Marcus Didius Falco
Encyclopedia
Marcus Didius Falco is the central character and narrator in a series of novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s by Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire.-Biography:...

. Using the concepts of modern detective stories (with Falco as the private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...

, roughly translated into the classical world as a "private informer
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...

"), Davis portrays the world of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 under Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

. The tone is arch and satirical, but the historical information provided is carefully accurate.

Falco's life history

Falco was born on 20 or 21 March 41 AD to Marcus Didius Favonius (aka Geminus) and Junilla Tacita. His father was a (somewhat shady) auctioneer, and his family was of Plebeian
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...

 rank. A veteran of the Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...

, he still grieves for his elder brother, Festus, who served in the legio XV Apollinaris
Legio XV Apollinaris
Legio quinta decima Apollinaris was a Roman legion. It was recruited by Octavian in 41/40 BC. The emblem of this legion was probably a picture of Apollo, or of one of his holy animals....

 and was posthumously awarded the mural crown
Mural crown
-Usage in ancient times:In Hellenistic culture, a mural crown identified the goddess Tyche, the embodiment of the fortune of a city, familiar to Romans as Fortuna...

 after he was killed in 68 AD on active service during the First Jewish-Roman War
First Jewish-Roman War
The First Jewish–Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province , against the Roman Empire...

 in Judaea
Iudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...

. Falco had also been a soldier, in the Legio II Augusta
Legio II Augusta
Legio secunda Augusta , was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in the 4th century...

, but was "invalided out" in 60 following the legion's disgrace in the Boudiccan Revolt
Boudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....

. Falco's father left his mother for another woman. Falco and his father were eventually reconciled in the course of an investigation (Poseidon's Gold
Poseidon's Gold
- Plot introduction :Set in Rome during AD 72, Poseidon's Gold stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the fifth in her Falco series.- Explanation of the novel's title :...

) and now see one another occasionally, but Falco's sympathies remain with his mother.

Falco met his wife, Helena Justina, the divorced and patrician daughter of a senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

, while on an investigation in Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...

 (The Silver Pigs), but their very different circumstances made their relationship difficult. After a series of successful missions for the emperor, Falco has risen to a certain level of respectability – he has achieved equestrian
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...

 rank (One Virgin Too Many
One Virgin Too Many
-Plot introduction:Set in Rome between 27 May and 7 June AD 74, One Virgin Too Many features Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the eleventh in her Falco series.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

) – and he and Helena now live together with their two daughters, in an arrangement acceptable to his in-laws. In Nemesis
Nemesis (Lindsey Davis novel)
Nemesis was published in June 2010, and is the twentieth Marcus Didius Falco novel by British historical writer Lindsey Davis. ISBN 978-1846056123...

, it is revealed that Helena Justina has been pregnant once again. Tragically the baby, Marcus Didius Justinianus, dies shortly after birth on the day that Geminus, Falco's father, also dies. At his father's wake Falco discovers that he is to become a brother yet again when Thalia, an old friend he met in Last Act in Palmyra
Last Act in Palmyra
Last Act in Palmyra is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Rome, Nabatea and Palmyra during AD 72, Last Act in Palmyra stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

, reveals that she is expecting a child – she claims by Geminus.

Falco's other jobs

Falco, besides being a private investigator, is an amateur poet. He has written satires, some odes, and some epigrams. He has also written the play The Spook Who Spoke, meant to be understood as a precursor of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

.

Falco has also been awarded the post of "Procurator of the Sacred Geese" of the Temple of Juno Moneta, a sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...

 given him by Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

 in lieu of decent payment for his services. The post was later abolished (The Accusers
The Accusers
The Accusers is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Ancient Rome between Autumn AD 75 and Spring AD 76, The Accusers features Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

).

Prominent acquaintances

  • Helena Justina – Falco's "unofficial" wife, a senator
    Roman Senate
    The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

    's daughter and therefore a highly inappropriate match.
  • Lucius Petronius
    Petronius
    Gaius Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian age.-Life:...

     (Petro) Longus – Falco's best friend from army days, a watch captain in the Vigiles
    Vigiles
    The Vigiles or more properly the Vigiles Urbani or Cohortes Vigilum were the firefighters and police of Ancient Rome.-History:...

     who puts his daughters before alcohol, but alcohol before his wife. Petro develops a "friendship" with Falco's temperamental sister, Maia.
  • Decimus Camillus Verus – Helena's father, who tolerates Falco socially.
  • Vespasian
    Vespasian
    Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

     – the Emperor
    Emperor
    An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

    .
  • Titus
    Titus
    Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....

     and Domitian
    Domitian
    Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...

    , the Emperor's sons, the one being a treasure and the other a trial.
  • Claudius Laeta, a Roman official.
  • Sextus Julius Frontinus
    Sextus Julius Frontinus
    Sextus Julius Frontinus was one of the most distinguished Roman aristocrats of the late 1st century AD, but is best known to the post-Classical world as an author of technical treatises, especially one dealing with the aqueducts of Rome....

    .
  • Anacrites, the chief spy, Falco's arch-enemy and sometime partner


Other characters include Falco's mother, his sisters, their husbands and their never-ending crowd of offspring; his father Geminus (the shady antiques dealer); his two children and their British nursemaid Albia, whom Marcus and Helena have adopted; Helena's mother and two brothers Aulus Camillus Aelianus and Quintus Camillus Justinianus; Falco's one-time landlord Smaractus; the laundry proprietor Lenia, Smaractus' wife and Falco's former neighbour; Falco's personal trainer Glaucus; and various murderers, criminals, exotic dancers, and mangy animals, all of whom spend a great deal of time making Falco's life a little harder than it would be otherwise.

Trivia

  • Social class relationships: Falco (plebeian) is "married" to Helena Justina, daughter of a senator (patrician), and he is trying to improve his status.
  • Family relationships: Falco, a pater familias, is trying to harmonize his family life with his job.
  • Four sesterces = one silver denarius. Twenty-five silver denarii = one gold aureus. See also Roman currency
    Roman currency
    The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...

    .
  • Togidubnus
    Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus
    Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus was a 1st century king of the Regnenses or Regni tribe in early Roman Britain.Chichester and the nearby Roman villa at Fishbourne, believed by some to have been Cogidubnus' palace, were probably part of the territory of the Atrebates tribe before the Roman conquest of...

    , who lived at Fishbourne
    Fishbourne Roman Palace
    Fishbourne Roman Palace is in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex. The large palace was built in the 1st century AD, around thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain on the site of a Roman army supply base established at the Claudian invasion in 43 AD. The rectangular palace surrounded...

     in Chichester
    Chichester
    Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...

    , is the same man as Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus
    Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus
    Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus was a 1st century king of the Regnenses or Regni tribe in early Roman Britain.Chichester and the nearby Roman villa at Fishbourne, believed by some to have been Cogidubnus' palace, were probably part of the territory of the Atrebates tribe before the Roman conquest of...

    , but there is some controversy as to how his name should be spelled.
  • Lindsey Davis in her series explores many aspects of Roman life, including some that are little known. For instance, Ode to a Banker includes a take on the vanity publishing
    Vanity press
    A vanity press or vanity publisher is a term describing a publishing house that publishes books at the author's expense. Publisher Johnathon Clifford claims to have coined the term in 1959. However, the term appears in mainstream U.S...

     industry and on the financial business, See Delphi and Die deals with Mediterranean package holiday
    Package holiday
    A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...

    s; A Dying Light in Corduba depicts the olive oil industry; Venus in Copper examines the real estate business; Poseidon's Gold covers the world of art dealing; Last Act in Palmyra deals with theatre troupes; and The Accusers focuses on the legal profession.
  • As paterfamilias of a large, wrangling and not always socially secure family at risk from accusations of impiety, Falco, who has little enough time for the Roman deities, let alone for foreign superstitions and cults, is somewhat prejudiced against Jews, Christians, followers of Cybele, and adherents of other barbarian religions.

Books in the Falco Series

  1. The Silver Pigs
    The Silver Pigs
    The Silver Pigs is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis. Set in Rome and Britannia during AD 70, just after the year of the four emperors, The Silver Pigs stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent....

    , originally published as Silver Pigs (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Britain
    Roman Britain
    Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

    ) in AD 70-71. (1989)
  2. Shadows in Bronze
    Shadows in Bronze
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome during AD 71, Shadows in Bronze stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Campania
    Campania
    Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

    ) in AD 71. (1990)
  3. Venus in Copper
    Venus in Copper
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome during August and September of AD 71, Venus in Copper stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 71. (1991)
  4. The Iron Hand of Mars
    The Iron Hand of Mars
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome and Germania during AD 71, The Iron Hand of Mars stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the fourth in her Falco series.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    ) in AD 71. (1992)
  5. Poseidon's Gold
    Poseidon's Gold
    - Plot introduction :Set in Rome during AD 72, Poseidon's Gold stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the fifth in her Falco series.- Explanation of the novel's title :...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Capua
    Capua
    Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...

    ) in AD 72. (1993)
  6. Last Act in Palmyra
    Last Act in Palmyra
    Last Act in Palmyra is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Rome, Nabatea and Palmyra during AD 72, Last Act in Palmyra stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    , The Decapolis
    Decapolis
    The Decapolis was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Judea and Syria. The ten cities were not an official league or political unit, but they were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status...

     and Palmyra
    Palmyra
    Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...

    ) in AD 72. (1994)
  7. Time to Depart
    Time to Depart
    Time to Depart is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Rome during October AD 72, Time to Depart stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 72. (1995)
  8. A Dying Light in Corduba
    A Dying Light in Corduba
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome and Imperial Spain during the spring and summer of AD 73, A Dying Light in Corduba stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Córdoba, Spain
    Córdoba, Spain
    -History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...

    ) in AD 73. (1996)
  9. Three Hands in the Fountain
    Three Hands in the Fountain
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome between August and October, AD 73, Three Hands in the Fountain stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 73. (1997)
  10. Two for the Lions
    Two for the Lions
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome and Tripolitania between December AD 73 and May AD 74, Two for the Lions stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    , Carthage
    Carthage
    Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

    , and Libya
    Libya
    Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

    ) in AD 73. (1998)
  11. One Virgin Too Many
    One Virgin Too Many
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome between 27 May and 7 June AD 74, One Virgin Too Many features Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the eleventh in her Falco series.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 74. (1999)
  12. Ode to a Banker
    Ode to a Banker
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome between July and August AD 74, Ode to a Banker stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the twelfth in her Falco series, and a take on the vanity publishing industry.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 74. (2000)
  13. A Body in the Bath House
    A Body in the Bath House
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome and Britannia in AD 75, A Body in the Bath House stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the thirteenth in her Falco series.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    , aka A Body in the Bathhouse (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Britain
    Roman Britain
    Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

    ) in AD 75. (2001)
  14. The Jupiter Myth
    The Jupiter Myth
    -Plot introduction:Set in Londinium, Britannia in August AD 75, The Jupiter Myth stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the fourteenth in Davis' Falco series.-Explanation of the novel's title:...

    (set in Britain
    Roman Britain
    Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

    ) in AD 75. (2002)
  15. The Accusers
    The Accusers
    The Accusers is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Ancient Rome between Autumn AD 75 and Spring AD 76, The Accusers features Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 75. (2003)
  16. Scandal Takes a Holiday
    Scandal Takes a Holiday
    Scandal Takes a Holiday is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Ostia Antica during AD 76, Scandal Takes a Holiday stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) in AD 76. (2004)
  17. See Delphi and Die
    See Delphi and Die
    -Plot introduction:Set in Rome and Greece between September and October AD 76, See Delphi and Die stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent. It is the seventeenth in her Falco series...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and various locations in Greece
    Greece
    Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

    ) in AD 76. (2005)
  18. Saturnalia
    Saturnalia (book)
    Saturnalia is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis.-Plot introduction:Set in Rome Saturnalia stars Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent...

    (set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ) at year-end. (2007)
  19. Alexandria
    Alexandria (novel)
    Alexandria is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis, published in 2009. It is the nineteenth in her Falco series, starring Marcus Didius Falco, Informer and Imperial Agent.-Plot introduction:...

    (set in Alexandria
    Alexandria
    Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

    ) in AD 77. (2009)
  20. Nemesis
    Nemesis (Lindsey Davis novel)
    Nemesis was published in June 2010, and is the twentieth Marcus Didius Falco novel by British historical writer Lindsey Davis. ISBN 978-1846056123...

    (Set in Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

     and Latium
    Latium
    Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...

    ) in summer AD 77. (2010)

Other appearances

  • Falco also featured as the central character in the 1993 movie Age of Treason (played by Australian actor, Bryan Brown
    Bryan Brown
    Bryan Neathway Brown, AM is an Australian actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Sydney, the son of John Brown and Molly Brown, a house cleaner who worked as a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet. He grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown and began working at...

    ). The film was disowned by Lindsey Davis because it bore no resemblance to the books on which it purported to be based.
  • A young Falco makes a cameo
    Cameo appearance
    A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

     in The Eagle's Prophecy, by Simon Scarrow
    Simon Scarrow
    Simon Scarrow is a UK-based author, born in Nigeria and now based in Norfolk. He completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, then at City College Norwich.He...

    . A "Mrs Falco" is told by a neighbour to curb her son's inquisitiveness; while not actually named as the detective, Simon Scarrow has confirmed on his website that this was indeed meant to be a tribute to the Falco series. However, due to unauthorised usage, and what she regarded as a misrepresentation of her characters (particularly Falco's father, implied to be a drunken wife-beater), Lindsey Davis was highly displeased. The book was withdrawn and republished with the names altered, with Falco becoming Gaius and his mother renamed Mrs Gabinus.
  • The first five books were dramatised for radio by the BBC, one each year, between 2004 and 2009. Anton Lesser
    Anton Lesser
    Anton Lesser is a British actor. He attended Moseley Grammar School and the University of Liverpool before going to RADA in 1977 where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year....

     played Falco in all four, while Helena was played by Fritha Goodey
    Fritha Goodey
    Fritha Jane Goodey was a British stage, radio and film actress probably best known stateside for her performance in the film About a Boy , in which she played one of Hugh Grant's character's former girlfriends....

     in the first and, following Ms Goodey's death, Anna Madeley
    Anna Madeley
    Anna Madeley is a British actress. She has been described by the British Theatre Guide's Philip Fisher as one of the United Kingdom's "brightest and most versatile young actresses".-Biography:...

     from the second onwards. It is produced by Lindsey Davis's friend Mary Cutler, of The Archers
    The Archers
    The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...

    fame. The fifth novel, Poseidon's Gold, was broadcast by the BBC in May 2009.

External links

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