When In Rome

Anne here, and today I'm diving right back into the past — my past and actual ancient history — sort of.

If you'd asked me, I probably would have said that my fascination with the Roman era began with the superb book and TV series I Claudius — but I'd be wrong.

When I was a student, I fell heavily for the Asterix and Obelix comic book series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. If you don't know it, it's a very funny satirical French series about a village of indomitable Gauls during the Roman Occupation. The stars are Asterix (the small smart one) and his friend the huge and not-too-bright Obelix, who delivers menhirs (giant stones). And of course their tiny dog, Dogmatix.

The Romans haven't been able to conquer this village because they have a secret weapon — a magic potion created by their druid, Getafix.  Yes, Get-A-Fix — the series is full of puns of this sort. The names are hilarious. There is a bard called Cacofonix, an ancient called Geriatrix, the chieftain's wife is called Impedimenta, the fishmonger is Unhygienix, and his wife is Bacteria. 

The Roman names are also hilarious — centurians with names like Armisurplus, Ignoramus, Crismus Bonus, Dubius Status and Nefarious Purpus, Vitriolix, an architect named Squareonthehypotenus and so-on. It's all beautifully silly and fun.

Whenever the Romans try to conquer them, the villagers line up for their potion and POW! Roman soldiers go flying in all direction. Only Obelix needs no potion — he's permanently invincible, having fallen into a cauldron of potion when he was a baby.

The delights of this series came back to me recently, when I was pottering around on a streaming service from a local multicultural TV station, and lo! There I saw a bunch of Asterix and Obelix movies. Obelix is played by the wonderful Gerard Depardieu. So of course I had to watch a few. I thoroughly enjoyed Asterix and Obelix go to Britain.

The version I watched was in French, of course, with English subtitles, but on the web I see that some movie versions have slightly different titles so they may be dubbed for all I know. The comics I have are English translations with puns that work in English, but they're hugely popular around the world and have been translated into many languages. I imagine the translators had a lot of fun working out the various puns that would work in their language.

If you haven't read these comics, I urge you to try them. Amazon says they're for ages 7— 12 but that's nonsense has no idea. It's adult humor and adult satire. I have almost all the books and I still treasure them. And pull them out occasionally for a smile and a chuckle.

But Asterix isn't the only Roman-era literature I've been delving into. I'm a huge fan of Jennifer Ashley and under her Ashley Gardner name, she's begun a series about Leonidas the gladiator. 

Leonidas is Rome's champion gladiator. Found guilty when he was young of a crime he did not commit, he had the choice of execution or fighting in the ring. He chose to fight. At the height of his  career, his contract is anonymously bought, and Leonidas is set free — adrift, really, with a bare apartment, for which he must pay rent, and a mysterious, highly educated female slave. How they manage together, and the mysteries they solves is the basis of this excellent series. 

Another wonderful series is the Lindsay Davis "Falco" series, where Falco is a private informer, reluctantly employed as an occasional spy and solver of mysteries. 

The research is superb, the mysteries engrossing, and the human observations are delightful and often very funny. Another series follows that with Falco's adopted daughter, Flavia Albia. If you enjoy a well written mystery, then you'll find a gorgeously long backlist that will keep you happily occupied for months. And if you'd just like a glimpse into the mind of Lindsay Davis, I find her "rants" on her website entertaining and informative.

Another book I loved was Pauline Gedge's The Eagle and the Raven, a novel set during the Roman invasion of Britain. The Eagle in the title is, of course, the Romans and the Raven, the Britons. 

What about you — are you a fan of Roman era stories,or do they leave you cold? Have you read any of these books? Do you know the Asterix comics? Do you have any other Roman-era recommendations?

Comments

[Janice J.]

I've never been fond of the Roman era - probably due to three painful years of Latin in school - but there are some novels I've enjoyed.

You mentioned the Falco series and I've read a few of those. I have read the odd Asterix comic but the whole series hasn't come in my way.

I would recommend the novels of Rosemary Sutcliff, about the Roman occupation of Britain. Very civilized and can be enjoyed as much by adults as kids.

There are some Roman novels in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germain series, featuring Atta Olivia Clemens, one of St. Germain's inductees. The author calls her books "historical horror" stories - she means that the horror is not in the vampirism, it's in the history. St. Germain turns characters into vampires to save them from nasty deaths at the stake, by poison, murder, etc. connected to some well known historical era or event. The series begins with Hotel Transylvania, which I think came along a bit too early to cash in on the vampire craze, and which I liked much better than the Anne Rice books I've sampled.

For drama, there's the HBO series ROME, which ran two seasons - there would have been more but the sets burned down. It's still around on streaming and dvd, and it's definitely bingeworthy.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Janice — I knew I'd forgotten someone important. Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth was a highlight of my grade 6 reading year, and I read as many of her books as the library had. Thanks for those other recommendations — I'll chase them up.

[Catherine Kullmann]

Gillian Bradshaw's Roman Empire novels are wonderful. My favourite is The Beacon at Alexandria, the story of Charis who wants to study medicine and how she manages to do this. A fascinating insight into the fourth century Empire, with Christian infighting and the threat of the Huns at the eastern frontier. And there is a beautiful love story as well.

[Catherine Kullmann]

Sorry, I meant the Goths, not the Huns.

[Lil Marek]

The SPQR series of mysteries by John Maddox Roberts is great fun. It's set in the last years of the Roman Republic and frequently incorporates actual events and people. There's also the Roma Sub Rosa series by Steven Taylor. That series is a bit less light-hearted.

[Lil Marek]

Steven Saylor, not Taylor. Autocorrect intervened.

[Donna S.]

Yes, I just love Steven Saylor and his Gordianus the Finder series. Gordianus is his detective. He has a wonderful bunch of recurring characters in his novels as well. Gordianus gets to meet all kinds of famous people along the way as well. Very enjoyable.

[Shirley Karr]

Ooh! I love Asterix! I received my first Asterix & Obelix book for my 8th birthday, when we were living in England. Collected several more before we moved back to the states. Found them more entertaining than paper comic books. Pulled them out again when I was in high school and enjoyed them all over again, on a different level as I then understood more of the puns and jokes. Had no idea there were live action movies based on them. Will have to look for them.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for that recommendation, Catherine. I will try The Beacon. Am chuckling at the Goths/Huns mix-up — easy to do, as these days we just use both as synonyms for "scary barbarians."

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Lil. I'll check out both of those recommendations.

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you, Donna. I'll definitely investigate Steven Saylor's books.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Shirley — yes my copies of Asterix are quite battered these days. I pull them out every few years and they still make me chuckle. And yes, for children, they work on a fairly simple adventure/comedy level, but they retain their appeal for adults in a different way, don't they?

Seeing Gerard Depardieu as Obelix is a delight.
It shows how the French value Asterix when you have actors of his calibre appearing in the movies. And In Asterix in Britain (or whatever the movie title variation is in different places) Catherine Deneuve played the Queen.

[Christina Courtenay]

I adore Asterix and Obelix too and have all of them! They never fail to amuse. I’ve read them in Swedish and you’re right - the translators must have had fun with that. The names are great but my favourites are deliberate mistranslations or misuse of Latin words or phrases. For example when Cesar’s invasion of Britain doesn’t go to plan and instead of ‘veni, vidi, vici ‘ (I came, I saw, I conquered) he says something like ‘I came, I saw, I couldn’t believe my eyes …’ LOL!

I’ve seen those films too and some cartoon ones. Apparently there’s a new film just out but it got slated in France so not sure about that one!

[Karin]

I've heard of Asterix and Obelix, but I had no idea what it was about. It sounds delightful.
I've enjoyed the first 2 Leonidas books, especially learning about everyday Roman life, which I knew nothing about, in spite of reading and watching every episode of I, Claudius. What a fabulous series that was! A friend of mine named her cat Livia after a character in the series, which I think was a mistake, because it was a very nasty, jealous and unfriendly cat. She disliked everyone except her owner!

[Kareni]

I first read Asterix when I took French in high school. I enjoyed the books, but I suspect my French was not up to the task of appreciating the wit. My daughter got to enjoy Asterix in Latin (yes, Latin) when she studied that language in high school and college. She has been living in Korea for over nine years, and I'm suddenly wondering if Asterix has been translated into that language.

My husband and daughter are both fans of I, Claudius (books and show). My husband has watched Rome (the series) and read some of those Falco mysteries. I enjoyed the first Leonidas the gladiator book. There really are a lot of Rome focused materials available!

[Anne Gracie]

Kareni, you could check here, but I haven't spotted many asian language translations — indian, (Hindi) yes, but not many others. Mostly European languages and the Turkish region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix

I think I'm going to have to dig out I Claudius to watch, as I haven't seen it since it was originally on TV.

[Anne Gracie]

Karin, the Asterix series are great fun.
Re your friend's cat — do you think the name caused her personality to warp or did she fit the name perfectly?

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Christina — there was another variation of ‘veni, vidi, vici ‘ in the Asterix and Obelix go to Britain and it made me laugh at the time -- but I've forgotten exactly what it was.
And yes, not all the films are of equal quality. I suppose it's inevitable.

[Binnie Syril Braunstein]

Anne-I am also a huge fan of Jennifer Ashley, but I've never read her Ashley Gardner work. Now I feel I must. I also find myself imagining Leonidas as Russell Crowe in the movie The Gladiator. Thanks for a very thought-provoking column.

[Karin]

Well, the cat got that name as a kitten, so I guess it was predictive of her personality. But she was a good mouser.

[Elodie]

Being French I grew up with Asterix like many of my friends, I would recommend to watch Asterix&Obelix : mission Cleopatra movie by Alain Chabat, the best of them all for me.
I had a time during my teenhood I liked roman era stories, maybe more when set in Egypt like all the Christian Jacq novels.
I now I have marked the Jennifer Ashley books for later read.

[Donna S.]

Ruth Downie is another author who writes about Roman matters - this time about a Roman "medicus" (doctor) who is stationed in Britain and his slave girl - Tulla - whom he eventually marries and they solve crimes together.

[Barbara Monajem]

What a lovely list of recommendations. I was just about to mention Ruth Downie's series. It's excellent.

I love Asterix and Obelix. Haven't read them for ages, but will do so again soon. Thanks for the reminder.

I just pre-ordered the next in the Leonidas series. :)

I am very fond of Roman-era stuff and after visiting Hadrian's Wall, I even put the ghost of a Roman soldier in one of my stories.

[Annette N]

I thank you for all the new books etc you have introduced to me. I just realized, I took Latin in high school and if I were dropped into Rome right now, I would be able to say hello and then it would be obvious I am a spy.
Thanks to everyone for all the lists of books and films

[Kareni]

Annette N, I could imagine a fun time travel romance where a present day Latin instructor travels back to ancient Rome!

[Teresa Broderick]

I'm afraid Roman stories leave me cold. I love history but Roman history has always been a no no for me. My son and daughter read and collect the Asterix books. They're big fans.

[Alison Lloyd]

Thanks Anne for raising this topic, and everyone for your excellent recommendations. I've made a list!

[Janice J.]

I left out Lady Hilary's Halloween by Anne Barbour, an old Signet regency in which a first century Roman soldier guest ghosts. I still have a paper copy somewhre, but it's out on ebook as well.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Binnie Syril — I think you'll enjoy her gladiator series. Both the main characters are very appealing, and the setting really comes to life as well.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Elodie. I did enjoy the Cleopatra one, but I think the Britain one gave me more laughs. And I think the very first movie I watched was wonderful, as Gerard Depardieu seemed to really throw himself into the role. In the later ones he didn't seem quite so invested in the role — still good, though.

[Anne Gracie]

Sounds interesting, Donna — thanks. I do find the books set in the time of Roman occupation of Britain interesting. I'll check out those Ruth Downie books.

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you Barbara. I first visited Hadrian's Wall when I was 8 and how I wanted to see the ghost of a Roman soldier! I'll have to chase up your story and meet one at long last. I too have the next Leonidas book pre-ordered. And thanks for the Ruth Downie endorsement. I'll definitely chase her up.

[Anne Gracie]

LOL Annette. One of the things that some modern authors forget in situations like that is how much people's accents revealed about them. Although in a multicultural city like Rome they'd be used to a wide variety of foreign accents.

[Anne Gracie]

Interesting, Teresa — not all settings suit everyone. I think the Roman era has parallels with a lot of more modern empires and societies.
Glad your son and daughter enjoy Asterix.

[Anne Gracie]

Hipe you enjoy them, Alison.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Janice — I'll look it up.

[Pamela DG]

I remember Asterix and Obelix from High School. I took French for three years. our teacher encouraged us to read them.