Heralded as one of the great historical novels of the twentieth century-and an inspiration to generations of people who have fought against oppression and exploitation- Spartacus is a masterpiece of vivid storytelling from one of Scotland's finest writers. Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901â__1935) was the pen name of James Leslie Mitchell, one of the outstanding figures in Scottish literature. Acclaimed the world over for stories of great power and originality, his trilogy of novels A Scots Quair is his most renowned work. Gibbon was amazingly prolific and literally worked himself to death, producing seventeen books in seven years.