Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American author, best known for ''

The Roman Mysteries ''The Roman Mysteries'' is a series of historical novels for children by Caroline Lawrence. The first book, '' The Thieves of Ostia'', was published in 2001, finishing with '' The Man from Pomegranate Street'', published in 2009, and totaling ...

'' series of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

s for children. The series is about a

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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

girl called Flavia and her three friends: Nubia (a freed slave girl), Jonathan (a shunned Jewish boy) and Lupus (a beggar boy without a tongue). The series has won numerous awards and has been published in many different languages worldwide. In March 2010, Lawrence was commissioned to write another history mystery series of books called The Western Mysteries, set in

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

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 Nevada ...

in the early 1860s.

Biography

Lawrence was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Her American parents returned to the United States shortly afterwards and she grew up in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

with her younger brother and sister. Her father taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and drama in a local high school and her mother was an artist. When she was twelve, Caroline's family moved to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

so that her father could study

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. She afterwards studied

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, 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 widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. There, at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

, she studied Classical Art and

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. After

, Caroline remained in

, and later took an MA in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

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 ...

Studies at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She then taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, French and art at a small

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

. In 2000 she wrote ''

The Thieves of Ostia ''The Roman Mysteries'' is a series of historical novels for children by Caroline Lawrence. The first book, '' The Thieves of Ostia'', was published in 2001, finishing with '' The Man from Pomegranate Street'', published in 2009, and totaling ...

'', the first in a series of children's adventure stories set in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, the book was published in 2001. ''

'' combine Caroline's love of art history, ancient languages and travel. Her other passions include cinema, jazz and London. Caroline 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 the R ...

with her husband Richard, a graphic designer. In 2009, Caroline 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 university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

'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, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

Bettany Hughes Bettany Mary Hughes (born May 1967) is an English historian, author and broadcaster, specialising in classical history. Her published books cover classical antiquity and myth, and the history of Istanbul. She is active in efforts to encourage ...

and

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...

Bibliography

The Roman Mysteries series

# ''

'' (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 The Colossus of Rhodes ( grc, ὁ Κολοσσὸς Ῥόδιος, ho Kolossòs Rhódios gr, Κολοσσός της Ρόδου, Kolossós tes Rhódou) was a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek isla ...

'' (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)

Roman Mystery Scrolls

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

Roman Quests

#'' Escape from Rome'' (2016) #'' The Archers of Isca'' (2016) #'' Death in the Arena'' (2017) #'' Return to Rome'' (2018)

The Time Travel Diaries

#'' Adventure in Athens'' (2020) ;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)

Western Mysteries/P.K. Pinkerton 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)

References

External links

The Roman Mysteries homepage

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