Desperate Undertaking

Ancient Rome rocks thanks to this bestseller. She has the skills to have you shaking your toga with giggles one minute, and gasping the next a gruesome turn of events * Peterborough Telegraph *Fiendishly twisted mystery * Mail on Sunday *As ever, Davis transports us to a superbly realised ancient world full of persuasive detail * The Financial Times *Great fun, shot through with sharp observations * SHOTS *

Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her novels set in Ancient Rome, including the much-loved Marcus Didius Falco series, although she has also written about the English Civil War, including A Cruel Fate, a book for the Quick Reads literacy initiative. Her examination of the paranoid reign of the roman emperor Domitian began with Master and God, a standalone novel set in that dark period, leading to her new series about Flavia Albia.

Her books are translated and five radio dramas are regularly rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4X. Her many awards include the Premio Colosseo (from the city of Rome) and the Crime Writers’ Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Most recently she was awarded the Ivanhoe Prize for lifetime achievement in historical fiction, given by the Spanish City of Ubeda.

She has been the Chair of the UK Crimewriters’ Association, Honorary President of the UK Classical Association, President of the Birmingham and Midlands Institute and is a Fellow of the UK Society of Authors.