Our current read, Venus in Copper, the third mystery in Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mystery series, takes entirely place in Rome. Falco is commissioned to prove that a certain Severina Zotica has murdered her previous husbands, and asked to prevent her from marrying and murdering a fourth. Most of the characters in this drama with the usual twists and turns we've come to expect from Ms. Davis, are rich freedmen and freedwomen. Meanwhile, Falco also has to deal with palace intrigues and Vespasian's son and co-ruler Titus, who pays him back a favor by presenting him with a turbot, resulting in a hilarious feast, with none other than Titus present.
Since just prior to this upcoming chat on Wednesday we discussed Juvenal's Satires, three of them vividly come to mind:
Satire 3: The Evils of the Big City
Satire 4: The Emperor's Fish (no English version online)
Satire 6: Roman Wives – Death is better than Marriage
(See also Bingley's post: prison)
