The Roman Mysteries

Caroline Lawrence is interviewed by Sandra Garside-Neville

Caroline and two fans

Caroline Lawrence is the author of The Roman Mysteries, an exciting series of children’s books set in the Roman Empire during the 1^st century. I first saw Caroline at a Roman Festival in York last year, where she gave one of her excellent talks, using replica Roman artefacts and wore Roman clothes to help illustrate her fascination with the period. She gave me the teaching notes formulated for use with her books, which detailed the main themes of the stories. When I read her books, I was impressed with the amount of detail seamlessly blended into the story, and her sure-footed approach to portraying the tough realities of Roman life. Caroline has planned eighteen books for the series, and eight have been published so far.

Please tell us something of your background and childhood

I was born in London, England; but I'm American and grew up in California
(Bakersfield and Stanford.) I’ve lived in England since I came from California to go to Cambridge and study Classical Art and Archaeology, staying on to do an MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at UCL. From there I went on to teach Latin, French and art at a primary school. I've wanted to be a writer off and on throughout my life, but about fifteen years ago I really determined to do it. This meant reading lots of books on writing and getting up early to put in an hour of writing a day before I went to work as a teacher.

Were there any particular novels or non-fiction books as a child that sparked or developed your interest in history and in the Roman period?

I spent most of my teens trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life and what I was good at. After several false starts - during my gap year at the age of 18 - I read Homer's Iliad, in translation, and The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault. I was so inspired by these two books that when I arrived at the University of California Berkeley I immediately signed up for Greek and Latin. I loved them. I often say that The Last of the Wine changed my life.

Why did you choose to write children’s fiction in particular?

One reason I chose to write children's fiction is that when I taught Latin at primary school (to children aged 9-12) I noticed that although there were many excellent courses, (eg the Cambridge Latin course, Minimus, So You Really Want to Learn Latin, etc) and great reference books (eg Horrid Histories, Dorling Kindersley, etc) there were no historical novels for kids that would transport them to the ancient world and captivate them as Mary Renault had done for me. Rosemary Sutcliff and Geoffrey Trease just didn't appeal to the kids I taught. One of the best ways of getting people interested in a subject is through STORY.

But the main reason I write children's fiction is that I love it.

Why did you choose to write about the Roman period, and the early Empire in particular?

The catalyst for the creation of the whole series was a casual suggestion by my sister five years ago: 'Why don't you write a book for kids set in Pompeii?' Immediately I had the idea of a detective series like Nancy Drew or Famous Five. Nobody to my knowledge had ever done anything like that. And Pompeii would be a brilliant setting because of the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24 AD 79. That put me at the beginning of the reign of Titus. His two-year reign is a fascinating period, filled with other historical events such as a plague and fire in Rome in the winter of AD 80, the opening of the Colosseum that spring, and his mysterious death a mere two years after his accession. (The 18 books take place about a month apart and the last book will be about Titus's mysterious sudden illness and death)

Many of the themes you write about are quite brutal (for example, one of the children has had his tongue cut out) which lends the tales a very realistic feel. Do you ever get complaints about this from either adults or children?

Often the most memorable facts about history are the gruesome or disgusting ones, as the success of the Horrid Histories shows. Boys in particular love this kind of detail and one of my aims is to get boys hooked on the Classics. I do warn children not to read the books last thing at night before bed, but this makes many of them even more determined to read them.

I have received a handful of complaints from adults about the killing of dogs or other animals, but only one about the killing of humans. That was from one of my foreign publishers. They objected to the casual way a Roman aristocrat refers to the death of one of his slaves (which occurs 'offstage'.) I have received no complaints from children.

You use modern slang like 'OK' in your novels. Why is this?

I made a decision early on not to try to archaize the language, but to make it as 'transparent' as I could, ie neither old fashioned or trendy. I don't actually consider OK to be slang; it's been in use for 50 years. Its Latin equivalent would have been something like 'bene' or 'placet mihi', depending on context. Perhaps it jars more for English readers than for American ones.

In your notes for teachers you point out that each book explores several themes. Do you write the novels with these themes in mind, or do they emerge as you write?

I choose one theme per book very early in the planning stage. I then use Greek myths and subplots to reinforce the theme. I also choose a Roman topic for each book, (eg 'medicine' in The Enemies of Jupiter) but this topic does not necessarily tie in with the theme (eg 'hubris' in The Enemies of Jupiter)

Are your books selling abroad?

Although rights have been bought for at least 12 countries the first books are only now being published. So it's very early days. Having said that, I've been invited to Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Austria and Italy to promote the books.

Is there a difference between writing historical fiction for children and for adults?

The only difference (in my opinion) is that children's books must have more adventure and less sex.

Will any of your books follow Flavia Gemina and her friends past their childhood?

Yes, the last book will probably start and finish with a 'flash-forward' to the four in their mid twenties.

When writing a novel, do you begin with characters or plot?

I start with an historical incident, eg the opening of the Colosseum, or an action, eg Jonathan's search for his mother. Then I choose which of the four friends will be the main character. Then comes (in roughly this order) the title, the plot framework, the theme, the myth, Roman topical facts and religious festivals. Then I write a chapter outline and synopsis. Then and only then do I allow myself to start writing.

Do you plan your novels to the end before you start writing?

Yes, but I might not end up where I thought I would. My structure is like a road map. Once I start writing my creative 'right-brain' kicks in, so the story can and often does change substantially. But I have enough of a plan to keep me from going off track.

Do you do most of your research before you start writing or as needed during the writing? What are your favourite resources?

I do research before and during and after. You can see some of my favourite resource books on my website

One of my favourite resources of all is travel. I've been to all the sites of my books in the proper season to gather detail about flora, fauna, cuisine, the look of the sky, the smell of the air, the temperament of the people. This is one of the wonderful perks of the job.

Will you write adult historical fiction one day?

Probably not. I'm writing exactly what I want to be writing. In fact, when I was invited to contribute a story to The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits, edited by Mike Ashley, I toyed with the idea of using an adult character from the Roman Mysteries. But I just couldn't do it. So I wrote Bread and Circuses in which Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus solve a mystery which takes them around the granaries and bakeries of Ostia.

Was it difficult to find a publisher?

Not really. The Thieves of Ostia was the first book I'd written that I felt was ready to be submitted. I sent it - along with five short ideas for subsequent books in the series - to my husband's agent, and she sold the first six books to Orion within a few months.

You frequently do school talks. How do you approach these?

I usually do them in costume with loads of humour and enthusiasm. Even if the children don't read my books they will never forget what the Romans used a sponge-stick for!

Do you read historical fiction for pleasure? If so, which novels have you enjoyed recently? Do you have any favourite authors?

I mainly read primary sources in the Loeb translations (Latin or Greek on one side, English on the other) so that I can read quickly but check out the original if I need to. But I do try to keep up with children's books and Roman historical fiction, as well. My favourite authors of historical fiction are Mary Renault, Stephen Saylor and the sublime Patrick O'Brian.

Tell us about your next novel and any future writing plans

The book I'm working on now is book 9, The Colossus of Rhodes. It will be quite different from The Enemies of Jupiter' (quite dark) and The Gladiators from Capua (quite violent). It will be more of a straight mystery story. I try to give each book a different flavour: some are fun, some tragic, some romantic, some exciting. Most of all, I try to keep the reader guessing about what will happen.

Book 1: The Thieves of Ostia - the friends meet and solve their first mystery
Book 2: The Secrets of Vesuvius - a riddle and danger as Vesuvius erupts!
Book 3: The Pirates of Pompeii - who's kidnapping kids from the refugee camp?
Book 4: The Assassins of Rome - Jonathan's search for his mother takes him to Rome
Book 5: The Dolphins of Laurentum - sunken treasure and Lupus's past!
Book 6: The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina - romance and mystery in Ostia
Book 7: The Enemies of Jupiter - plague and fire in Rome, early AD 80
Book 8: The Gladiators from Capua - opening of the Colosseum, March AD 80
Book 9: The Colossus of Rhodes - the four friends take a cruise in May...

Caroline Lawrence has a website at: http://www.romanmysteries.com/

(Interview for the Historical Novels Review from the Historical Novel Society)