‘A woman succeeding in a man’s world’ – Lindsey Davis
In the streets of Ancient Rome, a bloodied corpse of an elite chariot racer is left to rot, until Flavia Albia discovers it while out walking her dog. She enters the dazzling world of Roman sporting royalty, as she seeks out the murderer hiding under the glamorous veil of success. – Young Critic Rosa tells us all about Lindsey Davis’ latest novel
Lindsey Davis, 77-year-old award-winning crime writer and author of over 30 historical novels, was welcomed to the Lichfield Festival to introduce her latest crime offering: Murder in Purple and Gold, part of the Flavia Albia series. Abandoned on the streets of Rome as a baby, Flavia’s mysterious past inspired her intriguing investigative skills.
The audience were entertained with tales from Lindsey’s early career. An early experience of the power of writing was a letter of resignation to her boss in the Civil Service, who kept promoting men over her. Finding her colleagues congratulate her daring and skills of persuasion on paper, Lindsey realised she was quite good at writing after all. She then turned her attention to another career: novel writing. She went on to be extraordinarily successful: winning the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award alongside the likes of Lee Child, Colin Dexter, Val McDermid, Ruth Rendall and PD James.
I really enjoyed the event as I am particularly interested in murder mysteries, and I loved hearing about how she came to be such a wonderful writer. Lindsey Davis grew up in Birmingham and still lives in the Midlands today. She is a must read for any fellow crime fiction fan.
Lindsey’s first venture into Ancient Rome was in the form of a romance novel (not initially published). Using her research from that novel, she then wrote the Falco series; her first murder mystery series set in Rome. The Falco series was a great success, and she went on to write many more books in the historical crime series. After many years and books in this series (almost one book a year), Lindsey decided she was bored of writing in a male voice and wanted a change. So, the Flavia Albia series was born, featuring a woman succeeding in a man’s world.
By Rosa B
Rosa is in Year 8 and her favourite subjects are R.E and English. In her spare time she likes to draw, read, and dance. She would like to be a psychologist when she is older. She loves the crime author Holly Jackson and all crime thrillers. She enjoys watching live events and giving her opinions on them.
If you’re aged 11-18 and would like to be a festival reviewer, applications will open soon for Young Critics – find out more on our website https://lichfieldfestival.org/aspire/young-critics/