Roma Sub Rosa

13 primary works • 14 total works

Roman Blood

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 November 1991

In the unseasonable heat of a spring morning in 80 B.C., Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate staking his reputation on a case involving the savage murder of the wealthy, sybaritic Sextus Roscius. Charged with the murder is Sextus's son, greed being the apparent motive. The punishment, rooted deep in Roman tradition, is horrific beyond imagining.

The case becomes a political nightmare when Gordianus's investigation takes him through the city's raucous, pungent streets and deep into rural Umbria. Now, one man's fate may threaten the very leaders of Rome itself.

Arms of Nemesis

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 October 1992

The hideously disfigured body was found in the atrium. The only clues are a blood-soaked cloak, and, carved into the stone at the corpse's feet, the word Sparta . . . The Overseer of Marcus Crassus's estate has been murdered, apparently by two slaves bent on joining Spartacus's revolt. The wealthy, powerful Crassus vows to honor an ancient law and have his ninety-nine remaining slaves slaughtered in three days. Gordianus the Finder is summoned from Rome by a mysterious client to find out the truth about the murder before the three days are up.

Catilina's Riddle

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 October 1993

The year is 63BC, and Gordianus the Finder unexpectedly achieves the dream of every Roman - a farm in the Etruscan countryside. Vowinig to leave behind the corruption and intrigue of Rome, he abandons the city, taking his family with him.

Gordianus' longtime patron, Cicero, has also achieved the dram of his lifetime - a much coveted consulship, Rome's highest elected office. Urgently, he requests a favour of Gordianus: his help in keeping watch on a radical populist senator, Catilina, suspected of conspiring against the state. Against his will, Gordianus finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a web of deceit, intrigute and murder.

The Venus Throw

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 April 1995

Rome, 56 B.C.: The great general Pompey has conquered the East. Julius Caesar is defeating the Gauls. Only Egypt, with its strategic granaries and vast treasuries of gold, still eludes the grasp of Rome. In recent days several Egyptian envoys have been viciously assassinated. Fearing that he will be next, the Egyptian ambassador Dio calls on his old friend Gordianus the Finder and all of his special skills for help. Thinking that he is investigating a straightforward political crime, Gordianus is instead plunged into the decadent milieu of Rome, where nothing is quite what it seems. The notorious beauty Clodia, the arrogant advocate Marcus Caelius, the lovesick poet Catullus, the eunuch priest Trygonian, the master politician Cicero - all are players in a deadly, seductive game of lust and murder. Poison, betrayals, and long-buried secrets confront Gordianus as events rush to their resolution in one of history's most famous trials. But even after the verdict is delivered, there are still secrets to be uncovered....

A Murder on the Appian Way

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 May 1996

The year is 52BC, and Rome is in turmoil. Rival gangs prowl the streets as Publius Clodius, a high born populist politician, and his arch-enemy, Tito Milo, fight to control the consular elections. But when Clodius is murdered on the Appian Way and Milo is accused of the crime, the city explodes with riots and arson.

The House of the Vestals

by Steven Saylor

Published 15 June 1997

These tales tell the story of Gordianus's adopted son Eco's childhood, Gordianus's relationship with Bethesda (first his slave and now his wife), Bethesda's own background, and, perhaps most important, the history of Rome from the end of Sulla's dictatorship up until the time of the Spartacan slave revolt.

Rubicon

by Steven Saylor

Published 15 April 1999

Caesar is marching on Rome: his intent, civil war. Pompey and the terrified Senate prepare to flee the city. The murder of a visitor in the house of gordianus the Finder could not occur at a worse time, especially since the dead man is Pompey's favourite cousin and may have been a very dangerous spy.

Last Seen in Massilia

by Steven Saylor

Published 5 October 2000

As civil war between Caesar and Pompey engulfs the Roman world, Gordianus the Finder receives an anonymous message informing him of the death of his son Meto who has been acting as a double agent for Caesar. The search for Meto's fate brings Gordianus to the besieged seaport of Massilia, which is stubbomly holding out against Caesar's troops. As famine and slaughter threaten the blockaded city, Gordianus is drawn into the intrigues of exiled Romans and duplicitous Massilians. His only friend in the city, Hieronymous, has been made the doomed scapegoat elected by city officials to bear the sins of the populace and save them all from annihilation. Meanwhile, Gordianus is constantly frustrated in his efforts to find out what happened to his son - and when he witnesses the fall of a young woman from a precipice outside the city called the Sacrifice Rock, then the plot begins to thicken...

A Mist of Prophecies

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 May 2002

One afternoon as Gordianus the Finder is crossing the marketplace, a beautiful young seeress staggers towards him and dies in his arms. Possibly insane, and with no memory of her past Cassandra - like her Trojan namesake - had been reputed to possess the true gift of prophecy. For such a gift there are many in Rome who would pay handsomely...or resort to murder. Cassandra had been the confidante of the rich and powerful, until she fell victim to vicious killer. Obsessed with Cassandra and her mystery, Gordianus begins to investigate. As the citizens of Rome nervously await news of the war and the political situation verges on chaos, Gordianus gradually peels away the veils of secrecy that surround Cassandra's life and death. What he uncovers has deadly implications, involving some if the most powerful women in Rome - Gordianus's pursuit of the truth not only endangers his own life, but could well affect the future of Rome herself.

Judgment of Caesar

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 June 2004

It is 48 B.C. For years now, the rival Roman generals Caesar and Pompey have engaged in a contest for world domination. Both now turn to Egypt, where Pompey plans a last desperate stand on the banks of the Nile, while Caesar's legendary encounter with queen Cleopatra will spark a romance that reverberates down the centuries. But Egypt is a treacherous land, torn apart by the murderous rivalry between the goddess-queen and her brother King Ptolemy. Into this hot-house atmosphere of intrigue and deception comes Gordianus the Finder, innocently seeking a cure for his wife Bethesda in the sacred waters of the Nile. But when his plans go awry, he finds himself engaged in an even more desperate pursuit - to prove the innocence of the son he once disowned, who stands accused of murder. The judgment of Caesar will determine the fate of Gordianus's son; the choice Caesar makes between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy will determine the future of Rome's empire. At the center of these two dilemmas, Gordianus becomes the unwitting fulcrum that will shift the balance of history. Witness to the death throes of the old world, he is to play a critical role in the birth of the world to come. Drawing scrupulously on historical sources, this is the most ambitious novel yet in Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. Saylor presents a bold new vision of Caesar and paints a compelling and original portrait of Cleopatra, amid bloodshed, battles and storms, in a setting of Egyptian magic and mystery.

A Gladiator Dies Only Once

by Steven Saylor

Published 1 June 2005

Fresh from his duel of wits with Cleopatra in The Judgement cf Caesar, Gordianus the Finder, detective of ancient Rome, returns in this new collection of short stories. Nine tales of mystery, murder and intrigue take Gordianus from the seamy streets of Rome to elegant villas on the Bay of Naples, and from a Sicilian graveyard with a deadly secret to a bloody battlefield in Spain. Whether against the spectacular backdrop of a chariot race, or settling a domestic dispute with his beautiful Egyptian concubine Bethesda, Gordianus is always on the case. As in Sayior's previous collection, The House of the Vestals, all the stories in A Gladiator Dies Only Once take place early in Gordianus's career. Often at his side, rapidly growing up, is the mute boy Eco, his adopted son. Frequently conferring with Gordianus is his good-hearted patrician friend, Lucius Claudius Cicero, the great lion of the Roman law courts, makes several appearances. Sertorius, the rebel general who set up a rival Roman state in Spain, casts a shadow across the book from beginning to end, and makes a haunting appearance in the story "The White Fawn."
In the title story, a beautiful Nubian actress begs to Gordianus to solve an impossible problem: how can she have just seen her beloved brother in the marketplace, when she previously saw him die a gruesome death as a gladiator?

Triumph of Caesar

by Steven Saylor

Published 13 May 2008

The new novel from the internatinal bestselling author of Roma, is set against the background of Caesar's stupendous quadruple triumphs in Rome in 46 BC, full of colour and spectacle.

Having obliterated the opposition, Caesar is now dictator for life. In the upcoming celebrations, Vercingetorix the Gaul is scheduled to be executed, as is Arsinoe, the sister of Cleopatra...and Cleopatra herself is in Rome on a state visit, trying to convince Caesar to acknowledge their son as his heir.

Marc Antony and Caesar are at odds; Cicero is making a fool of himself with a new teenage bride; and Caesar's wife Calpurnia, having fallen under the spell of an Etruscan soothsayer, is convinced of a plot on her husband's life.

Murder and intrigue again draw Gordianus into the vortex of history.

Praise for Stephen Saylor

'Saylor is on top form with the latest in his extraordinarily vivid series of crime novels set in ancient Rome.' Sunday Times

'Saylor's gifts include authentic historical and topographical backgrounds and... sombre themes set off the brilliant scenery and clever plotting.' Times Literary Supplement

'Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals.' Ruth Rendell

'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched... this is entertainment of the first order.' Washington Post

'Saylor has acquired the information of a historian but he enjoys the gifts of a born novelist.' Boston Globe

The Throne of Caesar

by Steven Saylor

Published 20 February 2018

Julius Caesar, appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate, has pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends. Now Caesar is preparing to leave Rome with his legions to wage a war of conquest against the Parthian Empire. But he has a few more things to do before he goes. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has been raised to Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally decided to retire. But on the morning of March 10th, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself. Both have the same request of Gordianus--keep your ear to the ground, ask around, and find out if there are any conspiracies against Caesar's life. And Caesar has one other matter of vital importance to discuss. Gordianus's adopted son Meto has long been one of Caesar's closest confidants. To honor Meto, Caesar plans to bestow on Gordianus an honor which will change not only his life but the destiny of his entire family. It will happen when the Senate next convenes on the 15th of March. Gordianus must dust off his old skills and see what plots against Julius Caesar, if any, he can uncover. But more than one conspiracy is afoot. The Ides of March is fast approaching and at least one murder is inevitable.--from Publishers description.

Gordianus The Finder Omnibus (Books 1-4)

by Steven Saylor

Published 17 May 2012

ROMAN BLOOD
A thrilling puzzle from the ancient world with real historical characters and based on a case in Cicero's Orations - Roman Blood is a perfect blend of mystery and history by a brilliant storyteller.
On an unseasonably warm spring morning in 80BC, Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate and orator preparing his first important case. His client is Umbrian landowner, Sextus Roscius, accused of the unforgivable: the murder of his own father.
Gordianus agrees to investigate the crime - in a society fire with deceit, betrayl and conspiracy, where neither citizen nor slave can be trusted to speak the truth. But even Gordianus is not prepared for the spectacularly dangerous fireworks that attend the resolution of this ugly, delicate case...

HOUSE OF THE VESTALS
Wonderfully entertaining mystery stories set in the world of the acclaimed ROMA SUB ROSA series. It is the Rome of the Late Republic, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble - and dead bodies. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus lays bare some of his most intriguing adventures in this new volume in Steven Saylor's highly acclaimed mystery series. In 'Little Caesar and the Pirates', Gordianus must act as a go-between for kidnappers, but he begins to wonder who is really being held hostage; in 'The Alexandrian Cat', a mischievous girl and a tell-tale sneeze reveal an ingenious plot of murder and thievery; and in 'The House of the Vestals', blackmail goes horribly wrong and there is no one to take the blame. The result is an engrossing collection of finely wrought mystery tales with all the suspense and craft that are the trademark of Saylor's work.

A GLADIATOR DIES ONLY ONCE
Gordianus the Finder, famed detective of Ancient Rome, returns in a riveting of stories. Nine tales of murder and intrigue take him from the seamy streets of Rome to elegant villas on the Bay of Naples, from the spectacular backdrop of a chariot race to a domestic dispute with his Egyptian concubine Bethesda.
In the title story a beautiful Nubian actress begs Gordianus to solve an impossible problem: how can she have just seen her beloved brother in the market place when she had previously watched him die a gruesome death as a gladiator?

ARMS OF NEMESIS
South of Rome on the Gulf of Puteoli stands the splendid villa of Marcus Crassus, Rome's wealthiest citizen. When the estate overseer is murdered, Crasus concludes that the deed was done by two missing slaves, who have probably run off to join the Spartacus Slave Revolt. Unless they are found within five days, Crassus vows to massacre his remaining ninety-nine slaves.
To Gordianus the Finder falls the fateful task of resolving this riddle from Hades. In a house filled with secrets, the truth is slow to emerge and Gordianus realizes that the labyrinthine path he has chosen just may lead to his own destruction.