The Legionary from Londinium and Other Mini-mysteries

Lawrence’s ‘Roman Mysteries’ series now runs to a total of 17 titles, a fact which attests to their continuing popularity: their fans clearly enjoy their combination of detective novel and classics guidebook, wrapped together in a style which is functional and concise. In addition to this substantial body of work we have already had one volume of short story ‘mini-mysteries’ and now comes a second, most of it given up to further adventures of the ‘famous four’ young Roman detectives on their native Ostian patch; these, an introductory note alerts us, are stories which ‘fill in some of the gaps between the full-length books’. Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan and Lupus combine to make a likeable quartet of young people, their powers of deduction given entertaining outlet against an authorial backcloth of colourful and authoritative insights into everyday life in ancient Rome. And, by way of introducing some measure of variety, the concluding story features Threptus, an eight-year-old beggar boy, who turns out to have some detective skills of his own. It all amounts to a pleasurably relaxed and engaging read, complete with a useful glossary for those not quite certain of the whereabouts of the triclinium or the precise function of the paedagogus.