It is the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. Marcus Didius Falco and Helena have returned from Greece only to find that Helenas brother Justinuss marital problems have exploded. Justinuss first love, Veleda, a tribal leader and prophetess from Germania, has been brought to Rome and put under house arrest pending a ritual sacrifice at her capturers Triumph.
"The occasional anachronistic colloquial phrase jars a bit, but overall Davis does her usual sound job of bringing first-century Rome to life." - PW.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lindsey Davis was born and raised in Birmingham, read English at Oxford, then joined the civil service. After thirteen years, her first novel (which she'd written for herself) was runner-up for the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, which encouraged her to leave her job and try to become a writer.
She had romantic serials commissioned for Woman's Realm, then changed to writing about the Romans with The Course of Honour, the remarkable true love story of the Emperor Vespasian and his mistress Antonia Caenis. Her research into imperial
Rome then inspired The Silver Pigs, the first in the Falco series about a Roman informer in the AD70s, which has now attracted a devoted readership.
The Silver Pigs won the Authors' Club Best First Novel for 1989, and
Davis was awarded the CWA ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lindsey Davis's Website
It was one of the worst speeches I ever heard ... when a simple apology was all that was required.
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