson 2 books 4.1

The Roman Trilogy follows Rufus, a young slave whose skill with animals brings him from the gladiatorial world into the dangerous centre of imperial power. In Caligula he becomes keeper of the emperor’s elephant and is caught among the conspiracies surrounding a ruler feared for cruelty and unpredictability.…