Lindsey Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 (age 75–76) Birmingham, England |
| Occupation | novelist |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 1989–present |
| Genre | Historical crime fiction |
| Notable works | Marcus Didius Falco series, Flavia Albia series |
| Website | |
| www | |
Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an Englishhistorical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series ofhistorical crime stories set inancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of theCartier Diamond Dagger award.
Davis was born inBirmingham and after taking a degree inEnglish literature atOxford University (Lady Margaret Hall),[1] she became acivil servant for 13 years. When aromantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she decided to become a writer, at first writing romantic serials for the UK women's magazineWoman's Realm. One of these,The Bride from Bithynia, was published in her 2023 collectionVoices of Rome.[2]
Her dedication of the bookRebels 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]."[3] 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 thatRebels and Traitors was to be published by Random House, so I would be working with dear friends for his favourite book."[4]
Davis suffered from the eye conditionkeratoconus from childhood, and in adulthood had acorneal transplant, about which she has said: "A stranger's generosity freed me from years of pain and anxiety" and urges her readers to carry adonor card.[5][6]
Davis's interest inhistory andarchaeology led to her writing a historical novel aboutVespasian and his loverAntonia Caenis (The Course of Honour), for which she could not find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring theRoman "detective", Marcus Didius Falco,The Silver Pigs (1989), set in the same time period, was the start of her runaway success as a writer ofhistorical whodunnits. A further 19 Falco novels have followed, as well asThe Course of Honour, which was published in 1997. She publishedFalco: The Official Companion in June 2010.
Rebels and Traitors, set in the period of theEnglish Civil War, was published in September 2009.
Master and God, published in March 2012, is set in ancient Rome and concerns the emperorDomitian.
In 2012, Davis and her publishers,Hodder & Stoughton in the UK andSt. 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,[7] and its sequel,Enemies at Home, was published in 2014,[8] followed by annual additions. In an interview in 2019 Davis discussed her plan to write an Albia novel set on each of theseven hills of Rome, starting with theAventine Hill in the bookThe Ides of April and culminating with theCapitoline Hill in the bookA Capitol Death.[9] By 2022 she had published three more Albia books, set in particular locations just outside thewall of Rome. After two further books in and around Rome, her 13th Flavia Alba book will be set nearPompeii, ten years afterthe eruption of Vesuvius.[10]
Davis has won many literary awards, including, in 2011, theCartier Diamond Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association given to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution to the genre.[11] She was honorary president of theClassical Association from 1997 to 1998, and is a life member of the Council of theSociety of Authors.[12]
Omnibus editions
Companion
Novels
Novellas
Novella collection
The 13th Flavia Albia is now finished ... It's set in Stabiae on the Bay of Naples, during the reconstruction after the Vesuvius disaster.
