Ben Kane

Thurs. 2nd September: Major find at Caerleon

benkane — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:02:16 +0000

Caerleon, the former legionary fortress of Diva, which is only 40 something miles from where I live, is a place dear to my heart. I was delighted to see that there’s been a major find there recently, showing the existence of a lot of large buildings that were previously unknown. Read about it here.

Wed. 18th August: The Road to Rome becomes a bestseller!

benkane — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:46:23 +0000

I’m proudly able to announce that The Road to Rome has reached the Sunday Times Top Ten in its first part week of publication! From Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th August, it sold over 3,500 copies, allowing it to storm up to number 4! Hurrah! Thanks to all the Roman gods, and to every one at Random House, who have worked so hard to help this happen. Most of all, thanks to you, my cool readers who have gone out and stumped up the cash for a copy of The Road to Rome. I’ve hardly stopped grinning since I heard the news yesterday.

Sat. 14th August: The Boat of Fate

benkane — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:14:47 +0000

While hoping that The Road to Rome is soaring up the charts since its release on Thursday, I have been reading a wonderful Roman fiction novel recommended to me by a member of staff in my local Waterstone’s. It’s called The Boat of Fate and was written by a man called Keith Roberts. Set at the time of the decline of the western Roman Empire, it’s about a troubled young Iberian Roman called Sergius Paullus, and details his life from his youth in Iberia to his time as an apprentice in Rome, a military officer in Gaul, and then his role in the final struggle in Britain after the legions left in AD 410. It’s a wonderful read, and I urge you to get a copy if you can. I would rate in the top five of all Roman novels I’ve read.

Sat. 7th August: Cycling along Hannibal’s march to Italy

benkane — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:21:44 +0000

I caught the tail end of a programme on BBC4 the other night, about 3 Australian brothers cycling Hannibal’s route from Iberia to Italy. Given that I’m writing a book about that exact thing, I was quite interested. You could have bowled me over with a feather when Danny, one of the Aussies, contacted me about their amazing endeavours. Catch Danny’s blog, and the first four parts of the programme on BBC i-player here.

Sat. 24th July: And the winners are…

benkane — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:53:51 +0000

I’m writing this in the middle of the night – it’s one of those not able to sleep ones, thanks to a troublesome hamstring, and the vestiges of the hangover I have from attending the launch party of Harry Sidebottom’s latest book, Lion of the Sun. (Which, incidentally, is a cracking read. Get out there and buy it!) I have all the names on little bits of paper, ready to pick, but I’ve remembered that my wife wants to do the honours, so you’ll have to wait until a more sociable hour to find out who won! Watch this space…

RIGHT, FINALLY GOT IT DONE! The first person’s name out of the bag was Chantal Sukel, of New York state in the USA. The second was John Powell, of Dublin, in Ireland. Congratulations to you both. Chantal wins the denarius and a signed copy of The Road to Rome, and John wins a copy of the book too. Oh yes, the answer to the question! Caesar’s Fifth Legion, which fought so bravely at Thapsus, was often known as ‘Quinta Alaudae’ or the Fifth Larks. They were also sometimes known as Quinta Gallica. More than a hundred of you gave one or other, or both, correct answers. Commiserations, and good luck next year. I’ll do my best to have a Carthaginian coin as a prize then, if they’re not extortionately expensive to buy.

Tues. 20th July: More coins…

benkane — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:59:38 +0000

Many of you may already have heard the news about the recent find of no less than 52,000 Roman coins in Somerset (and only about 12 miles/20 km from where I live!). The hoard, the biggest ever found in one place in Britain, has been dated to the 3rd Century AD, and contains many rare coins of the Emperor Carausius. Read about it here. It makes my offer of one paltry denarius in my competition look irrelevant!

Thurs. 8th July: Competition time!

benkane — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:32:45 +0000

It’s that time of year again!

I’ve got two signed hardback first edition copies of my upcoming book, The Road to Rome, on offer. The first lucky person whose name comes out of the hat will also receive a real silver denarius which dates from about 90 BC, and which therefore would have been in use at the time of my books. It’s worth a decent sum, and I thought it would add to the prize. The second person just gets the book, but as both copies will be among the 15 copies I stamp as well as sign, they’ll be getting a decent prize too.

Please answer the following question by email to me at ben@benkane.net - no later than midnight (UK time) on the 22nd July. Good luck!

What was the nickname (in English or otherwise) of Caesar’s famous Fifth Legion, which fought heroically at Thapsus?

Mon. 7th June: Gladiators in York!

benkane — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:03:17 +0000

I just love the way archaeology can tell us new things. A huge find in York, of more than 80 skeletons, has brought to light evidence of a man who was killed by a large cat. Many of the men also had longer right arms than left, proof that they entered gladiatorial training in their early teens. Take that, the people who emailed me to say that Romulus was too young to be sold into a ludus! I had some proof before hand, but this makes it concrete. Read a great article in the Independent about it here. Watch a documentary about it on Channel 4 on the 14th of June too.

Thurs. 3rd June: Late nights

benkane — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:40:59 +0000

Unfortunately, the York Roman Festival was not blessed with good weather. Still, a good time was had by all, thanks to the sterling efforts of Keith Mulhearn of Complete York. If you’re visiting the city, check out the amazing central location it was held in: Grays’ Court. A great place for a meal, and shortly to be a hotel, I believe.

It was back to work straight after the Bank Holiday, and now I find myself at the end of a pruning edit of Soldier of Carthage, largely thanks to the critique of my old friend Arthur O’Connor, the only non-publishing person I know with a mind like an editor. Cheers to him for having me up at nearly midnight! Still, the manuscript is a much improved beast now, so fair dues. I’ll finish the last ten pages in the morning, and then print the lot off to read it AGAIN. All being well, I’ll email it to my editor next Monday. Then it’s fingers crossed until I hear from her…

Tues. May 25th: Sunshine musings

benkane — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:22:13 +0000

I spent the weekend at Dorchester Roman Festival, which was bathed in glorious sunshine the whole time. What a difference it makes! Thanks to Sarah Harbige, of Dorset Area of Outstanding Beauty, who organised it all into such a top class event. I met up with some of Legio II Augusta, who put on some great displays of Roman legionaries and gladiators. Did a couple of talks, sold a few books, met some interesting people and generally had a good time. I wish there were more Roman events on year round! This coming weekend, I have nothing to complain about, though, as I’ll be at the York Roman Festival, which is organised and run by the excellent Keith Mulhearn. Hope to see you there!