Cleopatra looks like flavour of the month. She gets plenty of mentions in The Beggar of Volubilis by Caroline Lawrence. This is another reliably exciting instalment of the Roman Mysteries. It’s the fourteenth book, and you can tell the end is within sight, from the advancements in Flavia’s love life. Yes, I know this is for children, but those Romans started early. And it’s romantic.
The main characters are still reeling from the shock of the death in The Slave-girl from Jerusalem. But the emperor needs help, so they set off on a trip to North Africa. There’s plenty of double crossings going on, enough camels to make Nubia happy, and a travelling theatre group. The goddess Diana causes a lot of trouble, Cleopatra and the past hover in the background, and how dead is Nero?
There’s an audio book out too, which although abridged (why?), is very good, according to Daughter. So, something else I can while away the ironing with, then.
As ever with the latest Roman Mystery, the reader feels they can’t possibly last until the next one is here. We’re waiting…
2 responses so far ↓
Caroline Lawrence // November 11, 2007 at 11:37
Many thanks, Ann!
I am busy beavering away on The Roman Mysteries Travel Guide and it’s fun looking through two dozen pocket notebooks I’ve filled over the past seven years.
Don’t forget, if you get CBBC you can catch the repeats of the series on Saturdays and Sundays at 2.00pm!
bookwitch // November 11, 2007 at 12:19
I’m wondering how I’m going to have the time to travel round in Flavia’s footsteps as well. But better with a guide book than without, I reckon.
Leave a Comment