Venus in Copper

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099515075
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
In the heyday of the Roman Empire a small accounting error has left Marcus Didius Falco sharing a cell with a large rat. But the Empire's most hard-done-by investigator is sprung from jail and accepts a commission to help a family of freed slaves fend off a professional bribe.

The Silver Pigs

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1429956933
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Book Description
The Silver Pigs is Lindsey Davis' classic novel, which introduced readers around the world to Marcus Didius Falco, a private informer with a knack for trouble, a tendency for bad luck, and a frequently inconvenient drive for justice. When Marcus Didius Falco, a Roman "informer" who has a nose for trouble that's sharper than most, encounters Sosia Camillina in the Forum, he senses immediately all is not right with the pretty girl. She confesses to him that she is fleeing for her life, and Falco makes the rash decision to rescue her—a decision he will come to regret. For Sosia bears a heavy burden: as heavy as a pile of stolen Imperial ingots, in fact. Matters just get more complicated when Falco meets Helena Justina, a Senator's daughter who is connected to the very same traitors he has sworn to expose. Soon Falco finds himself swept from the perilous back alleys of Ancient Rome to the silver mines of distant Britain—and up against a cabal of traitors with blood on their hands and no compunction whatsoever to do away with a snooping plebe like Falco....

Shadows in Bronze

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1429950684
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 584

Book Description
It's the first century A.D. and Marcus Didius Falco, Ancient Rome's favorite son and sometime palace spy, has just been dealt a lousy blow from the gods: The beautiful, high-born Helena Justina has left him in the dust. So when the Emperor Vespasian calls upon him to investigate an act of treason, Falco is more than ready for a distraction. Disguised as an idle vacationer in the company of his best friend Petronius, Falco travels from the Isle of Capreae to Neapolis and all the way to the great city of Pompeii...where a whole new series of Herculean events—involving yet another conspiracy, and a fateful meeting with his beloved Helena—are about to erupt.... Lindsey Davis' Shadows in Bronze is historical mystery at its best.

Poseidon's Gold

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446455297
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description
A MURDERED LEGIONARY - AND THERE IS ONE PRIME SUSPECT AD 72: Marcus Didius Falco returns home from a six-month mission to the German legions. But trouble is in store for him: his apartment has been wrecked by squatters and an ex-legionary friend of his colourfully heroic brother Festus is demanding money, allegedly owed him as the result of one of Festus's wild schemes. Worse still, the only client Falco can get is his mother - who wants him to clear the family name. Then just as Falco thinks things can only get better, fate takes a turn for the worse. . . The legionary is found viciously stabbed to death with Falco the prime suspect. Now he has only three days to prove he is not a murderer, to trace the real suspect, amass evidence and win a fortune. . . *************************************************************************************** 'Several cheers for Lindsey Davis. . . Great fun' The Times 'Fast-moving, funny and full of atmosphere' Mail on Sunday 'Highly readable, funny and colourful' TLS 'An intriguing Roman mystery, with quite a few twists and turns' ***** Reader review 'Another excellent Falco book that is difficult to put down' ***** Reader review 'Well written, humorous, interesting and a good read' ***** Reader review 'Brilliant. Very funny too!' ***** Reader review Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom will love this captivating, colourful and unputdownable historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Guaranteed to have you turning the pages, this will easily transport you back in time to Ancient Rome...

Hottentot Venus

Author: Barbara Chase-Riboud
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307426289
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
It is Paris, 1815. An extraordinarily shaped South African girl known as the Hottentot Venus, dressed only in feathers and beads, swings from a crystal chandelier in the duchess of Berry’s ballroom. Below her, the audience shouts insults and pornographic obscenities. Among these spectators is Napoleon’s physician and the most famous naturalist in Europe, the Baron George Cuvier, whose encounter with her will inspire a theory of race that will change European science forever. Evoking the grand tradition of such “monster” tales as Frankenstein and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Barbara Chase Riboud, prize-winning author of the classic Sally Hemings, again gives voice to an “invisible” of history. In this powerful saga, Sarah Baartman, for more than 200 years known only as the mysterious lady in the glass cage, comes vividly and unforgettably to life.

Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence

Author: Rebekah Compton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108916058
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 637

Book Description
In this volume, Rebekah Compton offers the first survey of Venus in the art, culture, and governance of Florence from 1300 to 1600. Organized chronologically, each of the six chapters investigates one of the goddess's alluring attributes – her golden splendor, rosy-hued complexion, enchanting fashions, green gardens, erotic anatomy, and gifts from the sea. By examining these attributes in the context of the visual arts, Compton uncovers an array of materials and techniques employed by artists, patrons, rulers, and lovers to manifest Venusian virtues. Her book explores technical art history in the context of love's protean iconography, showing how different discourses and disciplines can interact in the creation and reception of art. Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence offers new insights on sight, seduction, and desire, as well as concepts of gender, sexuality, and viewership from both male and female perspectives in the early modern era.

The Iron Hand of Mars

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1429982985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
When Germanic troops in the service of the Empire begin to rebel, and a Roman general disappears, Emperor Vespasian turns to the one man he can trust: Marcus Didius Falco, a private informer whose rates are low enough that even the stingy Vespasian is willing to pay them. To Falco, an undercover tour of Germania is an assignment from Hades. On a journey that only a stoic could survive, Falco meets with disarray, torture, and murder. His one hope: in the northern forest lives a powerful Druid priestess who perhaps can be persuaded to cease her anti-Rome activities and work for peace. Which Falco is eagerly hoping for as, back in Rome, the Titus Caesar is busy trying to make time with Helena Justina, a senator's daughter and Falco's girlfriend. Lindsey Davis' historical mystery Iron Hand of Mars is a "Seamless blending of humor, history and adventure" (Publishers Weekly).

Time to Depart

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 146685748X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 378

Book Description
Petronius Longus, captain of the Aventine watch and Falco's oldest friend, has finally nailed one of Rome's top criminals. Under Roman law, citizens are not imprisoned but are allowed "time to depart" into exile outside the Empire. One dark and gloomy dawn, Petro and Falco put the evil Balbinus aboard a ship. But soon after, an outbreak of robbery and murder suggests a new criminal ring has moved into Balbinus's territory. Petro and Falco must descend into the underworld of Vespasian's Rome to investigate.

Venus and Aphrodite

Author: Bettany Hughes
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541674243
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
A cultural history of the goddess of love, from a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian. Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the Ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde, she existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus -- and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than an avatar of commercialized romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable lifestory of one of antiquity's most potent myths. Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today -- and how we trivialize her power at our peril.

A Dying Light In Corduba

Author: Lindsey Davis
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446455076
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Book Description
Another compelling and captivating historical mystery from the pen of multimillion-copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Ancient Rome is brought to life in all its humour, political manoeuvring and murderous intent... ************************************************************************************** LIQUID GOLD, COMPROMISED BY A MURDEROUS CARTEL... Nobody was poisoned at the dinner for the Society of Olive Oil Producers of Baetica, though in retrospect this was quite a surprise... Inimitable sleuth Marcus Didius Falco is back with a vengeance. On one night, a man is killed and Rome's Chief of Spies left for dead. This leaves no one except Falco to conduct the investigation. ************************************************************************************** Praise for Lindsey Davis: 'Davis' books make old Rome sound fun. . . it is all so enjoyable' The Times 'The cast of characters is as various, corrupt, nasty and gnarled as the best of Dickens, described with similar scope and loving attention' Mail on Sunday 'Highly readable, funny and colourful' TLS 'This is a more than five star book' ***** Reader review 'Another excellent Falco book that is difficult to put down' ***** Reader review 'Lindsey Davis produces yet another masterpiece' ***** Reader review 'A marvellous read' ***** Reader review