About Me

I was born and brought up in Birmingham, where I now live again, I read English at Oxford, then joined the civil service in London, which I left in 1985. When I was setting out to become a writer, my first publications were romantic serials in Woman’s Realm. I started writing about the Romans with The Course of Honour, the true love story of the Emperor Vespasian and his mistress Antonia Caenis (published later). My research into First Century Rome inspired The Silver Pigs, the first outing for Falco and Helena, which was published in 1989. Starting as a spoof using a Roman ‘informer’ as a classic, metropolitan private eye, the series developed into adventures in various styles which take place throughout the Roman world. Its devoted readers follow the friends and family of my hero (and his dog, Nux) as avidly as they devour the mysteries he investigates. Falco: The Official Companion is a handbook for readers. The first five Falco novels were dramatised for radio by the BBC, starring Anton Lesser.

2009 saw publication of Rebels and Traitors, set in the English Civil War and Commonwealth, a book I had wanted to write since I was in my teens. In 2014 I was asked to write another Civil War story, A Cruel Fate in the QuickReads series, for challenged adult readers.

Master and God, a standalone novel set in the troubled reign of Domitian, was then published in 2012 . It led to my new series about Falco’s daughter, Flavia Albia. Like Falco, she is collecting her own household, plus animals, as she and her husband work at their business as a building contractor and investigator. Characters and places we already know are developed, while new ones emerge in what is now being called ‘The Falco Universe’. I would like to write 20 Albia stories, but who knows… Novellas with characters we’d like to know more about are collected in Voices of Rome.

My books are published in the UK and US, and translated into many other languages. Unabridged Audio readings are made. Large Print versions used to be done but have been superseded by gadgets where you can yourself adjust the font size. BBC Radio 4 produced successful drama serials of the early books, which are elderly but still available to buy and regularly repeated on R4X. I have also written a small number of short stories and introductions.

Awards

• 1989 The Authors’ Club Best First Novel award for The Silver Pigs
• 1995 The Crimewriters’ Association Dagger in the Library
• 1999 The CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger for Two for the Lions
• 1999 The Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective given to Falco
• 2009 International Prize, the Premio de Honor de Novela Historica Ciudad de Zaragoza.
• 2010 The city of Rome’s Premio Colosseo for ‘enhancing the image of Rome’.
• 2011 The Crimewriters’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement.
• 2013 Inaugural winner of the Barcelona Historical Novel Prize.
• 2023 The Ivanhoe Prize for lifetime achievement in historical fiction, from the Spanish City of Ubeda

Past Honours

Chair of the UK Crimewriters’ Association, Honorary President of the Classical Association, Lifetime Fellow of the Society of Authors, President of the Birmingham and Midland Institute.

Currrently

President of the Birmingham and Midland branch of the Classical Association

More details

A good summary of me and my thoughts on writing is the Crimewriters’ Association Hall of Fame.

A lovely summary of all my work is on historicalshelf.com. Their conclusion is: Lindsey Davis stands as one of the towering figures in historical mystery fiction. Over 35+ years and 40+ books, she has created an unparalleled fictional universe set in first-century Rome that combines rigorous historical research, clever plotting, memorable characters, and genuine wit. Her Marcus Didius Falco series redefined what Roman historical fiction could be, demonstrating that ancient settings could support contemporary mystery conventions while remaining historically authentic. The Flavia Albia series has proven that lightning can strike twice, offering a fresh perspective on the Roman world through the eyes of a compelling female protagonist.

What makes Davis’s achievement remarkable is not just the quantity of work (though consistently publishing for over three decades is impressive), but the quality. She has maintained high standards across dozens of books, creating a vast, interconnected fictional world that rewards longtime readers while remaining accessible to newcomers. Her books have introduced countless readers to Roman history, inspired further exploration of the classical world, and demonstrated that historical fiction can be both entertaining and educational.

Whether you’re a longtime fan revisiting favorite adventures or a newcomer discovering Falco and Albia for the first time, Davis’s books offer the rare pleasure of being transported to another time and place while engaging with timeless human experiences. In an era when much historical fiction feels either too academic or too anachronistic, Davis has found the perfect balance, creating Romans who feel authentically ancient yet fundamentally human.