Master & God

I've long been a fan of Lindsey Davis' Marco Didius Falco mystery series, set in Ancient Rome during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian.  In Master & God (#210), she has produced a stand alone novel about the 15 year reign of the Emperor Domitian, the second of Vespasian's sons who presided over his own Reign of Terror.

Though the subject matter is grim, Davis makes the period come alive when told through the stories of Flavia Lucilla, an imperial freedwoman and successful court hairdresser, and Gaius Vinius Clodianus, a former legionnaire medically discharged to a home posting in the vigiles, Rome's fire/police department.  These two unlikely characters meet when the skinny fifteen year old Lucilla's mother is robbed of her jewelry and Vinius investigates (or so he promises!).  Shortly afterwards, Vinius catches the eye of the young Domitian while his popular brother Titus (he of Masada fame) is Emperor, and reluctantly accepts a promotion to the elite Praetorian Guard, the Emperor's personal bodyguard.

A number of years go by before these two meet again when they find themselves co-owners of the lease of a spacious Roman apartment.  Each has been promised by the shifty landlord that the other tenant will never be there.  Lucilla has inherited her mother and sister's talent at hairdressing and the imperial customers, too, that give her entry to the doings of the court. (For a look at the fashion-forward hairstyle of the time mentioned in the book, see the photo in the Wikipedia entry on Domitian: How Lucilla styled the Empress' hair )  Vinius in the meantime is rising through the ranks of the Praetorian Guard, so they naturally keep crossing paths both at home and at work.  The tension of "will they, or won't they?" and "what else could possibly happen to keep these two apart?" persists right up until Domitian's death and the end of this absorbing tale.

Davis has a deft hand with her trademark humor and wit.  Who else could paint such a vivid character portrait of the paranoid Domitian using Musca, the fly, to make the point? Both my husband and I spent several pleasurable hours immersed in Master & God.