Across the Roman Wall; Mission to Marathon; The Saga of Aslak; A Ghost-Light in the Attic

This series of historical 'faction' has attracted some notable writers who know how to tell a good, exciting tale with a subtle interweaving of period fact and detail. The experienced eye will spot the formula brief but the stories stand well on their own and not everyone will go for the whole set.

Across the Roman Wall takes us to Roman Britain, where the animosity between the army and the Britons is reflected in the tense, stormy relationship between Lucius and act in unison to deflect impending disaster, and out of that comes a love interest.

Mission to Marathon sees Philip and Nycilla, his cousin, acting as messengers to save Athens from the advancing Persians, who have already landed at Marathon.

The Saga of Aslak moves us to the Vikings and a sometimes violent, eventful tale of conflict, slavery and human tenacity. Again two matched, male/female characters and some love interest.

A Ghost-Light in the Attic moves between now and the Civil War, when Tom and Bridget encounter the ghost of a girl whose family are divided by the Cavalier v. Roundhead antagonism and the subsequent double-dealing chicanery that goes on.

All the texts are amply illustrated and the language strictly controlled to make quick, informative, exciting reads that will have their uses through late KS2 as well as early KS3. I've always felt that this really is the way to enrich History lessons.