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The Roman Mysteries

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Author
  
Caroline Lawrence

Genre
  
Historical Fiction

Country
  
United Kingdom

Number of books
  
17

Publisher
  
Orion Publishing Group

The Roman Mysteries httpsforwinternightsfileswordpresscom20110

Illustrator
  
Fred van Deelen, Peter Sutton, Richard Carr

Media type
  
Print (Hardback & Paperback)

Books
  
Trimalchio's Feast and Other Min, The Thieves of Ostia, The Secrets of Vesuvius, The Pirates of Pompeii, The Assassins of Rome

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 17 more novels were planned, plus a number of "mini-mysteries" and companion titles.

Contents

The Roman Mysteries The Roman Mysteries The Daulphins of Laurentum Scroll 1 YouTube

The books take place in 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, Rome, Greece, and beyond: Flavia, a Roman girl who lives in Ostia; Nubia, a slave girl from Africa; Jonathan, a Jewish boy; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy.

The Roman Mysteries Roman Mysteries Programs ABC TV Education

The four detectives


  • Flavia Gemina: A wealthy Roman girl
  • 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

    • Characters based on historical persons

    The Roman Mysteries The Roman Mysteries Game Droll Things

  • Pliny the Elder, admiral of the Misenum fleet and an accomplished natural historian.
  • Pliny the Younger, nephew of the Elder
  • Titus, Emperor of Rome
  • Berenice of Cilicia, Titus' exiled Jewish mistress
  • Domitian, Titus' younger brother
  • Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, the famous historian, who appears as a young man initially betrothed to Flavia.
  • Gaius Valerius Flaccus, the poet, who appears in several novels as a teenaged man, and a love interest of Flavia's.
  • Titus Flavius Josephus, famous Jewish historian.

    • Novels

    The Roman Mysteries The Roman Mysteries Wikipedia
    1. The Thieves of Ostia (2001)
    2. The Secrets of Vesuvius (2001)
    3. The Pirates of Pompeii (2002)
    4. The Assassins of Rome (2002)
    5. The Dolphins of Laurentum (2003)
    6. The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina (2003)
    7. The Enemies of Jupiter (2003)
    8. The Gladiators from Capua (2004)
    9. The Colossus of Rhodes (2005)
    10. The Fugitive from Corinth (2005)
    11. The Sirens of Surrentum (2006)
    12. The Charioteer of Delphi (2006)
    13. The Slave-girl from Jerusalem (2007)
    14. The Beggar of Volubilis (2008)
    15. The Scribes from Alexandria (2008)
    16. The Prophet from Ephesus (2009)
    17. The Man from Pomegranate Street (2009)

    Omnibus

    The Roman Mysteries The Roman Mysteries Series TV Tropes
    1. The Roman Mysteries Omnibus I: The Thieves of Ostia, the Secrets of Vesuvius and the Pirates of Pompeii.
    2. The Roman Mysteries Omnibus II: The Assassins of Rome, the Dolphins of Laurentum, the Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina.
    3. The Roman Mysteries Omnibus III: The Enemies of Jupiter, the Gladiators from Capua, the Colossus of Rhodes.

    Mini-mysteries

    1. 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 for World Book Day in April 2007)
    2. Trimalchio's Feast and other mini-mysteries (2007)
    3. The Legionary from Londinium and other mini-mysteries (2010)

    Companion books

    1. The First Roman Mysteries Quiz Book
    2. The Second Roman Mysteries Quiz Book
    3. The Roman Mysteries Treasury (2007)
    4. 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 Jackels", "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 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. The glossary 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".

    Movies

    The film rights belong to The Little Entertainment Group Ltd and all queries should be addressed to them.

    TV series

    The BBC produces a television series based on the books, entitled Roman Mysteries. The first season was broadcast in 2007, the second season in 2008.

    References

    The Roman Mysteries Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA