The Last of the Legions and Other Tales of Long Ago

Across thirteen short stories, Arthur Conan Doyle reaches into the ancient and early medieval past, from the fall of Carthage to the twilight of Roman Britain. The title tale watches the last Roman legions abandon Britain to invasion, while other pieces follow the first boatload of Saxon warriors landing on the Thames, the westward pressure of the Huns, and the friction between early Christians and the old pagan order. A few turn stranger, slipping toward the supernatural through an old mirror that replays a murder or a vision that reaches across centuries. Doyle, far better known for Sherlock Holmes, wrote historical fiction throughout his career, and this 1922 collection brings his eye for atmosphere and moral tension to the long sweep of European history. It rewards readers who like their history vivid, human, and told at close range.