Christian Cameron, the Canadian fiction writer and historical re-enactor of ‘experimental archaeology’ tells Roger Williams what inspired him to write books set in the ancient world after a career as an intelligence officer in the US Navy
Canadian writer, Christian Cameron’s books include the six-volume Tyrant series, set in the time of Alexander the Great and the conflict between Greeks and Scythians; the six-book Long War series about the Persian wars; and the Chivalry series set in late-medieval England and Italy.
His latest title, The New Achilles, was published in May. The first of two books, it takes place during the 3rd-century BC conflict between the Achaean League and Sparta.
Cameron has an honors BA in Medieval History from the University of Rochester in the US and a BA in Classics from the University of Toronto, Canada. He started full-time historical fiction writing in 2002 after leaving the US Navy, where he had served as an intelligence officer.
Since then he has written several books a year, some of them shorter eBooks, some under the names of Miles Cameron and Gordon Kent.
He is a passionate re-enactor of historical events, or what he terms ‘experimental archaeology’. He was involved in re-enacting the Battle of Marathon in 2011 and 2015 and has led tours of Greece that include instruction in martial arts. He lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter.
Q: You studied Medieval History at Rochester. What attracted you to that period of history?
I was always interested in history, and when I was 17 and due to go to Rochester to study marine biology, I read Barbara W Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th century. Over that summer my idea of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life was forever changed, and as soon as I got to university I switched majors.
Q: You collaborated on some books with your father, the author, and playwright Kenneth Cameron. Which books were these, and how did that collaboration work?
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ROMAN DISCOVERIES AT ANCIENT AUGUSTODUNUM
More than 230 graves have been uncovered at a necropolis in the French city of Autun, revealing a diverse mix in burial practices over a period of nearly 200 years, as well as luxury grave goods from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD that highlight the wealth of some of its ancient inhabitants.
SHAPING THE WORLD: SCULPTURE FROM PREHISTORY TO NOW
The sculptor Antony Gormley and the art historian and critic Martin Gayford have been talking about sculpture with each other for 20 years.
Amelia Edwards (1831-1892)
“I am essentially a worker, and a hard worker, and this I have been since my early girlhood.”
THE GREAT BEYOND
The ancient Greeks thought much about the dead – how their remains should be disposed of, how their spirits might be summoned, how malignant they could be if unavenged. Classicist David Stuttard brings us face to face with the Greek dead.
INTO THE VALLEY OF THE QUEENS
The Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, Nefertari, was buried in one of the most spectacular tombs of Egypt’s Valley of the Queens. Well-educated and well-travelled, Nefertari played a crucial part in the political life of the pharaoh, and her importance was reflected through her magnificently decorated tomb. Lucia Marchini speaks to Jennifer Casler Price to find out more.
DEIR EL-BAHRI, 1894
Tensions were already high among the archaeologists, surveyors, and artists of the Archaeological Survey of Egypt in 1891 when an eventful dispute arose on Christmas Eve.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
When the Etruscans expanded to the south and the vast plains of Campania, they found a land of cultural connections and confrontations, as luxurious grave goods found across the region reveal. An exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples sheds light on these ancient Italians at the frontier. Paolo Giulierini, director of the museum, is our guide.
CUZCO 'CENTRE AND HEAD OF ALL THE LAND'
Cuzco was the heart of the vast Inca empire, but all changed in the 16th century when the capital was conquered by Spanish invaders. Michael J Schreffler investigates the Inca city, and how it went from the centre of one empire to the periphery of another.
A STUDY IN PURPLE
A tiny speck of purple paint from the 2nd century AD may yield clues to how ancient artists created the extraordinary portrait panels that accompanied mummified bodies into the afterlife.
Rome In The 8th Century: A History In Art
John Osborne CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, £75 HARDBACK - ISBN 978-1108834582
