The most recommended books about Gaul

The adventures of Asterix and Obelix focus on their wild skirmishes with the Romans. It’s a wonderful series of graphic books that help strengthen the imagination while sharing a comical twist on ancient history. I grew up with these books and they inspired me to draw—and ultimately become an author.

My writing career began as an illustrator, and I now use illustrations in all of my children and middle-grade books.

I can’t help but recommend the Asterix series because without it, I may not have taken the creative path I am on today. The illustrations (originally designed by Albert Uderzo) are probably the most detailed and original you’ll ever see. It was his wildly funny and eye-popping drawings that helped the books jump off the shelf every time I visited a book store.

The author (Rene Goscinny) pieced together the wonderfully funny historical adventures, making this series my all time… show more.

The end of the Roman Empire in the west is a fascinating but notoriously vague saga, which often seems to be composed entirely of footnotes. In this novel John Henry Clay takes a handful of those footnotes and rebuilds mid 5th century Gaul and Italy on a grand scale. The empire is on its knees, but the aristocratic elites of the southern provinces are still living the good life on their villa estates, until all is thrown into turmoil by the invasion of Attila and his Huns. Part family drama, part broad-canvas military and political epic, the first half of the novel reaches a climax in the defeat of the Hunnic hordes by General Aetius. But in its second half the story accelerates dramatically, as Avitus, the father of the central pair of characters, leads a Romano-Gothic army from Gaul to seize power in Rome. The ramifications of Avitus’s bid… show more.

This was the first book that made me realize druids had been real, and that entire belief system was nearly—in historical chronology—stamped out by the Roman Empire. The story focuses on a young druid, Ainvar, who befriends Vercingetorix, the Celtic warrior who was brought to Rome in chains by Julius Caesar. While the setting is in Gaul, I began to understand the beliefs of the druid life that was very nearly lost. Where Rome’s war with the druids of Gaul was bloody and decisive, the Irish conversion took a different path. I wanted to find out why the two histories, the change from druid to Christian, was so dramatically different.

It’s en vogue right now for people to joke about men constantly thinking about the Roman Empire, and this book may be one of the best insights into why that is.

Taken from Caesar’s own diaries during his conquest and pacification of Gaul (what is now Germany, Belgium, France, and even his first conquest to England), this book outlines his strategy, thinking, and leadership style. Like Alexander the Great, Caesar fought alongside his men, and would do everything that he could (like Alexander) to convince enemies to surrender or forgo battles where his army didn’t have the upper hand to ensure his men weren’t needlessly harmed.

The passage included within this book of Caesar building a bridge in three days over a previously impassible river so that his army could cross, only to have his engineers tear it down after crossing to show the warring tribes why they shouldn’t pick… show more.

This is a highly readable and fascinating work that collects all known classical references to this mysterious priesthood that flourished in ancient Gaul and Britain, and nearly caused the province of Britannia to be abandoned under the emperor Nero. I go back to it time and time again for reference and simply for interest. The book is compact and easy to negotiate, and readers will find it hard to put down because of its content and the author’s readable style.

This book is from the Asterix series and in general when you read Goscinny's books, you will not regret it, as it will inspire you with many ideas.

He was able to create humor from humans, animals, inanimate objects, and all elements of the story.

As for this book, I chose it because of the events taking place in Egypt, also because of the coherent plot, fast-flowing events, sense of humor, and new ideas. As usual in this type of book, there are some historical facts, but the general structure of the story is fictional.

The historical facts here are Queen Cleopatra VII, Julius Caesar, and the relationship between them, while the rest of the events are fictional and comic.

As someone who has deep ties to Mother Earth and the outdoors, this book spoke to my soul whose roots are attached to some primitive calling.

Apela shares her lifelong journey of connecting with the essence of indigenous spirituality and culture and her passionate work to communicate, conserve, and celebrate sacred indigenous ways.

It made me think about the cost of living in our modern world and how healing Earth begins from within.

The difference between an account of history and historical fiction is in the sensory images the writer conjures up for the reader --"You are there!" Searching for everyday details to “set the scene” for the novel, I found a wealth of material in this scholarly discussion of Celtic life, dwelling places and weaponry, clothing, technology, history and culture. Lots of useful illustrations here that brought family bonds and Celtic society to life for me.

The life of Julius Caesar, as brought to life by Goldsworthy, remains one of the most fascinating tales of ups and downs, boldness and overreach, war, statecraft, and propaganda (yes, he mastered that too). And adventure. Even if you think you know him, you probably don’t. What, for example, did he do after he was kidnapped at age 25 by pirates? Let’s just say you don’t want to be the pirates. But ultimately you don’t want to be Caesar either. Not least, you want to be careful with wannabe Caesers today, because he was also the most effective populist in history.

Harry Sidebottom always brings real academic rigor to his amazing historical fiction books.

His research is second to none, allowing the reader to really immerse themselves in the Roman Empire. His characters are also highly engaging, allowing the reader to experience their world from the very beginning of the book.