Lindsey Davis

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This article is about the historical novelist. For the American bishop (born 1948), see G. Lindsey Davis.
Lindsey Davis
Born1949 (age 71–72)
Birmingham, England
Occupationnovelist
NationalityBritish
Period1989 – present
GenreHistorical whodunnit
Notable worksMarcus Didius Falco
Website
www.lindseydavis.co.uk

Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Biography[]

Davis was born in Birmingham and after taking a degree in English literature at Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall),[1] she became a civil servant. She left the civil service after 13 years, and when a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she decided to become a writer, writing at first romantic serials for the UK women's magazine Woman's Realm.

Her dedication of the book Rebels and Traitors (2009) reads: "For Richard / dearest and closest of friends / your favourite book / in memory", and the author's website relates: "I am still getting used to life without my dear Richard. For those of you who haven't seen this before, he died in October [2008]".[2] The author says in her publisher's newsletter: "The greatest recommendation I can give is that Richard, its first reader, thought it wonderful. He devoured chunks, demanding ‘Bring more story!’ even when he was in hospital. One of the last things I was ever able to tell him was that Rebels and Traitors was to be published by Random House, so I would be working with dear friends for his favourite book."[3]

Davis suffered from the eye condition keratoconus from childhood, and in adulthood had a corneal transplant, about which she has said: "A stranger's generosity freed me from years of pain and anxiety", and urges her readers to carry a donor card.[4][5]

Writing[]

Davis's interest in history and archaeology led to her writing an historical novel about Vespasian and his lover Antonia Caenis (The Course of Honour), for which she could not find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the Roman "detective", Marcus Didius Falco, The Silver Pigs (1989), set in the same time period, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of historical whodunnits. A further 19 Falco novels have followed, as well as The Course of Honour, which was finally published in 1997. Rebels and Traitors, set in the period of the English Civil War, was published in September 2009, and Falco: The Official Companion in June 2010. Master and God, published in March 2012, is set in ancient Rome and concerning the emperor Domitian. In 2012, Davis and her publishers, Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and St. Martin's Press in the US, announced that she was writing a new series of books centred on Flavia Albia, Falco's British-born adopted daughter and "an established female investigator". The first title, The Ides of April was published on 11 April 2013 in the UK,[6] and its sequel, Enemies at Home, was published in 2014,[7] followed by annual additions, the latest as of 2020 being The Grove of the Caesars. In an interview in 2019 Davis discusses her successful plan to write a novel set on each of the seven hills of Rome, starting with the Aventine Hill and culminating with the Capitoline Hill.[8]

Davis has won many literary awards, including in 2011 the Cartier Diamond Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association given to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre.[9] She was honorary president of the Classical Association from 1997 to 1998.

Published works[]

Marcus Didius Falco[]

  1. The Silver Pigs (1989)
  2. Shadows in Bronze (1990)
  3. Venus in Copper (1991)
  4. The Iron Hand of Mars (1992)
  5. Poseidon's Gold (1993)
  6. Last Act in Palmyra (1994)
  7. Time to Depart (1995)
  8. A Dying Light in Corduba (1996)
  9. Three Hands in the Fountain (1997)
  10. Two for the Lions (1998)
  11. One Virgin Too Many (1999)
  12. Ode to a Banker (2000)
  13. A Body in the Bath House (2001)
  14. The Jupiter Myth (2002)
  15. The Accusers (2003)
  16. Scandal Takes a Holiday (2004)
  17. See Delphi and Die (2005)
  18. Saturnalia (2007)
  19. Alexandria (2009)
  20. Nemesis (2010)

Omnibus editions

  • Falco on His Metal (1999)
    • Venus in Copper
    • The Iron Hand of Mars
    • Poseidon's Gold
  • Falco on the Loose (2003)
    • Last Act in Palmyra
    • Time to Depart
    • A Dying Light in Corduba

Associated publication

Flavia Albia[]

Novels

  1. The Ides of April (2013, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 978-1-4447-5581-7)
  2. Enemies at Home (2014) (Published 24 April 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton in UK (ISBN 978-1444766585) and 10 June 2014 by Minotaur Books in the United States (ISBN 978-1250023773).)
  3. Deadly Election (2015, ISBN 9781444794229)
  4. The Graveyard of the Hesperides (14 April 2016, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 9781473613386)
  5. The Third Nero (6 April 2017, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 9781473613423)
  6. Pandora's Boy (5 April 2018, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 9781473658653)
  7. A Capitol Death (4 April 2019, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 9781473658745)[8]
  8. The Grove of the Caesars (2 April 2020, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 9781529374247)
  9. A Comedy of Terrors (1 April 2021) (ISBN 9781529374322) [10]

Novellas

  • The Spook Who Spoke Again (2015, ebook and audio only, ISBN 9781473617001)[11]
  • Vesuvius by Night (2017, ebook and audio only, ISBN 9781473658851)[12]
  • Invitation to Die (2019, ebook and audio only, ASIN B07L31RZ4G)

Other novels[]

Short Stories[]

  • "'Going Anywhere Nice?'" (2005), published in The Detection Collection, edited by Simon Brett.

Awards and nominations[]

References[]

  1. ^ "LMH, Oxford - Prominent Alumni". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Lindsey's page". The Official Lindsey Davis Website. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  3. ^ "The Lindsey Davis Newsletter, no. 9" (PDF). Random House Publishing. January 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  4. ^ Davis, Lindsey (7 April 2012). "Five-minute memoir: Lindsey Davis on life with her brand new eye". The Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Lindsey's Page: Organ Donor Card Appeal". The Official Website of Lindsey Davis. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Lindsey's page: Next Book". The Official Website of Lindsey Davis. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012. (Copy of publishers' press release)
  7. ^ "Enemies at Home". Lindsey Davis official website. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Lindsey Davis interview: A Capitol Death and the Flavia Albia series". Hodder & Stoughton. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Allen, Katie (25 January 2011). "Davis to be awarded Cartier Diamond Dagger Award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  10. ^ "A Comedy of Terrors". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  11. ^ "The Spook Who Spoke Again". Lindsey Davis. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Vesuvius by Night". Lindsey Davis. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Lindsey Davis - A Cruel Fate". Hodder and Stoughton. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  14. ^ "A Cruel Fate". Lindsey Davis official website. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Management Committee". Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  16. ^ Montana Tor, Paula (13 November 2013). "Lindsey Davis recoge el Premio de Novela Histórica Barcino". El Pais. Retrieved 1 May 2014.

External links[]

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