Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American children's author, best known for '' The Roman Mysteries'', a series of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s following four child detectives in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. The series has won numerous awards and has been published in many different languages worldwide. Lawrence is also known for her historical mystery series called ''The P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries'' (or ''The Western Mysteries''), set in Virginia City,

Nevada Territory The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Neva ...

in the early 1860s.

Biography

Lawrence was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Her American parents returned to

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

shortly afterwards and she grew up in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

with her younger brother and sister. Her father was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Her mother was an artist and her father taught French and

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

at a middle school. When she was twelve, Lawrence's family moved to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

so that her father could study

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. She afterwards studied

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at Berkeley, where she won a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

."Caroline Lawrence", Fantastic Fiction.com
/ref> There, at Newnham College, she studied Classical Art and

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. After Cambridge, Lawrence remained in England, and later took an MA in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and Jewish Studies at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. She then taught

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, French and

Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

at a small London

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. In 2000, she wrote ''The Thieves of Ostia'', which was published in 2001, the first in a series of children's mystery-adventure stories set in

, called '' The Roman Mysteries.'' The 17 book series has sold over a million copies in the United Kingdom and has been translated into 14 languages. The books were adapted as a

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 2007-2008. Lawrence went on to write several sequels, spin-offs and companion books. In 2009, Lawrence won the Classical Association Prize of £5000 for "a significant contribution to the public understanding of Classics". Lawrence has also worked on the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

's educational website ''Romans Revealed'', creating stories about Roman Britain closely based on archaeological finds. In 2013, she was chosen to be President of JACT (The Joint Association of Classical Teachers) following in the footsteps of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, Bettany Hughes and Paul Cartledge. Lawrence has a son, Simon, from a previous marriage, and she now lives by the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

in London with her husband Richard, a graphic designer.

Bibliography

The Roman Mysteries

# ''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'' (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'' (2007) # ''The Scribes from Alexandria'' (2008) # ''The Prophet from Ephesus'' (2009) # ''The Man from Pomegranate Street'' (2009)

The Roman Mystery Scrolls

# ''The Sewer Demon'' (2012) # ''The Poisoned Honey Cake'' (2012) # ''The Thunder Omen'' (2013) # ''The Two-Faced God'' (2013)

The Roman Quests

#''Escape from Rome'' (2016) #''The Archers of Isca'' (2016) #''Death in the Arena'' (2017) #''Return to Rome'' (2018) ;Short stories :* '' The Code of Romulus'' (World Book day promotion) (2007) :* ''Trimalchio's Feast and other mini-mysteries'' (2007) :* ''The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries'' (2010) Associated non-fiction books include: :* ''The First Roman Mysteries Quiz Book'' (2007) :* ''The Roman Mysteries Treasury'' (2007) :* ''From Ostia to Alexandria with Flavia Gemina'' (2009)

The P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries/The Western Mysteries

# ''The Case of the Deadly Desperados'' (2011) # ''The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse'' (2012) (US title: ''P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man'') # ''The Case of the Pistol-Packing Widows'' (2013) # ''The Case of the Bogus Detective'' (2015)

The Time Travel Diaries

#''The Time Travel Diaries'' (2019) #''Adventure in Athens'' (2020)

Tales from
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
''

#''Night Raid'' (2014), republished as ''Nisus and Euryalus: The Night Raid'' (2025) #''Queen of the Silver Arrow'' (2016), republished as ''Camilla: Queen of the Silver Arrow'' (2025)

Standalone works

#''Mystery & Mayhem: Twelve Deliciously Intriguing Mysteries'' (2016) (contributor, short story anthology) #''How To Write a Great Story'' (2019) (non-fiction) #''Amarantus and his Neighbourhood'' (2021) (illustrated by Laura Jenkinson-Brown) #''

Aesop Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...

's Fables'' (2022) #''Pantheon: An Illustrated Handbook to the Greek Gods & Goddesses'' (2024) (illustrated by Flora Kirk)

References

External links

The Roman Mysteries homepage

Interview with Caroline Lawrence on the Coffee & Circuses podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Caroline Living people 1954 births Academics of the University of Reading Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London English people of American-Jewish descent English women children's writers English women historical novelists Schoolteachers from London Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical mysteries Writers from London