HISTORICAL NOVELS ABOUT SPARTA
BY HELENA P. SCHRADER

Combining research with common sense, I have written six novels set in archaic Sparta. 

Leonidas Trilogy: Leonidas. The hero of Thermopylae. In 480 BC he would defy an army half a million strong. This is his story: from his boyhood in the infamous Spartan agoge to the final stand with the 300 at Thermopylae. This is Sparta!!! As you’ve  never seen it before. Visit the Leonidas Trilogy website: Leonidas and Gorgo of Sparta

Leonidas of Sparta: A Boy of the Agoge Fiction, published 2010 The younger of twins, Leonidas was lucky not to be killed at birth.  As a boy, he must prove himself worthy of Spartan citizenship. Struggling to survive the harsh Spartan upbringing without disgrace, he never expects that one day he will be king or chosen to command the combined Greek forces fighting a Persian invasion.  But these were formative years that would one day make him the most famous Spartan of them all: the hero of Thermopylae. ORDER
Leonidas of Sparta: A Peerless Peer Fiction, published 2011 The Agiad and Eurypontid kings are at each other's throats, the Peloponnesian League is in disarray, and the Greek cities of Ionia are calling on Sparta and Athens to aid them in their rebellion against their Persian masters. But Leonidas is less interested in high politics than in putting his private life in order.  He needs to find reliable helots to restore his ruined estate, and – most important – to find the right woman to be his bride.  This is the story of both Leonidas and Gorgo in the years before Leonidas becomes king of Sparta and before the first Persian invasion of Greece. ORDER
Leonidas of Sparta: A Heroic King Fiction, published 2011 The Persians are collecting the largest army ever seen. The Delphic oracle proclaims King Demaratus of Sparta a usurper, and King Cleomenes is going mad.  More and more Spartans turn to Leonidas, Cleomenes' half brother and son-in-law, to take the helm of the ship of state in what are clearly going to be difficult times.  But Leonidas is the younger of twins, and his brother Cleombrotus has no intention of letting Leonidas lay claim to the Agiad throne without a fight.  While the brothers clash, the murder of two Persian ambassadors by an agitated Spartan Assembly sets in train the inevitable conflict between Sparta and Persia that will take Leonidas to Thermopylae – and into history.  ORDER PAPERBACK      KINDLE EDITION
The Olympic Charioteer Fiction, published 2005, Edited and re-released 2010 Two cities at war – Two men with Olympic ambitions – And one slave, the finest charioteer in all Greece. This is the story of a young man’s journey from tragedy to triumph, and the tale of the founding of the first nonaggression pact in recorded history: the Peloponnesian League.  A free teacher supplement is also available for teachers using this novel in their classes. VIDEO TRAILER I EXCERPT I READER'S VIEW REVIEW I REVIEW I MORE ABOUT BOOK I ORDER
Are They Singing in Sparta? Fiction, published 2006 The revolutionary unrest that caused ancient Sparta to adopt the first democratic constitution in the ancient world, and the bitter war that followed, are the setting of this novel.  These historical events, the seeds of all subsequent Spartan development, are presented through the eyes of an Athenian poet, a Spartan commander, and a young widow. EXCERPT I REVIEW I ORDER
A Spartan Slave, Spartan Queen: Tale of Four Women of Sparta Fiction, published 2007 Two women are captured in a raid and sold into slavery at the same time: the beautiful daughter of the Arcadian king, Niobe, and her ugly "barbarian" handmaiden, Mika.  While Niobe becomes the concubine of one of Sparta's princes, Mika is an ordinary slave in the house of an ordinary citizen's wife.  The novel explores the impact of beauty on four women's lives in an ancient context.  This book is a sequel to Are They Singing in Sparta? FURTHER DESCRIPTION  I REVIEW I ORDER

Under SOURCES you will find the research materials I used in these books and website. These materials are also additional recommendations of both fiction and nonfiction books, including selected ancient and modern sources, for your own research and reading pleasure.

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Text varies on this site between British and American English spelling.   Most research was done in Europe and compiled for British English publications.   Interviews and reviews reflect both American and British English, as Helena Schrader is a leading authority on this subject in the US and Europe.

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