Simon Scarrow

Simon Scarrow
Born 1962 (age 52–53)
Nigeria
Occupation Novelist
Genre Historical Fiction,
Notable works Eagle Series, Revolution
Spouse Caroline Scarrow
Children 2 Boys
Relatives Alex Scarrow
Website
www.scarrow.co.uk

Simon Scarrow is a UK-based author, born in Nigeria and now based in Norfolk. He completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia[1] after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, then at City College Norwich.

He is best known for his Eagle Series of Roman Military fiction set in the territories of the Roman Empire, covering the second invasion of Britain and the subsequent prolonged campaign undertaken by the rump of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. To date there are twelve books in the series, with the 12th released in October 2013, The Blood Crows[2]

He has also written another series, Revolution, focusing on Wellington and Napoleon, whose first title, Young Bloods, was published in 2006. The second volume, The Generals, was released on 31 May 2007 and the third volume Fire and Sword was released in January 2009. The fourth and final novel of the series was released in Jun 2010 and is called The Fields of Death. He started to publish a new series in 2011 titled Gladiator.

Books

The Eagle Series

The Eagle Series centres upon two main protagonists; Quintus Licinius Cato and Lucius Cornelius Macro, who are both Roman soldiers. Macro, a veteran with nearly 15 years service (at the start of the first novel) within the Roman Army, has recently been appointed to the Centurionate. Cato is in his teen years, who grew up in the Imperial Palace as a slave, and at the start of the series joins the Eagles as Macro's Optio. The first book starts in 42 AD. The books cover the experiences of the two soldiers, initially as experienced centurion and new optio, in battles in Germania and the invasion of Britain by Claudius as part of the Legio II Augusta. The 6th book The Eagle's Prophecy has them serving as part of the Imperial Navy east of Italy. The 7th and 8th puts them in Rome's eastern provinces as agents of the Emperor's secretary Tiberius Claudius Narcissus. The 9th sees them shipwrecked on the Island of Crete, fighting against a full-scale uprising.The 11th is set in Rome with the leads hoping to save the emperor from the shady Liberators. The Blood Crows is set once again in Britannia. The Two protagonists are faced with defeating tribal rebels.

Scarrow cites the inspiration for his 'earthy' characters as being from his time in the Officer Training Corps.[3]

In 2007 the publisher announced the intention to cease using the word "Eagle" in the title of books in this series, starting with Centurion. The change was apparently because the publisher wanted to attract more new readers to the series.

  1. Under the Eagle (2000)
  2. The Eagle's Conquest (2001)
  3. When the Eagle Hunts (2002)
  4. The Eagle and the Wolves (2003)
  5. The Eagle's Prey (2004)
  6. The Eagle's Prophecy (2005)
  7. The Eagle in the Sand (2006)
  8. Centurion (2007)
  9. The Gladiator (2009)[4]
  10. The Legion (2010)[5]
  11. Praetorian (2011)
  12. The Blood Crows (2013)[2]
  13. Brothers in Blood (2014)
  14. Britannia (forthcoming 22 Oct 2015)

Revolution

The Revolution Series centres upon the lives of Napoleon Bonaparte and Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. The first book in the quartet starts in 1769, and follows the two young men through their youth and onto their military careers.

  1. Young Bloods (2006)
  2. The Generals (2007)
  3. Fire and Sword (2009)
  4. The Fields of Death (2010)

Gladiator

This series is aimed at the 'Young Adult' audience unlike his 'Eagles' series.

  1. Gladiator: Fight for Freedom (2011)
  2. Gladiator: Street Fighter (2012)
  3. Gladiator: Son of Spartacus (2013)
  4. Gladiator: Vengeance (2014)

Roman Arena (with T. J. Andrews)

  1. Arena (2013)
    1. Barbarian (2012)
    2. Challenger (2012)
    3. First Sword (2013)
    4. Revenge (2013)
    5. Champion (2013)
n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

Invader (with T. J. Andrews)

  1. Invader (?)
    1. Death Beach (2014)
    2. Blood Enemy (2014)
    3. Invader: Dark Blade (2014)
    4. Imperial Agent (2015 forthcoming)
    5. Sacrifice (2015 forthcoming)
n.b. these novellas were available as e-books prior to publication of the full title.

Standalone

The following are books which are either Stand-alone novels or have yet to be confirmed as series.

  1. The Sword and the Scimitar (2012) -- covers the Great Siege of Malta
  1. Hearts of Stone (forthcoming 4 Jun 2015) -- covers WWII period Greek island of Lefkas

Writer in Residence

In November 2006,Simon Scarrow was accepted to fill the post of Writer in Residence at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, a position he said he was "honoured to accept".[6] Simon will visit the school on a regular basis to hold creative writing sessions for students as well as judging the annual Scarrow Award for Fiction.

Family

In addition to his own writing, Simon Scarrow's brother, Alex Scarrow, is also an author of numerous novels.

References

  1. ↑ "Alumni S - U". Uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Scarrow Home Page". Scarrow.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Gladiator". Scarrow.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "List of Simon's Books". Scarrow.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "10th book forum page". Scarrowe.forumco.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Langton News (December 2006) Page 18, Paragraph 1, Line 11". Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys.

External links