'Two Novels by Rosemary Rowe'
Both Published by Headline

‘Enemies of the Empire’. 2005. ISBN 0 7553 0519 1 (PB)

‘A Roman Ransom’. 2006. ISBN 0 7553 2742 3 (PB)

These books are the seventh and eighth in the series set in Roman Britain A.D. 188 and featuring the native Briton Libertus. Once Libertus was a slave, now he is a freeman, a Roman citizen and thus entitled to wear the toga, and a moderately prosperous pavement-maker in Glevum (modern Gloucester), but nonetheless subject to the whims and caprices of his patron, Marcus Aurelius Septimus, who is the personal representative of the Rome-appointed governor of Britain.

In Enemies of the Empire, Libertus is accompanying Marcus on a journey to Isca (modern Caerleon) in South Wales, the Romano-British equivalent of the Wild West where the Silures tribe has only recently submitted to Rome. Libertus is unenthusiastic; he would much rather be back at home with his beloved wife Gwellia. Stopping for the night at the border town of Venta, Libertus explores the town and glimpses Plautus, a fellow-citizen of Glevum; odd, that, as Plautus is supposed to be dead. Libertus, his curiosity aroused, pursues Plautus but fails to find him, meeting only obstruction from the townspeople in particular from Lyra, madam of one of Glevum’s brothels. In fact, Venta’s Roman veneer is very thin; the town is controlled by rival gangs who run protection rackets and do not hesitate at murder. Moving on from Venta into Silurian territory (‘Injun country’), Marcus, Libertus and their military escort find that unrest is rife and rebellion is simmering. The further they progress into the deep woods which clothe the Welsh hills the more the atmosphere of menace and danger increases and the risk of ambush grows. The locals, under their chief Nyros, seem friendly but can they be trusted? And what is the connection between them, the elusive Plautus, and Lyra?

In A Roman Ransom Libertus is back in Glevum but seriously ill with a fever. However, Marcus needs him; he is distraught for his wife Julia and infant son Marcellinus have been kidnapped and he requires Libertus’s logical approach to problems to find them. Marcus sends his own physician, Philades, to tend Libertus and rouse him from his sickbed. There is a ransom demand: Marcus in his position as magistrate must release from prison a minor local tearaway called Lallius. Furthermore, Marcellinus’s wetnurse is also missing and then Libertus’s beloved Gwellia also disappears. Libertus has to combat his own ill-health, the obstructive behaviour of Philades, and the uneasy relationship with Marcus before he can solve the mystery.

Rosemary Rowe’s knowledge of life in Roman Britain clearly drawn from both archaeological and historical sources is really impressive. There is a sense of absolute authenticity about every detail which covers an immense range from the legal system of Roman Britain to Roman medical practices and the diet of the people. And the plotting is excellent – classic mystery with red herrings galore and complete fair play with the reader. Libertus himself, who is 50 which in those days was pretty old, tends to be a bit staid, but the relationship between himself and Marcus is fascinating.

Marcus is fond of Libertus, calls him ‘old friend’, and is concerned for his well-being, but at the same time both are aware of the gulf between them – at the least hint of Libertus speaking out of turn he has to drop to his knees and kiss Marcus’s hand. However, extraordinary and distasteful this seems to us, it says a great deal about Roman Britain with its pervasive institution of slavery and the offhand attitude towards slaves and the grinding poverty of much of the population apart from the elite.

If you’re interested in this fascinating period of British history and also like a detective story of the traditional type, these two novels are to be highly recommended.

------

Radmila May