Marcus Didius Falco is the hero of a series of novels by British writer Lindsey Davis. He lives in Rome in the time of Emperor Vespasian and is a “private informer”. The later novels in the series are about his adopted daughter, also a private informer. Although most of the stories are set in Rome, Falco and his family do travel outside Italy. In one of them he writes a play which is basically Hamlet, to be performed by a group of strolling players.
Falco lives in the poorer part of Rome, in a tiny flat, though he does eventually become well off enough to live somewhere nicer. He is, however, working for the Emperor when not doing private detective stuff. His best friend is Petronius, a member of the vigiles(police). The trope of the sleuth and his buddy the cop, right? They had been in the army together. His lover, later wife, is Helena Justina, a Senator’s daughter. They can’t marry immediately because a Senator’s daughter isn’t allowed to marry someone lower class, so she moves in with him and helps in his cases, as do her brothers. He has a mother and a favourite sister, who are entertaining characters in their own right.
In one of the books, he does a Hercule Poirot, gathering the suspects to tell them whodunnit and how he figured it out.
It’s historically accurate in its details and there is even a regular character, a laundress, who lives downstairs and collects urine to whiten togas. This is true - the Romans used urine for bleach.
The books are great fun; there are other crime novels set in Ancient Rome(there will be another post later on), but this is the one I like best.
4 comments:
This series does sound intriguing! And urine as bleach -- now THERE'S an obscure historical detail!
I am a great fan of the Falco series - I think they give a great sense of the time and place
Hi Debra! Yes, it is a fascinating detail. Roman public toilets were also, well, public. You took a sponge on a stick with you and joined others. I don’t know how laundresses in general collected urine, but that is how they did it.
Hi Anne! Agreed, they do give a sense of time and place - and ordinary people, though the Emperor does appear.
Lindsey Davis' *Marcus Didius Falco* series offers a delightful and engaging mix of historical accuracy and clever detective work. Falco's role as a private informer in ancient Rome, coupled with his vivid personal life, adds an intriguing layer to the stories. His dynamic with Petronius, his lover Helena Justina, and his quirky family all contribute to the richness of the narrative. The historical tidbits, like the laundress collecting urine for bleaching togas, are both amusing and enlightening. The series blends mystery with the everyday life of ancient Rome in a way that feels both immersive and fun.
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