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Series
The Gladiatrix series is a first-century Roman historical adventure centred on women from the empire’s frontiers who are enslaved and forced into public combat. It examines the arena not only as entertainment but as an institution built on conquest, trafficking, training and the power of spectators over captive bodies.
Sword of the Gladiatrix introduces Afra of Kush and Cinnia of the Iceni, connecting the aftermath of Boudica’s revolt with Nero’s Rome. Their struggle for survival develops into a relationship that gives the series its emotional centre, while the wider setting explores Roman spectacle, resistance and the uncertain possibility of freedom.
Reading order
Afra, a scout and animal handler from the kingdom of Kush, and Cinnia, an Iceni warrior associated with Boudica’s revolt, are carried from opposite edges of the Roman world into slavery. In Nero’s Rome they are trained as gladiatrices, where combat, spectacle and the threat of…