The ''SPQR'' series is a series of

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 ...

stories by John Maddox Roberts, published between 1990 and 2010, and set in the final years of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. SPQR (the original title of the first book, until the sequels came out) is a Latin

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

for '' Senatus Populusque Romanus'' ("The Roman Senate and People"), the official name of the Republic. The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger (born c 90-95 BC), nephew of Metellus Pius and member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family of the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

. The stories are told in flashback-form by the old Decius, writing during the reign of

Augustus Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. The stories range from 70 BC (''The King's Gambit'') to 20 BC ("The King of Sacrifices"), and have both an exciting and comedic tone. Decius' companions include his slaves Cato, Cassandra, and Hermes; his friends, the Greek gladiatorial physician Asklepiodes and the gangster/politician Titus Annius Milo; and his staunch enemies, the siblings Clodia and Clodius. Along the way, he is often helped by his father, as well as by

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and a young

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. In later books, Decius is betrothed and then married to the (fictional) niece of Caesar, Julia Caesaris. The dates are all listed at the end of each book in the ''

ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'' calendar system. In 2015, a German company had planned to adapt the series for TV, however, they have withdrawn from the project in 2022 for financial reasons.

Novels

#''The King's Gambit'': In 70 BC, Decius uncovers a plot to subvert

Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Ancient Romans, Roman List of Roman generals, general and Politician, statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and ...

' army in the war against Mithridates #''The Catiline Conspiracy'' (63–62 BC): Decius uncovers Catiline's plot to overthrow the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. #''The Sacrilege'' (62–61 BC): Decius investigates Clodius's desecration of the

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a List of Roman deities, goddess in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility among married Women in ancient Rome, Roman women, healing, and the protection of t ...

rites. #'' The Temple of the Muses'' (60 BC): While visiting

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 ...

, Decius investigates the murder of a philosopher at its famous library. #''Saturnalia'' (59 BC): Decius investigates the murder of his kinsman Metellus Celer. #''Nobody Loves a Centurion'' (58 BC): Decius investigates the murder of a centurion of the 10th Legion at the start of the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

. #'' The Tribune's Curse'' (55 BC): Decius investigates the murder of a

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

who curses Crassus on his way to

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

. #''The River God's Vengeance'' (53 BC): Decius investigates a collapsed insula, uncovering systematic fraud in the construction trade. #''The Princess and the Pirates'' (51 BC): Decius investigates the murder of his host, the Roman governor of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, while on the island to deal with an upsurge in

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. The eponymous princess is the young

Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

of Egypt. #''A Point of Law'' (51–50 BC): While running for election to the office of

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

, Decius must deal with accusations that he murdered a man who had threatened to denounce him for actions he took while on Cyprus the previous year. #''Under Vesuvius'': In 50 BC, while touring

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

as praetor peregrinus, Decius investigates a murder near Mount

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

. #''Oracle of the Dead'' (50 BC). As praetor peregrinus, Decius investigates the murders of a group of priests of Apollo during the period just before Caesar crosses the Rubicon. #''The Year of Confusion'' (46–45 BC): During Caesar's

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, Decius is commissioned to oversee the adoption of Caesar's new calendar, and investigates the murders of several astronomers who developed it. #''Dolabella'' (unfinished as of Roberts's death in 2024)

Short stories

The series also includes the following short stories, in chronological order: *"The Statuette of Rhodes" (60 BC): Decius finds a corpse at the base of the Colossus of Rhodes. *"Mightier Than the Sword" (53 BC): Decius investigates the murder of a victim found in the basement of a townhouse in Rome. *"The Etruscan House" (52 BC): Decius investigates a senator's murder. *"An Academic Question" (51 BC): Decius investigates a murder during his visit to Athens mentioned as part of his leisurely trip to Cyprus at the beginning of "The Princess and the Pirates" *"Venus in Pearls" (46 BC): Caesar hires Decius to locate his stolen breastplate before his Pompeian triumph *"Beware the Snake" (45 BC): Decius must locate the missing sacred snake of the Marsi. *"The Will" (44 BC): Decius investigates Caesar's will following his

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. *"The King of Sacrifices" (20 BC): An elderly Decius investigates the death of a candidate for Rex Sacrorum Roberts also wrote a short story, "The Mountain Wolves", which is also set in ancient Rome, but is not part of the SPQR series.Published in ''Classical Stories: Heroic Tales from Ancient Greece and Rome'' (1996), edited by Mike Ashley, .

Chronology

The above dates are approximate because there is contradictory information within the texts. *For instance, in ''The Sacrilege'', which can be dated at 62 BC, Decius claims to be turning 29, indicating he was born in 91 BC; however, in '' The Tribune's Curse'', he finds that he was born in the same year as Marcus Porcius Cato (95 BC). Confusingly, however, in the same book, Cato claims to have been born "when Valerius and Herennius were consuls.", which was 93 BC. *In "The King of Sacrifices", dated at 20 BC, Decius claims to be in his 73rd year, indicating he was born in either 93 or 92 BC. However, in the story itself Julia is claimed to be "betrothed" to Agrippa, whom she married 21 BC, i.e. at least one year earlier. *The AUC dates given in ''The Sacrilege'', ''The Temple of the Muses'' and "The Statuette of Rhodes" are clearly erroneous. **The Sacrilege has a clear external date and there is a strong indication that "Statuette" takes place in the same year as ''Saturnalia''. *Roberts has noted that events in ''The Year of Confusion'' have been modified for dramatic effect.

References

{{Reflist Book series introduced in 1990 Fictional depictions of Julius Caesar in literature Historical novels by series Mystery novels by series Novels set in ancient Rome Fictional depictions of Cleopatra in literature Cultural depictions of Catiline Cultural depictions of Marcus Licinius Crassus Cultural depictions of Pompey Cultural depictions of Publius Clodius Pulcher Fictional depictions of Augustus in literature Historical mystery novels

Novels

Short stories

Chronology

See also

References