Not everyone would recommend a work of fiction to introduce someone to the subject of ancient history, but if you are interested in reading about ancient history in the context of a novel, here are 12 recommendations from Ancient/Classical History forum members. To see why we have made these recommendations, and notes on accessibility of some of the older works, go to forum recommended fiction discussion -

Robert Graves' Claudius novels.

Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series.

"The Lost Legion," by H. Warner Munn.
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"Augustus," by John Williams "Caesar," by Allan Massie.

"Children of the Wolf" (also called Founding Fathers), by Alfred Leo Duggan.

"Conscience of the King," by Alfred Leo Duggan. "Creation," by Gore Vidal.

"Household Gods", by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove.

"The Ides of March: A Novel," by Thornton Wilder.

"Julian," by Gore Vidal. "The Memoirs of Cleopatra," by Margaret George.

"Memoirs of Hadrian," by Marguerite Yourcenar.

"Sinuhe, Egyptilainen" (Sinuhe, The Egyptian), by Mika Waltari.

"The Sword Of Pleasure; Being The Memoirs Of The Most Illustrious Lucius Cornelius Sulla," by Peter Green.

Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga.