Roma Sub Rosa
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Roma Sub Rosa is a series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by noteworthy denizens of, Ancient Rome. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. Roma Sub Rosa means, in Latin, "Rome under Rose". If a matter was "under the rose" it meant that such matter was confidential.
The detective is known as Gordianus the Finder, and he mixes with non-fictional citizens of the Republic including Sulla, Cicero, Marcus Crassus, Catullus, Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Marc Antony.
[edit] Characters
For an ancient Roman, Gordianus has an unconventional family.
- Bethesda, his wife, an Egyptian and his former slave.
- Eco, his oldest adopted son, was a former mute who followed in his father's footsteps as an investigator.
- Meto, his second adopted son, was a slave of Crassus who became a soldier serving under Julius Caesar.
- Rupa, his third adopted son, brother to Cassandra, a mute.
- Diana, his intellectual and headstrong daughter (by Bethesda).
- Davus, his son-in-law (Diana's husband) who was Gordianus' former slave and bodyguard.
- Aulus, his grandson (by Diana).
- Little Bethesda, his granddaughter (by Diana).
[edit] Titles
While the books were written in a differant order, they are set in a particular order as shown here:
- Roman Blood (1991) - 80 BC: Gordianus accepts a commission from Cicero to investigate a murder while Rome is under the thumb of a brutal dictator.
- The House of the Vestals (1997) - First collection of short stories.
- A Gladiator Dies Only Once (2005) - Second collection of short stories.
- Arms of Nemesis (1992) - 72 BC: Gordianus races against time to prevent the slaughter of hundreds of slaves, while Spartacus ravages the Italian countryside.
- Catilina's Riddle (1993) - 63 BC: Gordianus attempts to find out why headless bodies keep appearing on his farm, while he is entangled in republican conspiracy and counter-conspiracy.
- The Venus Throw (1995) - 56 BC: Gordianus is swept up in the decadence of Rome as he tries to uncover who murdered an Egyptian diplomat.
- A Murder on the Appian Way (1996) - 52 BC: Gordianus investigates the death of Publius Clodius Pulcher as Rome sinks into chaos.
- Rubicon (1999) - 49 BC: Gordianus investigates how a body turned up in his garden as Rome lurches into civil war.
- Last Seen in Massilia (2000) - 49 BC: As Massilia is beseiged by Caesar's army, Gordianus must find his way in and find out the truth about his son, Meto. Is he dead, a traitor, or a spy?
- A Mist of Prophecies (2002) - 48 BC: Gordianus searches for the killer of a seeress.
- The Judgment of Caesar (2004) - 48 BC: Gordianus travels to Egypt in an attempt to find a cure for his wife's illness, but gets wrapped up in a power struggle between Caesar and competing Egyptian factions.
