A short life of the author
Allan Massie (born 1938 in Singapore, raised in Aberdeenshire) is a Scottish novelist and man of letters whose most distinctive achievement is a sequence of historical novels narrated in the first person by Roman emperors and generals: Augustus (1986), Tiberius (1990), Caesar (1993), Antony (1997), and others. These novels combine classical scholarship with a modern psychological sensibility, presenting their subjects as complex political actors rather than marble busts.
He has also written novels set in contemporary Scotland and France, including The Death of Men (1981) and A Question of Loyalties (1989), as well as critical studies of Colette, Muriel Spark, and the Edinburgh literary scene.
Collecting Massie
Massie published with Hodder & Stoughton and Sceptre in the UK. First editions of the Roman novels are modestly priced at $20–$60. His critical works are collected by scholars of Scottish literature.
Signed copies are available through UK dealers specialising in contemporary British fiction.