Gillian Marucha Bradshaw (born May 14, 1956) is an American writer who currently lives in Britain. She writes books in many genres, including historical fiction, historical fantasy, children's literature, science fiction, and contemporary science-based novels. Her historical novels are often set in ancient times, such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Byzantine Empire, Saka, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Imperial Rome, Sub-Roman Britain, and Roman Britain. She has also written two novels set during the English Civil War.
Biography
Gillian Bradshaw was born in Falls Church, Virginia, and lived in Santiago, Chile, during part of her childhood. She studied at the University of Michigan, where she received the Phillips Prize for Classical Greek in 1975 and 1977. She also won the Hopwood Prize for fiction for her first novel, Hawk of May. She later studied Classical philology at Newnham College, Cambridge. Hawk of May was published while she was preparing for exams at the University of Cambridge.
After completing her studies, Bradshaw stayed in Cambridge for an additional year to write another novel and consider her future career. During this time, she realized she could support herself as a novelist and has continued writing books ever since. She met her husband, Robin Ball, who was earning a doctorate in physics. Bradshaw and Robin Ball have four children. She describes herself as someone who enjoys studying ancient Greek and Roman history and likes visiting ancient ruins on vacation. Her family has often visited places like ancient Roman heating systems and race tracks. While they sometimes complain about visiting too many ruins, they generally enjoy the experiences.
Bradshaw’s husband, a physicist and 2012 Ig Nobel Prize winner, influenced her portrayal of Archimedes in her novel The Sand-Reckoner. However, she explains in the book’s afterword that her depiction of Archimedes is based on historical records, not on any living person. Bradshaw has judged the Institute of Physics Paperclip Physics competition. Her novels, which include both historical and contemporary stories, explore how people react to scientific discoveries.
Works
Bradshaw's first published novels were the Arthurian historical fantasy trilogy, Down the Long Wind. These three young adult books—Hawk of May, Kingdom of Summer, and In Winter's Shadow—were published between 1980 and 1982. Set in Sub-Roman Britain, the trilogy's main character is Gwalchmai (Gawain), who must choose between supporting his evil mother Morgawse or his maternal uncle, King Arthur. The title Down the Long Wind comes from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King.
Bradshaw next began writing adult historical fiction. Her 1986 novel, The Beacon at Alexandria, features Charis of Ephesus, a female doctor who dresses as a male servant in 4th century Alexandria, in Roman Egypt.
The Bearkeeper's Daughter tells the story of Theodora, empress consort of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Theodora was born into the lowest class of Byzantine society and was the daughter of Acacius, a bearkeeper for the circus.
Imperial Purple (UK title: The Colour of Power), published in 1988, features Demetrias of Tyre, a woman born into slavery who becomes a skilled weaver. The plot focuses on her discovery of a plan to remove Theodosius II from power and his sister Pulcheria.
In 1990, Bradshaw wrote Horses of Heaven, about a marriage alliance between the Saka Kingdom of Ferghana and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. The marriage of King Mauakes and Princess Heliokleia occurs around 140 BC and brings many changes at court.
Bradshaw next wrote three children's books, starting with two linked tales involving Ancient Egypt: The Dragon and the Thief (1991) and The Land of Gold (1992). The latter features a Nubian princess who survives her parents' murder and tries to regain her throne with the help of the dragon Hathor.
These two books were followed by Beyond the North Wind (1993). The novel features a young magician assigned by Apollo to protect a tribe of griffins from a hostile queen. The title refers to a work by Aristeas of Proconnesus, a 7th-century BC Greek who reported that griffins lived in Scythia, near the cave of Boreas, the North Wind. The Dragon and the Thief, The Land of Gold, and Beyond the North Wind all began as stories for her own children.
Bradshaw continued her works of serious adult historical fiction with Island of Ghosts in 1998. The novel tells the story of Ariantes, one of 8,000 Sarmatians in military service to Marcus Aurelius.
In 2000, she wrote her first science fiction novel, The Wrong Reflection, about an amnesiac who discovers that his identity as "Paul Anderson" is false.
This was followed by the historical novel The Sand-Reckoner, which tells the story of Archimedes of Syracuse, Italy, from his studies at the Library of Alexandria to his involvement in the Second Punic War (218–202 BC).
In 2001, Bradshaw published her second science fiction novel, Dangerous Notes. It features Valeria Thornham, a young classical guitarist and composer whose brain was implanted with cloned stem cells in childhood after an accident. She is considered a potential psychotic and is arrested and detained at a mental research facility, where she is threatened with surgery to remove the part of her brain responsible for her musical talent.
Bradshaw's 2001 historical novel The Wolf Hunt was based on Marie de France's Breton lai Bisclavret and features Marie Penthive of Chalendrey, a Norman kidnapped and taken to the Duchy of Brittany. Marie becomes involved in the life of the late 11th-century Duchy's court and its plots.
Her next historical novel, Cleopatra's Heir (2002), tells the tale of Caesarion, son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, who escaped execution at the order of his adoptive brother, Caesar Augustus. The young man then lives in poverty in the Roman Empire.
In 2002, Bradshaw also wrote a short story set in Ancient Egypt, The Justice of Isis, taking place in Alexandria in 58 BCE during the reign of Ptolemy XII. It was published in The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunits. This short story was also published in Czech as Esetina spravedlnost in 2004.
This was followed by another historical novel, Render Unto Caesar (2003), featuring Hermogenes, a Roman citizen of Greek origin, who faces prejudice in Rome when trying to collect a debt, and his bodyguard, "Cantabra," a former gladiatrix from Cantabria.
In 2003, Bradshaw also wrote a short story set in the last decades of Imperial Rome, The Malice of the Anicii. Written in the style of a scholarly edition of Ammianus Marcellinus's History of Rome, the story was published in The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunits.
Bradshaw returned to science fiction with The Somers Treatment (2003). The novel features neurosurgeon David Somers, who develops a unique treatment for specific language impairment. His research is funded by MI5, though the reasons remain secret.
Her 2004 historical novel, The Alchemy of Fire, takes place in Constantinople under Constantine IV. Anna, a former concubine to
Impact and critical reception
Some people think Bradshaw's books are similar to those of Rosemary Sutcliff. Her books that include science are also very believable.
Gillian Bradshaw's books have been published in English in the United Kingdom and the United States. They have also been translated into Czech (her name sometimes appears as Gillian Bradshawová in Czech), Danish, French, German, and Spanish. Her writing has received praise from critics in all six languages where her books are published.
She has also published two short stories in Czech. The Justice of Isis was translated as Esetina spravedlnost in 2004. The Malice of the Anicii was translated as Zlovolnost Anicijských in 2008.