The House of the Vestals is a collection of short stories by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 1997. It is the sixth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
This collection of short stories are set in the years between 90 BC and 72 BC, and tell the tales of how Gordianus first met his slave, and later wife, Bethesda; how he met his loyal manservant Belbo; of his friendship with his generous patron Lucius Claudius, as well as other tales. He also runs into important historical figures, such as Publius Clodius Pulcher and a young Caesar.
Death Wears A Mask
September 80 BC: Gordianus and his adopted son, Eco, visit the theater and are drawn into a murder investigation.
N.B. This story takes place shortly after the events of Roman Blood, when Gordianus has adopted his young son, Eco, who is still mute.
May 78 BC: Gordianus meets his future patron, Lucius Claudius, who needs help with a mystery.
The Lemures
October 78 BC: An old soldier is haunted by visions of his victims during Sulla's civil wars, and a relative of the late dictator is found dead.
Little Caesar and the Pirates
Spring and summer, 77 BC: Gordianus is hired to deliver a ransom to pirates who have kidnapped a nobleman's young stepson, in a case which bears a suspicious similarity to the young Julius Caesar's kidnapping. Along the way, Gordianus acquires his slave and loyal bodyguard, Belbo.
The Disappearance of the Saturnalia Silver
December 77 BC: Gordianus must help his patron Lucius Claudius recover his lost set of silver items made for the Saturnalia celebrations.
King Bee and Honey
April 76 BC: Invited for a pleasant holiday at Lucius Claudius's country estate, Gordianus and his family are interrupted by the sudden death of another guest, whose wife suspects poisoning as the cause of death.
The Alexandrian Cat
90 BC: While living in Alexandria at the age of twenty, Gordianus must investigate the murder of a domestic cat, sacred to the Egyptians, before it triggers a riot. The story is related by Gordianus to Lucius Claudius in the summer of 74 BC.
N.B. The novel The Seven Wonders, which was published later, acts as a prequel to this story.
The House of the Vestals
Spring 73 BC: In the titular story of the collection, Gordianus is called to the Temple of Vesta in the middle of the night, to see if there is any truth to the accusation that Lucius Sergius Catalina has had an affair with a Vestal Virgin.
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony or Anthony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Empire.
This article concerns the period 39 BC – 30 BC.
This article concerns the period 49 BC – 40 BC.
This article concerns the period 79 BC – 70 BC.
Publius Clodius Pulcher was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudian gens, one of Rome's oldest and noblest patrician families, but he contrived to be adopted by an obscure plebeian, so that he could be elected tribune of the plebs. During his term of office, he pushed through an ambitious legislative program, including a grain dole; but he is chiefly remembered for his scandalous lifestyle, which included violating the sanctity of a religious rite reserved solely for women, purportedly with the intention of seducing Caesar's wife; and for his feud with Cicero and Milo, which ended in Clodius' death at the hands of Milo's bodyguards.
Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics.
Roma Sub Rosa is the title of the series of historical mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in ancient Rome and populated by noteworthy denizens thereof. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose". If a matter was sub rosa, "under the rose", it meant that such matter was confidential.
Gordianus the Finder is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mystery novels set in Republican Rome. He lives by his wits, investigating crimes and other cases for Roman advocates such as Marcus Tullius Cicero. Initially, he lives in a rambling house on the Esquiline Hill in Rome with his family; but he later inherits a farm in Etruria, then exchanges it for a house on the Palatine Hill, giving his older house to his son Eco.
Roman Blood is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by Minotaur Books in 1991. It is the first book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
Calpurnia was either the third or the fourth wife of Julius Caesar, and the one to whom he was married at the time of his assassination. According to contemporary sources, she was a good and faithful wife, in spite of her husband's infidelity; and, forewarned of the attempt on his life, she endeavoured in vain to prevent his murder.
The gens Antonia was a Roman family of great antiquity, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Titus Antonius Merenda, one of the second group of Decemviri called, in 450 BC, to help draft what became the Law of the Twelve Tables.The most prominent member of the gens was Marcus Antonius.
Rubicon is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 1999. It is the seventh book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
A Mist of Prophecies is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2002. It is the ninth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
The Judgment of Caesar is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2004. It is the tenth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
A Gladiator Dies Only Once is a collection of short stories by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2005. It is the eleventh book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
The Triumph of Caesar is a historical mystery novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2008. It is the twelfth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
The Seven Wonders is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2008. It is the thirteenth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic, although it is chronologically the first. The novel is made up of a series of connected short stories, and the main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
Raiders of the Nile is a novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by Minotaur Books in 2014. It is the fourteenth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic, but the second chronologically. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
Wrath of the Furies is a novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by Minotaur Books in 2015. It is the fifteenth book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic, but the third chronologically. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
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