L.J. Trafford studied Ancient History at the University of Reading after which she took a job as a Tour Guide in the Lake District. Moving to London in 2000 she began writing ‘The Four Emperors’ series. The series comprises four books – Palatine, Galba’s Men, Otho’s Regret and Vitellius’ Feast – which cover the dramatic fall of Nero and the chaotic year of the four emperors that followed. Palatine, published in 2015, received an Editor’s Choice Mark from the Historical Novel Society. Her first book for Pen and Sword, How to Survive in Ancient Rome was published in October 2020.