Rome

By: Ben Kane

Narrated by: Emer Heatley

'Highly recommend for anybody who loves Roman history, written by one of its true masters' PETER GIBBONS

'Epic in scope and intimate in historical detail' MATTHEW HARFFY

'Authentic, fast-paced and immersive' CHRISTIAN CAMERON

'A masterpiece of late Rome' S.J.A. TURNEY

'Historical settings and characters that leap into life straight off the page' SCOTT MARIANI

'A vivid page-turning epic' ANNE O'BRIEN



For an empress to rise, a city must fall...

Rome, 410 AD

Half-sister to Emperor Honorius, unmarried and powerless, twenty-year-old Galla Placidia watches from the shadows as imperial policies are made and unmade.

Her plans to gain power and influence are halted when the city is besieged and captured by a vast army led by Alaric the Visigoth. Taken hostage, travelling out of Italy, Galla Placidia falls in love and marries a barbarian king.

At a time when Rome's power is fast dwindling, its authority diminishing year upon year, she embarks on a dangerous and remarkable journey towards the imperial throne.

But what price must a woman pay for power?

This is the compelling story of a little-known, remarkable woman whose burning ambition saw her, against all odds, become empress of Rome.

©2025 Ben Kane (P)2025 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Didn’t know I Cared

This is a GREAT story. Being a fan of the (roughly) 150 BC- 50 AD period, I never thought I’d care much for this era or these characters. I am happy to report that Ben proved me wrong. Excellent!

I love Ben Kane but…

Narration was disappointing at best. When the bulk of the characters are male, a female narrator makes it much more difficult to follow the story. I gave up after 5 hours and purchased the written version.