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 by
Caroline Lawrence
Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American author, best known for '' The Roman Mysteries'' series of historical novels for children. The series is about a Roman girl called Flavia and her three friends: Nubia (a freed slave girl), Jo ...
. The first book, ''
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 ...
'', was published in 2001, finishing with ''
The Man from Pomegranate Street
''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 1 ...
'', published in 2009, and totaling 17 novels, plus a number of "mini-mysteries", spinoffs, and companion titles.
The books take place during the ancient Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor Titus. They detail the adventures of four children who solve mysteries and have adventures in
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia (Rome), Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a ...
, Rome, Greece, and beyond: Flavia, a rich Roman girl who lives in Ostia; Nubia, a freed slave girl from Africa; Jonathan, a rich Jewish boy; and Lupus, an orphaned
mute
Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak.
Mute or the Mute may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart
* ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...
beggar boy.
Characters
The four detectives
* Flavia Gemina: A wealthy Roman girl, daughter of a sea captain Marcus Flavius Geminus
* Jonathan ben Mordecai: A kind but pessimistic Jewish/Christian boy
* Nubia: An African girl, former slave of Flavia, good with animals
* Lupus: A mute beggar boy with a tragic past
Other characters
* Marcus Flavius Geminus: Flavia's father, a sea captain
* Mordecai: Jonathan's father, a doctor
* Miriam bat Mordecai: Jonathan's older sister
* Aristo: Greek tutor of the children
Characters based on historical persons
* Pliny the Elder, admiral of the Misenum fleet and an accomplished natural historian.
*
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...
Berenice of Cilicia
Berenice of Cilicia, also known as Julia Berenice and sometimes spelled Bernice (, ''Bereníkē'' or ''Berníkē''; 28 – after 81), was a Jewish client queen of the Roman Empire during the second half of the 1st century. Berenice was a membe ...
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
, the famous historian, who appears as a young man initially betrothed to Flavia.
*
Gaius Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the " Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic.Titus Flavius Josephus, famous Jewish historian.
* Julia Flavia, Titus' daughter.
Novels
# ''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 (novel), 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'' (2008)
# ''The Scribes from Alexandria'' (2008)
# ''The Prophet from Ephesus'' (2009)
# ''The Man from Pomegranate Street'' (2009)
Omnibus
#''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus I: The Thieves of Ostia, the Secrets of Vesuvius and the Pirates of Pompeii.
#''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus II: The Assassins of Rome, the Dolphins of Laurentum, the Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina.
#''The Roman Mysteries'' Omnibus III: The Enemies of Jupiter, the Gladiators from Capua, the Colossus of Rhodes.
Mini-mysteries
# ''Bread and Circuses'' (short story published in 2003 in ''The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunits''); re-published in a shorter version as a novella, titled ''
The Code of Romulus
''The Code of Romulus'' is a children's novella by Caroline Lawrence, published in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of World Book Day. It is a re-publication of the short story ''Bread and Circuses'' that appeared in the anthology ''The M ...
'' for World Book Day in April 2007)
# ''Trimalchio's Feast and other mini-mysteries'' (2007)
# ''The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries'' (2010)
Companion books
# ''The First Roman Mysteries Quiz Book''
# ''The Second Roman Mysteries Quiz Book''
# ''The Roman Mysteries Treasury'' (2007)
# ''From Ostia to Alexandria with Flavia Gemina: Travels with Flavia Gemina'' (2008)
Sequel trilogy
In 2008 a sequel trilogy for young adults was proposed, with the main characters being Jonathan's 14-year-old orphaned twin nephews. The stories would have been partly set in Roman Britain. The first book was to be published in March 2010. The working title for the trilogy was the Flavian Trilogy, with individual stories "Brothers of Jackals", "Companion of Owls" and "Prey of Lions". On her blog and website, Caroline Lawrence has said the content was deemed "too edgy" for the Roman Mysteries brand and as a result has been put on hold indefinitely.
In April 2010, author Caroline Lawrence announced that she is planning a spinoff for younger readers. The main character will be Threptus, an 8-year-old Ostian beggar boy who makes appearances in the final Roman Mystery, ''
The Man from Pomegranate Street
''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 1 ...
'' and the final short story in ''The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries''.
Special features
Each of the novels has at least one map of the area covered in the story, sometimes also plans or diagrams; these are by Richard Russell Lawrence. The chapters are called scrolls, after the rolls of papyrus which were Roman 'books', and are numbered with
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
. The
glossary
A glossary (from grc, γλῶσσα, ''glossa''; language, speech, wording) also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Tradi ...
explaining Roman terms is called "Aristo's Scroll", after Flavia's tutor, and the author's note, which separates fact from fiction, is called "The Last Scroll".
TV series
The BBC produced a television series based on the books, entitled ''Roman Mysteries''. The first season was broadcast in 2007, the second season in 2008.Roman Mysteries BBC website /ref>