Book of the Week – Vita and the Gladiator
Vita and the Gladiator by Ally Sherrick
Vita longs to write the plays that she steals off to watch – but as the daughter of a high born Roman, her only future is marriage. When her father is murdered, everything changes. She escapes with her life – only to end up a slave, sharing a cell with a fierce gladiator, Brea, and her Wolf. But when Vita and Brea discover they have a common enemy, they know they must stand together for truth and justice…
‘Vita stood proud in her battle chariot as it thundered towards the Roman lines. She and her army of blue-faced warriors were seriously outnumbered, but she wouldn’t yield – not without a fight. She raised her spear and prepared to lead the charge . . .’
‘I love Ally’s writing, she really has a way of making history come alive!’ Celia Rees
‘Ally Sherrick’s book is involving and exciting, re-creating the intrigues of Roman Britain and the bloody struggles of gladiatorial battle with panache’ Philip Womack – Literary Review
Come on a time travel adventure at the Roman Baths with Ally Sherrick on the 7 October at 2pm! Ally will reveal the places, events and people that inspired the story – and some of the fun and curious things she’s found out about life in Roman Britain along the way. With storytelling, a Q&A, top tips about researching and writing historical fiction and an interactive ‘build a gladiator’ session, this is an unmissable event for history fans!
About the Author
Ally Sherrick is a winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award, time traveller and bookworm. Ally loves exploring ruined castles and decaying mansions, imagining what it must have been like to live in them without electricity or hot and cold running water – although she’s quite glad she doesn’t have to herself! She has a BA in medieval history and French from Newcastle University and an MA in Writing for Children at the University of Winchester. She is married and lives with her husband and assorted garden wildlife in Surrey.
The centuries and places Ally Sherrick has visited on her writing travels so far include :
England, 1605 at the time of an infamous plot to blow up the king and parliament involving gunpowder and a certain Mr Guy Fawkes (Black Powder)
1940s Suffolk during the Battle of Britain, with Nazi treasure-thieves and an Anglo-Saxon ghost on the prowl (The Buried Crown)
King Henry VIII’s royal palace at Greenwich in 1520 with treasonous plotting afoot (The Queen’s Fool)
And most recently, 120 CE and the gladiatorial arena in Roman London (Vita and the Gladiator)
Twitter: @ally_sherrick
Website: allysherrick.com
About Bath Festivals Book of the Week
Bath Festivals Book of the Week is our weekly recommended book from our upcoming Children’s Literature Festival.
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