The 1950s was a period when historical novels were very popular. Thomas B. Costain, Frank Yerby, Frank Slaughter were among the top tier. Some science fiction writers supplemented their income writing historicals including L. Sprague de Camp and Poul Anderson. Another was Gardner F. Fox.

Fox’s specialty was the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Borgia Blade is a generally well regarded paperback novel set in 16^th Century Italy. He had some novels under the pseudonym Jefferson Cooper for the bigger novels.

The Roman and the Slave Girl was published by New American Library under the Signet imprint in 1959 under the pseudonym John Medford Morgan. This was the only time that pseudonym was used.

The novel is set in 410 A.D. in Roman Britain. The novel opens with Roman officerMarcus Aurelius Valerian on the druid’s altar about to be sacrificed. The chief of the Iceni, Caranac, intervenes giving him the task to bring back his captured sister from Londinium. Valerian gives his word of honor. He also meets the fiery Irish princess Deirdre, daughter of Niall of the Nine Hostages.

In Londinium, Marcus Aurelius Valerian finds the new governor is married to an old flame. He unsuccessfully attempts to free Edaine. Accused of treason, Valerian is exiled forfeiting everything he owns. He throws his lot in with rebellious Celts training a force of heavy cavalry lancers based on the Roman cataphracts.

He has one last chance to free Edain by entering a gladiator contest. The winner takes Edaine as the prize. There is some big gladiator fights and contests. A climactic escape and a battle with the pursuing Romans with his cavalry.

Now to brass tacks. This novel is a historical mess. In 410 A.D., the Roman Emperor Honorius had sent a letter to Britain telling the inhabitants they were on their own. The setting is a mish-mash of 1^st Century Britain with the gladiator contests and rebelling British tribes juxtaposed with young St. Patrick. Gladiator contests had been in decline for a century. The Honorian Edicts had outlawed pagan practices. There is hardly any mention of marauding Saxons or Picts. Tribes like the Iceni were long gone. New polities emerged out of the ruin of Roman Britain.

This novel is a surprise as Fox is generally top-notch in his history. He has obscure Celtic names for weapons like the Craisach. He would sneak pre-gunpowder historical weapons into his Kothar books.

My guess and this is only a guess is Signet wanted a Roman novel with all the stuff associated with Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, and The Robe. The legions existed as smaller part time border guards at this point though most readers would not know that. There was more squabbling about Christian theology than Roman orgies. It was a time that was on the cusp of being medieval. There are hints that Fox knew the period but delivered what people knew of Rome.

Sometimes knowing too much history will spoil a novel. There are some fine action scenes but also a lot of talk.

Not a novel you have to read.