Spartacus, a fictionalization of a slave revolt in ancient Rome in 71
BC, is well known today because of the 1960 movie starring Kirk Douglas
and Laurence Olivier. It was originally published in 1951 by Fast
himself, after being turned down by every mainstream publisher of the
day because of Fast's blacklisting for his Communist Party sympathies.
The story of Spartacus, born a slave, trained as a gladiator, who led a
slave revolt that was eventually put down by Crassus, was immensely
popular and went on to sell millions of copies.