Novellas and Anthology

The Spook Who Spoke Again

This is a novella, a whirling spin-off from my spin-off. It is narrated for us hairy barbarians by Marcus Didius Alexander Postumus, a boy convinced of his own intelligence and superiority, although he is only twelve (or perhaps eleven) and more vulnerable than he thinks. Carried off to be with Thalia, his birth mother, he brings his ferret, Ferret, his only friend, together with a determined curiosity to learn who his father is. This may not be good news for those he deems to be possible fathers. When something happens to Ferret, Postumus proceeds to investigate the crime in the…

Vesuvius by Night

This is a novella, told in the third person. It is set during the Vesuvius eruption and answers the question, ‘What happened to Larius?’ Of course we already know the answer, so for those of us who have loved this lad in his wide-eyed youth, it cannot make for happy reading. This is the saddest story I have ever written, but I wanted to do it. The events of AD79 have given us our most intimate knowledge of the Romans, while like me, many of you will have spent wonderful times on the Bay of Naples. I must have visited…

Invitation to Die

This is a novella. Told in the third person, it imagines Domitian’s infamous Black Banquet, as seen by the Camillus brothers, Helena Justina’s siblings, those much-loved series characters. Aulus and Quintus receive official invitations to dine with the Emperor, following his double triumph. Their wives and children immediately start fearing the brothers may never return from the dinner. They dread that Domitian is planning a reprisal against the Senate, a body he openly despises. Might he also want revenge on them personally: does he remember that failed plot their uncle was once involved in and how it was exposed by…

Voices of Rome

Four Stories of Ancient Rome

This is an omnibus collection of four Lindsey Davis novellas: It came about through the special relationship between Lindsey and her readers. It brings together stories that have never been collected in print form before. Alongside the Marcus Didius Falco and Flavia Albia novels sit these shorter pieces; they are part of the extended family saga that gives such colour and depth to her mysteries. All four stories are dominated by events that shook First Century Rome: the Boudiccan Rebellion, the eruption of Vesuvius and Domitian’s double triumph, with its notorious Black Banquet. Both natural and man-made disasters threaten very…