The Gladiatrix Books

  • Book 1 - Gladiatrix

    Under the Flavian Emperors the Roman public’s hunger for gladiatorial combat has never been greater ... Read more

  • Book 2 - Roma Victrix

    Four years have passed since Lysandra's epic but inconclusive battle with her hated rival Sorena in the arena... Read more

  • Book 3 - Imperatrix

    Lysandra is back and she's going to war! In the dirt of the Coliseum, known to history as the Flavian Amphiheatre ... Read more

Other works

  • A Year of Ravens

    Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen ... Read more

  • Blood and Iron: Rebellion

    A new historical fantasy from Russ Whitfield, set in an ancient world much like our own. The death of a conqueror... Read more

  • Blood and Iron: Redemption

    Historical fantasy set in an ancient Hellenic world from author Chris James. A band of mercenaries find themselves on the wrong end of... Read more

Historical Fiction at it's best

The Author: Russell Whitfield

Russell Whitfield was born in Shepherds Bush in 1971. An only child, he was raised in Hounslow, West London, but has since escaped to Ham in Surrey.

Russell has had an (almost) life long fascination with ancient Greece and Rome, sparked by seeing the The Three Hundred Spartans on ITV in the seventies. Educated to A-Level, he did not complete college, preferring instead to seek fame and fortune in a heavy metal band. Sadly, fame and fortune were not forthcoming and a career in telesales beckoned. A series of jobs followed culminating in the heady heights of 'content editor' for a large multi-national.

Gladiatrix was Russ's first novel, published in 2008 by Myrmidon Books. The sequel, Roma Victrix, continues the adventures Lysandra, the Spartan gladiatrix, and a third book, Imperatrix, sees Lysandra stepping out of the arena and onto the field of battle.

Heavy Metal is Russ's music of choice, though he was also in a goth band and thus has the obligatory Sisters of Mercy and Mission CD's in his collection.

He is a huge fan of the Swedish band Hysterica and has written a song for their forthcoming album The Art of Metal.

Author Russell Whitfield

Russ Whitfield is a natural storyteller. He delivers breathtaking surprises as he weaves gripping scenes of combat with vivid interludes that reveal the underside of Roman life. His Lysandra is a heroine you won't forget; whether being mulish or noble, she is always engaging.

- Donna Gillespie's

Reviews

  • "A great debut that shines an entirely new light on the glory and the bloodshed of the Roman arena. Whitfield paints a vivid picture of the fights and the passions of women combatants. It's exciting stuff, with well rounded characters, nail-biting duels to the death and vividly depicted settings. Gladiatrix makes Gladiator look very tame indeed!"

    Simon Scarrow
  • "Russ Whitfield is a natural storyteller. He delivers breathtaking surprises as he weaves gripping scenes of combat with vivid interludes that reveal the underside of Roman life. His Lysandra is a heroine you won't forget; whether being mulish or noble, she is always engaging."

    Donna Gillespie - Donna Gillespie's "The Light Bearer" is widely regarded as one greatest historical novels of the 20th century www.donnagillespie.net
  • "What a brilliant novel! Whitfield has taken one of history's curiosities -- the role of the female gladiator -- and woven from it a savage and splendid tale of the Roman arena... a tale that, once sampled, cannot be easily forgotten."

    Scott Oden - Author of the critically-acclaimed novels Men of Bronze, an epic set amid the splendor and ruin of 26th dynasty Egypt, and Memnon, which chronicles the rise and fall of Memnon of Rhodes www.scottoden.com

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"If you love adventure books that tend to be fast paced, and also love character studies, this is great for both those things. The violence and sex are not sensational, but actually parts of the story. It's no Hercules and Xena - it's better. A very good read, and one I highly recommend. I enjoyed it very much."

Amazon.com reviewer