Euge!
I won a signed copy of The Sewer Demon
by Caroline Lawrence in a Twitter competition from the Big Book Babble! This
sent me into slightly unreasonable levels of excitement. Partly because I’ve
never won anything in a prize draw before, but mainly because The RomanMysteries series has been a favourite of mine for a long time.
But,
aren’t they children’s books? Yes, of course they are, but like Disney
cartoons, they’re absolutely delightful for grownups too. I would class them as
‘family books.’ They’re funny, clever, exciting, and historically accurate. I
think they are some of the best stories set in the Ancient World in either
adult or children’s fiction. Besides, I’m fairly sure I never actually grew up...
I
was introduced to the Roman Mysteries books by my cousin’s daughter, who a) was
in love with the series, and b) was amazed and overjoyed that she had written
to the author, Caroline Lawrence, and Caroline had actually written back! Not
all authors will do this, mainly because they are so busy, but I remember
having a similar experience when I was younger and it really does make such a
difference to a child. Anyway, I was studying Classics at university at the
time, so “it’s about Romans” was (and still is, if I’m honest) enough on its
own to get me excited. A combination of ‘Romans’ and ‘friendly author’ meant
they were a must-read. I borrowed one from the library, reading horribly out of
order (The Sirens of Surrentum), and on
the strength of that one book alone I bought a set of all the books written to
that point, with the beautiful second generation covers. Every single one was
good, and I’ve been collecting them ever since.
The Sewer Demon is a companion
book to The Roman Mysteries series, moving away from the Roman Mystery children
to focus on a new main character, a boy called Threptus. Readers of The Roman Mysteries
books might remember Threptus, who popped up in The Man from Pomegranate Street, and in ‘Threptus and the Sacred
Chickens’ in The Legionary from Londinium
and other Mini Mysteries. Threptus is an eight year old boy living in
Ostia, once a beggar, but now working for Floridius, who is a prophet,
soothsayer, amulet-seller and dealer in sacred chickens! This is the first in a
new series called The Roman Mystery Scrolls, which seems to be aimed at
slightly younger readers, with shorter books and ruder humour.
The
same easy-going and humorous style of The Roman Mysteries series is found in
this book, with plenty of jokes that both young readers and their parents can
enjoy. The curses (Pollux!) and exclamations like ‘Great Juno’s Beard’ always
make me laugh out loud. Because the story is set in Ostia, familiar faces and
places appear. At one point Threptus is forced to crawl through the town’s
sewers, and learns why the local magistrate Bato should never eat cumin-dusted eggs. The mystery is intriguing and solving
it is fun, with the usual variety of fascinating Roman facts and titbits incorporated
into the story. I’ve never noticed anything un-historically accurate in a Roman
Mysteries book, and the same goes here (makes sense – the author really knows the Ancient World).
Caroline
Lawrence has a wonderful ability to conjure up places and people so well in so
few words, and her characters are always so alive they jump off the page. (The little
illustrations that accompany each chapter pick up on this brilliantly. Here’s
my favourite.) The pacing is spot on, there are no boring bits, and no scene is
wasted or ‘filler.’ It’s a very easy read. This would make it a perfect book
for younger readers or less confident readers, before diving into the more
complex mysteries and plotting of the Roman Mysteries stories. It’s also a
great companion book for readers who are already fans of the Roman Mystery
world.
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