Simon Scarrow
fICTION Author of the Month
Simon Scarrow is the acclaimed author of multiple Sunday Times bestsellers, including Revenge of Rome and The Gladiator.
He is also the author of many other acclaimed novels including the Sunday Times bestseller A Death in Berlin, and a quartet of bestselling novels about Wellington and Napoleon. With T. J. Andrews he has co-written Warrior, focusing on the rebel chief Caratacus, and Arena, following the career of a gladiator hero, and more.
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Simon Scarrow Q&A
What was the first book you ever fell in love with?
BB’s The Forest of Boland Light Railway. A beautifully told and illustrated children’s novel that starts with a charming depiction of the peaceful gnome community of the forest and the building of their railway. Then it takes a very dark turn when they are attacked by some brutal Leprechauns . . .
What book is currently on your bedside table?
Mr Midshipman Hornblower. I am starting on one of my great pleasures, rereading the entire series. So finely written with such great characters. In many ways C. S. Forester wrote the blueprint of many later historical fiction series.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Lots of non-fiction reading, largely prompted by the excellent Literary Review magazine whose contributors provide intelligent and provocative reviews of a wide range of new books. Travel is also a huge influence on my writing. I am always discovering wonderful new stories tucked away in different parts of the world.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
I would have said – ‘Start writing sooner. Don’t wait until you have so many obligations that it becomes difficult to find the time to do it.’ Also – ‘Buy bitcoins the moment they come out.’
