''The Roman Mysteries'' is a series of historical novels for children by

Caroline Lawrence Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American author, best known for '' The Roman Mysteries'' series of historical novels for children. The series is about a Roman girl called Flavia and her three friends: Nubia (a freed slave girl), Jo ...

. The first book, '' The Thieves of Ostia'', was published in 2001, finishing with '' The Man from Pomegranate Street'', published in 2009, and totaling 17 novels, plus a number of "mini-mysteries", spinoffs, and companion titles. The books take place during the ancient

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

during the reign of the Emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

. They detail the adventures of four children who solve mysteries and have adventures in

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a derivation ...

, Rome, Greece, and beyond: Flavia, a rich Roman girl who lives in Ostia; Nubia, a freed slave girl from Africa; Jonathan, a rich

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

boy; and Lupus, an orphaned

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

beggar boy.

Characters

The four detectives

* Flavia Gemina: A wealthy Roman girl, daughter of a sea captain Marcus Flavius Geminus * Jonathan ben Mordecai: A kind but pessimistic Jewish/Christian boy * Nubia: An African girl, former slave of Flavia, good with animals * Lupus: A mute beggar boy with a tragic past

Other characters

* Marcus Flavius Geminus: Flavia's father, a sea captain * Mordecai: Jonathan's father, a doctor * Miriam bat Mordecai: Jonathan's older sister * Aristo: Greek tutor of the children

Characters based on historical persons

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, admiral of the

Misenum Miseno is one of the ''frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port. Geography Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the Ba ...

fleet and an accomplished natural historian. * Pliny the Younger, nephew of the Elder *

, Emperor of Rome *

Berenice of Cilicia Berenice of Cilicia, also known as Julia Berenice and sometimes spelled Bernice (, ''Bereníkē'' or ''Berníkē''; 28 – after 81), was a Jewish client queen of the Roman Empire during the second half of the 1st century. Berenice was a membe ...

, Titus' exiled Jewish mistress *

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

, Titus' younger brother * Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, the famous historian, who appears as a young man initially betrothed to Flavia. * Gaius Valerius Flaccus, the poet, who appears in several novels as a teenaged man, and a love interest of Flavia's. *

Titus Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

, famous Jewish historian. *

Julia Flavia Julia Flavia or Flavia Julia and also nicknamed Julia Titi ( – 91) was the daughter of Roman Emperor Titus and his first wife Arrecina Tertulla. Biography Early life Julia was born in Rome to Titus and Arrecina Tertulla, she was named fo ...

, Titus' daughter.

Novels

# ''The Thieves of Ostia'' (2001) # ''The Secrets of Vesuvius'' (2001) # ''The Pirates of Pompeii'' (2002) # ''The Assassins of Rome'' (2002) # ''The Dolphins of Laurentum'' (2003) # ''The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina'' (2003) # ''The Enemies of Jupiter'' (2003) # ''The Gladiators from Capua'' (2004) # ''The Colossus of Rhodes (novel), The Colossus of Rhodes'' (2005) # ''The Fugitive from Corinth'' (2005) # ''The Sirens of Surrentum'' (2006) # ''The Charioteer of Delphi'' (2006) # ''The Slave-girl from Jerusalem'' (2007) # ''The Beggar of Volubilis'' (2008) # ''The Scribes from Alexandria'' (2008) # ''The Prophet from Ephesus'' (2009) # ''The Man from Pomegranate Street'' (2009)

Omnibus

#''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus I: The Thieves of Ostia, the Secrets of Vesuvius and the Pirates of Pompeii. #''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus II: The Assassins of Rome, the Dolphins of Laurentum, the Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina. #''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus III: The Enemies of Jupiter, the Gladiators from Capua, the Colossus of Rhodes.

Mini-mysteries

# ''Bread and Circuses'' (short story published in 2003 in ''The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunits''); re-published in a shorter version as a novella, titled '' The Code of Romulus'' for

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and co ...

in April 2007) # ''Trimalchio's Feast and other mini-mysteries'' (2007) # ''The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries'' (2010)

Companion books

# ''The First Roman Mysteries Quiz Book'' # ''The Second Roman Mysteries Quiz Book'' # ''The Roman Mysteries Treasury'' (2007) # ''From Ostia to Alexandria with Flavia Gemina: Travels with Flavia Gemina'' (2008)

Sequel trilogy

In 2008 a sequel trilogy for young adults was proposed, with the main characters being Jonathan's 14-year-old orphaned twin nephews. The stories would have been partly set in Roman Britain. The first book was to be published in March 2010. The working title for the trilogy was the Flavian Trilogy, with individual stories "Brothers of Jackals", "Companion of Owls" and "Prey of Lions". On her blog and website, Caroline Lawrence has said the content was deemed "too edgy" for the Roman Mysteries brand and as a result has been put on hold indefinitely. In April 2010, author Caroline Lawrence announced that she is planning a spinoff for younger readers. The main character will be Threptus, an 8-year-old Ostian beggar boy who makes appearances in the final Roman Mystery, '' The Man from Pomegranate Street'' and the final short story in ''The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries''.

Special features

Each of the novels has at least one map of the area covered in the story, sometimes also plans or diagrams; these are by Richard Russell Lawrence. The chapters are called

scrolls A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papy ...

, after the rolls of

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

which were Roman 'books', and are numbered with Roman numerals. The glossary explaining Roman terms is called "Aristo's Scroll", after Flavia's tutor, and the author's note, which separates fact from fiction, is called "The Last Scroll".

TV series

The BBC produced a television series based on the books, entitled ''Roman Mysteries''. The first season was broadcast in 2007, the second season in 2008.Roman Mysteries BBC website
/ref>

References

External links

Official ''Roman Mysteries'' websiteOfficial BBC site for the TV seriesTV Tropes ''The Roman Mysteries'' page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Mysteries, The The Roman Mysteries, Lagardère SCA franchises Novels set in ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Domitian Historical mystery novels Cultural depictions of Titus