Mitchell, James Leslie: Spartacus (1933), v1, 15 Aug 2019
 

James Leslie Mitchell (pen name of Lewis Grassic Gibbon), 1901-1935

The first English language novel of Spartacus, leader of the 1st century BC Roman slave revolt (published in 1933), later also covered by Arthur Koestler in 1939, and Howard Fast (1951). The classic 1960 movie was based on the Howard Fast book.

A Thracian slave, once a legionary, leads a revolt and becomes the head of a 70,000 strong army which took several years for Rome to bring down.