I love to escape into a historical novel. This afternoon, I finished Gillian Bradshaw's "Render Unto Caesar", the story of an Alexandrian Greek who arrives in Rome to seek payment of a debt only to find that Roman law and Roman practice differ. He also finds death threats and romance, of course.
As in her other books, Bradshaw sprinkles educational icing onto the rich cake that is her gripping story.
My favorite Bradshaw is "The Lighthouse at Alexandria," about a young Greek girl who sets off to the big city (Alexandria) to learn how to become a doctor when that art was off-limits to women. Sort of "women's liberation" in the Roman Empire.
I recommend all the Bradshaw historical novels highly. If, that is, you too value escapism.