This anthology brings together twenty whodunnits set in the great days of ancient Greece and Rome. The stories span over fifteen hundred years from the time of the Trojan War to the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. On our journey through time we will encounter the detective skills of Socrates, Alexander the Great, Archimedes, Brutus, Epictetus, Apollonius of Tyana and, believe it or not, the goddess Aphrodite.
I am delighted that the anthology contains stories by Steven Saylor, John Maddox and Ron Burns, each of whom is closely associated with mysteries set in the Roman world, as well as the man who started it all, Wallace Nichols. Other popular writers of detective and mystery fiction have here turned their minds to the ancient world – Amy Myers, Edward Hoch, Anthony Price, Keith Heller and Peter Tremayne, whilst others, not normally associated with mystery fiction, have taken up the challenge – Keith Taylor, Brian Stableford, Phyllis Ann Karr and Darrell Schweitzer. Fifteen of the stories are brand new, written especially for this anthology. Only two have appeared in book form before.
Some of the authors look behind the curtain of history and present what, for all we know, may be the true story. Perhaps the stories contained here tell us what really happened concerning the founding of Rome, the deaths of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, and the exile of Ovid. And what happened to Roman law on the day the Roman Empire collapsed?
Here you will find stories set all over the classical world, from Athens to Alexandria, and from Troy to ancient Britain. In all of them you will find ingenious crimes with ingenious solutions. Poisoning was perhaps the most popular means of disposing of an enemy in ancient Rome, so it is not surprising that several of these stories use poison as the weapon, but it is fascinating to see in how many different ways the lethal dose might have been administered and how the crime is solved. One story contains perhaps the most bizarre death of a victim I have ever encountered – in (yes, in) a tree.
When I first considered compiling a volume of detective stories set entirely in the ancient world I was a little unsure if there were enough good stories around. I knew there were plenty of good writers, but would they be interested? Maybe they would be too busy? I was staggered at the response. I ended up with more stories than I had ever expected, and this book is far bigger as a result. I must thank all the contributors for their inventiveness, and for meeting such tight deadlines. May I give special thanks to Steven Saylor, who not only wrote a new Gordianus the Finder story but also provided an insightful preface. I’m also delighted to be able to publish the very first story by Claire Griffen. May I also thank my editor, Jan Chamier, for her remarkable patience and help during moments of crisis.
So, with no more ado, let me hand over to Steven Saylor to open the doors on the Golden Age of Crime.
Mike Ashley
April 1996