Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English

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 ...

ist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set 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 ...

and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Life and career

Davis was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and after taking a degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

), she became a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

for 13 years. When a

romantic novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the developm ...

she had written was runner up for the 1985 ''

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ail ...

Historical Novel Prize'', she decided to become a writer, at first writing romantic serials for the UK women's magazine '' Woman's Realm''. One of these, ''The Bride from Bithynia'', was published in her 2023 collection ''Voices of Rome''. Her dedication of the book '' Rebels and Traitors'' (2009) reads: "For Richard / dearest and closest of friends / your favourite book / in memory", and the author's website relates: "I am still getting used to life without my dear Richard. For those of you who haven't seen this before, he died in October

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

" The author says in her publisher's newsletter: "The greatest recommendation I can give is that Richard, its first reader, thought it wonderful. He devoured chunks, demanding ‘Bring more story!’ even when he was in hospital. One of the last things I was ever able to tell him was that ''Rebels and Traitors'' was to be published by Random House, so I would be working with dear friends for his favourite book." Davis suffered from the eye condition

keratoconus Keratoconus is an eye disorder in which the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye, gradually thins and bulges outward into a cone shape. This causes distorted vision, including blurry vision, double vision, increased nearsightedness, ...

from childhood, and in adulthood had a

corneal transplant Corneal transplantation, also known as corneal grafting, is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by Corneal button, donated corneal tissue (the graft). When the entire cornea is replaced it is known as penetrating ...

, about which she has said: "A stranger's generosity freed me from years of pain and anxiety" and urges her readers to carry a

donor card Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transp ...

Writing

Davis's interest in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

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, ...

led to her writing a historical novel about

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

and his lover

Antonia Caenis Antonia Caenis, (died 75 AD) a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor (mother of the emperor Claudius), was Roman emperor Vespasian's ''contubernalis''. Life It could be thought that she had family in Istria, now in Croatia, based on a tri ...

(''

The Course of Honour ''The Course of Honour'' is a historical novel by Lindsey Davis, set in ancient Rome and concerning the emperor Vespasian and his lover Caenis. It was the first novel Davis wrote which was set in ancient Rome, but was not published until 1997 ...

''), for which she could not find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

", Marcus Didius Falco, ''The Silver Pigs'' (1989), set in the same time period, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of

historical whodunnit The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

s. A further 19 Falco novels have followed, as well as ''The Course of Honour'', which was published in 1997. She published '' Falco: The Official Companion'' in June 2010. '' Rebels and Traitors'', set in the period of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, was published in September 2009. ''

Master and God ''Master and God'' is a historical novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the author of the Falco series. It was first published in the UK on 15 March 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States on 5 June 2012 by St Martin's Press. It ...

'', published in March 2012, is set in ancient Rome and concerns the emperor

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor 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 Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

. In 2012, Davis and her publishers,

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

in the UK and

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

in the US, announced that she was writing a new series of books centred on Flavia Albia, Falco's British-born adopted daughter and "an established female investigator". The first title, '' The Ides of April'' was published on 11 April 2013 in the UK, ''(Copy of publishers' press release)'' and its sequel, '' Enemies at Home'', was published in 2014, followed by annual additions. In an interview in 2019 Davis discussed her plan to write an Albia novel set on each of the

seven hills of Rome The seven hills of Rome (, ) east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the city. Hills The seven hills are: * Aventine Hill (Latin: ''Collis Aventinus''; Italian: ''Aventino'') * Caelian Hill (''Coll ...

, starting with the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. I ...

in the book ''The Ides of April'' and culminating with the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

in the book ''

A Capitol Death ''A Capitol Death'' is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the seventh in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on 4 April 2019 () . The tale is set in November AD 89 on the Capitoli ...

''. By 2022 she had published three more Albia books, set in particular locations just outside the wall of Rome. After two further books in and around Rome, her 13th Flavia Alba book will be set near

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, ten years after

the eruption of Vesuvius ''The Eruption of Vesuvius'' is the name of several paintings by the Norwegian artist Johan Christian Dahl, executed from 1820 to 1826. He travelled to Italy in 1820, spending a short time in Rome before moving on to Naples, arriving in time for ...

. Davis has won many literary awards, including, in 2011, the Cartier Diamond Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association given to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution to the genre. She was honorary president of the

Classical Association The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of Classics, classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical ...

from 1997 to 1998, and is a life member of the Council of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

Published works

Marcus Didius Falco

# ''

The Silver Pigs ''The Silver Pigs'' is a 1989 historical mystery crime novel by English author Lindsey Davis and the first book in the ''Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries'' series. Set in Rome and Britannia during AD 70, just after the year of the four emperors, th ...

'' (1989) # '' Shadows in Bronze'' (1990) # ''

Venus in Copper ''Venus in Copper'' is a 1991 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the third book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome during AD 71, just after the year of the four emperors, the novel stars Marcus Didius Fa ...

'' (1991) # '' The Iron Hand of Mars'' (1992) # ''

Poseidon's Gold ''Poseidon's Gold'' is a 1993 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the fifth instalment of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome during AD 72, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent. The ...

'' (1993) # '' Last Act in Palmyra'' (1994) # '' Time to Depart'' (1995) # '' A Dying Light in Corduba'' (1996) # '' Three Hands in the Fountain'' (1997) # ''

Two for the Lions ''Two for the Lions'' is a 1998 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 10th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome and Tripolitania between December AD 73 and May AD 74, during the reign of Emperor Vespas ...

'' (1998) # ''

One Virgin Too Many ''One Virgin Too Many'' is a 1999 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 11th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome between 27 May and 7 June AD 74, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imp ...

'' (1999) # ''

Ode to a Banker ''Ode to a Banker'' is a 2000 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 12th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome between July and August AD 74, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial ...

'' (2000) # ''

A Body in the Bath House ''A Body in the Bath House'' is a 2001 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 13th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome and Britannia in AD 75, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial ...

'' (2001) # ''

The Jupiter Myth ''The Jupiter Myth'' is a 2002 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 14th book in the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Londinium, Britannia in August AD 75, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperi ...

'' (2002) # '' The Accusers'' (2003) # '' Scandal Takes a Holiday'' (2004) # ''

See Delphi and Die ''See Delphi and Die'' is a 2005 historical mystery crime novel by English author Lindsey Davis, the 17th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. The audiobook is narrated by Simon Prebble. Set in Rome and Roman Greece between Septemb ...

'' (2005) # ''

Saturnalia Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By t ...

'' (2007) # ''

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

'' (2009) # ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' (2010) Omnibus editions * ''Falco on His Metal'' (1999) ** ''Venus in Copper'' ** ''The Iron Hand of Mars'' ** ''Poseidon's Gold'' * ''Falco on the Loose'' (2003) ** ''Last Act in Palmyra'' ** ''Time to Depart'' ** ''A Dying Light in Corduba'' Companion * '' Falco: The Official Companion'' (2010)

Flavia Albia

# '' The Ides of April'' (2013, Hodder & Stoughton, ) # '' Enemies at Home'' (2014, Hodder & Stoughton, ) # ''

Deadly Election ''Deadly Election'' is a 2015 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the third book in the Flavia Albia Mysteries (Falco: The New Generation) series. Set in Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman peop ...

'' (2015, Hodder & Stoughton, ) # '' The Graveyard of the Hesperides'' (2016, Hodder & Stoughton, ) # '' The Third Nero'' (2017, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #'' Pandora's Boy'' (2018, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #''

'' (2019, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #'' The Grove of the Caesars'' (2020, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #''

A Comedy of Terrors ''A Comedy of Terrors'' is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the ninth in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 1 April 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, ...

'' (2021) () #''

Desperate Undertaking ''Desperate Undertaking'' is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the tenth in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 7 April 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton () and in the United States on 27 July 2022 by Minota ...

'' (2022, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #''

Fatal Legacy ''Fatal Legacy'' is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the eleventh in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 6 April 2023 by Hodder & Stoughton () and in the United States on 18 July 2023 by Minotaur B ...

'' (2023, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #'' Death on the Tiber'' (2024, Hodder & Stoughton, ) #'' There Will Be Bodies'' (3 April 2025, Hodder & Stoughton, )

Other works set in Ancient Rome

Novels * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2012) Novellas * ''The Spook Who Spoke Again'' (2015, ebook and audio only, ) * ''Vesuvius by Night'' (2017, ebook and audio only, ) * ''Invitation to Die'' (2019, ebook and audio only, ) Novella collection *''Voices of Rome: Four Stories of Ancient Rome'' (2023, Hodder & Stoughton:) comprising ''The Bride from Bithynia'', ''The Spook Who Spoke Again'', ''Vesuvius by Night'', and ''Invitation to Die''

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

* '' Rebels and Traitors'' (2009) * ''A Cruel Fate'' (3 February 2014, Hodder & Stoughton: ), (a QuickRead set in the English Civil War)

Short story

* "'Going Anywhere Nice?'" (2005), published in ''The Detection Collection'', edited by

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for ...

Awards and nominations

* Shortlisted for the

Prize for two unpublished works (pre-Falco). * Winner of the Author's Club Prize for "Best First Novel" in 1989 for ''

''. * Winner of the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...

(CWA):

Dagger in the Library The Dagger in the Library (Golden Handcuffs in 1992–1994) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to a particular "living author who has given the most pleasure to readers". Yearly shortlists are drawn up of the ten auth ...

for being an author "whose work has given most pleasure" in 1995. * Winner of the first

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her pen name Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of ...

Historical Dagger awarded by the

in 1999 for ''

''. * Winner of the Sherlock Award for the Best Comic Detective in 2000 for Didius Falco. * Awarded the 2010

Premio Colosseo The ''Premio Colosseo'' is a prize awarded to a person who has enhanced the image of the city of Rome. It was inaugurated in 2009, the 2000th anniversary of the birth of emperor Vespasian, builder of the Colosseum. The award is a silver model of the ...

, awarded by the city of Rome to someone who ''"has enhanced the image of Rome in the world"'' * Winner of the 2011 Cartier Diamond Dagger from the

* Winner in 2013 of the first Barcelona Historical Novel Prize (''Premi Internacional de Novella Històrica Barcino'')

References

External links

The official website of Lindsey Davis

Hodder & Stoughton Publisher's newsletters

Lindsey Davis speaks to the Dorothy Dunnett Society
''1h27m video of 2018 talk and Q&A session''
Lindsey Davis talks about ''The Grove of the Caesars'', 28 March 2020
50 minute video: Davis talks about her life and writing {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Lindsey 1949 births 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers English crime fiction writers English mystery writers Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford English historical novelists Writers of historical mysteries Living people Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity English women mystery writers English women historical novelists Cartier Diamond Dagger winners Presidents of the Classical Association