A Catholic Reader

The third series of murder mysteries set in ancient Rome with which I am most familiar are those of Lindsey Davis , the investigations of fictional detective Marcus Didius Falco, who lives and snoops during the reign of Emperor Vespasian (father of succeeding Emperors Titus and Domitian, who all together constitute the Flavian Dynasty). Unlike the Roberts and Saylor novels, this series gives insight into the popular culture of the early Imperial Rome, rather than the historical events that contributed to the collapse of the Republic. Falco's escapades are also considerably more lighthearted and deliberately comedic than those of the other two fictional detectives, which may be why they are so popular. Period: The first in the series, The Silver Pigs , takes place in A.D. 70, at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Vespasian (also the year of the razing of Jerusalem), but the central events transpire in Roman Britain. The most recent (20th) addition to the series, Nemesis (o...

The mystery novels that got me started on this topic are those by Steven Saylor, a series called Roma Sub Rosa (a Latin term for something done secretly). Paradoxically, one of the things I like about Saylor's series is also the thing that most sets my teeth on edge: it covers the same period and the same historical events as those dealt with in Roberts' SPQR series, but from a distinct outsider's point of view, which contrasts rather strongly with that of John Maddox Roberts' aristocratic insider, Decius Caecilius Metellus. The titles chosen for the two series indicates the essential differences between them: SPQR (the motto of Republic: Senatus Populusque Romanus , the Senate and People of Rome) seeks to acquaint the reader with the values that made the Roman republic great and whose collapse led to the Republic's demise and the rise of the military dictatorship we call the Roman Empire, while Roma Sub Rosa presents the post-Machiavellian view that Rome...

I just finished reading Rubicon , by Steven Saylor, and thought I would discuss one of my favorite "just for fun" genres: murder mysteries set in ancient Rome. There are three series by different authors that I am familiar with (there are also some other series I've sampled), which I can recommend for different reasons. Right now, I'll just briefly describe the three series and what distinguishes each one; perhaps another day I'll go into more depth on particular novels. SPQR series, John Maddox Roberts The first is the SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts , which I began reading about 15 years ago, a couple of years before I first began studying the Latin language and the culture of the late Roman Republic and early Empire. SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome"), an official motto of the Roman Republic which can still be seen on manhole covers in Rome to this day. This remains my favorite series of the three...