Crispina

I wonder how many of those things were actually invented (in some form)and the guy/gal was told he/she was nuts and it never caught on. Or someone's Uncle Castor made a zipper just to entertain the kiddies, after he died the thing got thrown away.

Happy Birthday.

Happy Belated Birthday, Kosmos.

Crispina has lots of little "memory incidents". Thanks Clayton.

I try not to post spoilers, but Nephele's right - Falco does get his dog soon, or the dog gets him. Just wanted to share something funny. You know that old movie, "Clueless" with Alicia Silverstone? Well, I admit I like this silly quirky movie and I've watched it more than once. Today it was on again. This time, and I'm sure it's because I've been reading these books we speak of, I heard a line I never picked up on before. "Cher" (Silverstone) makes a remark while watching a movie with Tony Curtis. She says something like "who cares about a movie about "Sparatacus", obviously meaning "Spartacus". Does that name ring a bell? Sparatacus is Falco's landord! Edit: My bad. Told a lie, just picked up the book and the name is "Smaractus", not "Sparatacus". Now who's the one that is clueless? Sheesh.

You're leading me in Davis' books like a breakout auriga! I'm only partway through LAIP. I love the story arc of all these novels, and I especially love the way Helena Justina assists Falco in his sleuthing. They remind me so much of the patrician Nora and her somewhat seedy detective mate, Nick Charles, in those old The Thin Man movies. I know from having read a couple of the later novels (before I started reading them in order) that Falco even has a dog as Nick had. Now that I'm reading the novels in order, I'm curious as to when Nux (the counterpart to Asta) will make her first appearance. -- Nephele I'm thinking Nux has already been in one of the earlier books, albeit a paragraph or two. Or maybe there was another dog that adopted him for awhile on one of his travels. Forget the goat's name! The book I've just started has the title of "Time to Depart", totally not what I expected the title to refer to. Yes, I tend to get excited and read through a series rather quickly just as I did the Cato and Macro novels. The problem is I forget their contents just as quickly when I do that.

Hey, Dr. Musa was a hottie!

Nephele, I finished "Last Act in Palmyra" today and already fetched "Time to Depart" from the library. LAIP - brilliant ending! As usual Ms.Davis manages to add humor in just the right places and does it so well. This seventh book has to be one of my favorites.

Falco in Huaxia "Last heard of having a hard time with the locals in Parthia, the Legio XXXV Magna Victrix seems to have vanished from the face of the known world, and the Emperor Vespasian isn't happy at all. And when the Emperor isn't happy, he usually calls for Marcus Didius Falco, Imperial Agent, and Rome's foremost investigator-for-hire. So Falco has a mission like none he's undertaken before. Risking dragons, Monkey Gods and strangely androgynous holy men, he must travel the mysterious Silk Road in search of oriental wisdom and an entire Roman Legion. Oh, . . and silks for Helena Justina." :lol: :lol:

How about THIS?! Oh my gosh. There goes my idea.

Well, this would make a great plot for a novel that's all I can say. Roman legion gets lost and ends up in China. Title?

Billy Elliot(Jamie Bell)? Donald Sutherland could be interesting. The trailer is good, I'm very excited to see how the book is brought to screen. What was meant by "He's one of them"....do I need to read the book again? unless someone else doesn't want spoilers. Let us know how you like the audio book.

Oops.

Just finished watching this on On Demand. Not a feel good movie at all is it? The sets and photography are outstanding but I come away with the same feeling I always do when a woman is portrayed in movies. Woman smart and strong? Woman die. So according to this story, she was killed not for her beliefs really but because she influenced the prefect. Is it true she was helped to die before the stoning or was that part added for the movie?

Ok, where's my credit card. (thanks!)

That's an interesting article, it describes the forum as being larger than Trafalgar Square. That is huge I don't think there is nay market in Europe that is so big. I remember in Pompeii the little shops along one wall, they were just cubicles all in a row, where goods could be stored and then brought out and displayed to sell when the shop was open. I've got a little picture book from there but I can't remember where it is. It had pictures of the town now, overlaid with reconstructions painted onto clear plastic. The article also raises a new problem for me. It says the wall was built around 200 ad which means that my story is factually incorrect as it is set about the middle of the century and the wall is there. Damn! I wish I had a copy of that little picture book! I've been spending hours at the site Klingan suggested, "Pompeii in Pictures". My imagination is working overtime trying to decide how the houses/buildings might have appeared before the eruption. It's the closest I'll ever get to seeing the site. Actually, I found one of those picture books of the Forum at the church rummage sale one year.

Good luck with your book.

My name is Christine, so the first name that came to mind to use was "Crispina". Afterward I learned Crispina was the name of the first wife of Commodus!

Sorry to post again, but was so excited to see a photo of a caupona in Pompeii at that site! I have just finished reading a Lindsey Davis book in which alot of the action takes place at a "caupona". Now I can "see" what the author was describing!

You mean like this: http://www.pompeiiinpictures.com? You need the http:// at the start. Also, what version of Internet Explorer are you running? It's awkward with IE6. Better with IE8. And thanks to you,too.

Thank you so much!

I saw a snippet, one of those "interesting facts" they sometimes throw up on the screen before commercials during a show on Rome, that stated the "first theatrical performance was recorded in ancient Egypt in 2500BC". This is something I never thought about before - did the ancient Egyptians build theaters? or were the temples considered theaters and religious rites of festivals considered the entertainment? Was it ever recorded on monuments (plays,that is)?

According to one of my Pompeii books, The Schola Armaturarum (Ins. 3 No. 6) is . . "A building consisting of a huge hall with decorations of military character. It was probably the meeting place of soldiers or of amilitary association . . " No mention of gladiators. Unfortunately, the other books (including the transcription of the audio guide) doesn't mention it. Where can I find a photo of the building before the collapse? I must get to Pompeii before it is all gone! It's on my bucket list, but my bucket seems to not hold money long enough.

Well I guess I should have waited until I read the ending of PG. My question is answered there.

This is probably a silly question, but how do they know it was a training house for gladiators? Is Schola Armaturarum written anywhere on the walls?