''Poseidon's Gold'' is a 1993

historical mystery 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 ...

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...

and the fifth instalment of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

during AD 72, the novel stars

Marcus Didius Falco Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...

, informer and imperial agent. The gold in the title refers to the treasure, taken by Falco's brother Festus for one of Festus' wild schemes and which now appears to have gone down with the ship, returning to ''

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

''.

Plot summary

In ''Poseidon's Gold'', Falco returns from a six-month mission to

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

Libera, only to become embroiled in the after-effects of a scam by his now-deceased, older brother Festus. The story recounts shipping scams, crooked antiques auctions, and hired thugs, all while Falco is trying to clear his family's name and sort out Festus' business dealings.

Characters

Main characters

* ''Decimus Camillus Verus'' – Senatorial father of Helena Justina. * ''Helena Justina'' – Daughter of the

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Decimus Camillus Verus * ''Julia Justa'' – Wife of Decimus Camillus Verus and mother of Helena * ''Junilla Tacita'' – Mother of Falco * ''Lucius Petronius Longus'' – Investigator for the ''vigiles'' and friend of Falco * ''Marcus Didius Favonius (aka Geminus)'' – Auctioneer and Father of Falco * ''Marcus Didius Falco'' – Informer and Imperial Agent from the Aventine.

Other characters

* ''Anacrites'' – Imperial spy * ''Apollonius'' – An ex-geometry teacher * ''Cocceius'' – Auctioneer * ''Domitian Caesar'' – Youngest son of the Emperor * ''Epimandos'' – A waiter * ''Lenia'' – A Laundress * ''Manilus'' – A painter * ''Marponius'' – A trial judge and encyclopaedia salesman * ''Orontes Mediolanus'' – A sculptor * ''Rubina'' – An artist's model * ''Varga'' – A painter

Major themes

* Investigation into the murky business dealings of Marcus Didius Festus and the fight to clear the family name. * Developing relationship of Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

* Set in Rome in AD 72, during the reign of Emperor

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 ...

Allusions/references to other works

* The novel ends on a somewhat elaborate joke. The Judean slaves attempt to send Falco on a quest to recover a missing artefact. At first, Falco is afraid that they want him to raid the treasures brought back after the conquest. However, they then tell Falco that they want him to look for a "Lost Ark". Falco demurs, and says someone who is more of a daredevil than he would have to perform that particular quest, alluding to

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

and the ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

.''

Publication details

* 1993, UK, Century Hardback (out of print) * 1994, UK, Arrow, Paperback * 1995, US, Crown/Ballantine * 1999, UK, Arrow, Paperback (as part of single-volume omnibus edition, ''Falco on his Metal'', with

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 ...

and The Iron Hand of Mars)

Adaptations in other media

* BBC Radio 4 starring

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', Clement Attlee in '' A United Kingdom'', Chief Superintendent Bright in '' E ...

and

Anna Madeley Anna Madeley (born 8 March 1977) is an English actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in productions on each of the main British television ...

, in May 2009. Unlike previous Radio 4 dramatisations of novels from the Falco series (in four or six half-hour episodes), this adaptation was broadcast as ten 15-minute episodes as the ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' Drama. This instalment added

Trevor Peacock Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, including for his roles in Shakespeare. He later became known for playing Jim Trott in the BBC comedy series ''The V ...

to the recurring cast, as Geminus.

References

External links

lindseydavis.co.uk
Author's Official Website {{Falco novels 1993 British novels Marcus Didius Falco novels Historical novels 72 Century (imprint) books