Review
Ruth Downie's entertaining first
novel is set in Roman Britain sometime early in the
2nd century AD. The Roman conquest of Britannia was completed about 30 years
earlier, and the fall of the Roman empire won't be
for at least another 200 years. In other words,
having divided and conquered the tribes of
Britannia and built Hadrian's Wall to keep the
inhabitants of Scotland at bay, the Roman soldiers of the 20th Legion are
sitting pretty without a lot to do except wait for
payday (every 3 months), flirt with the native girls
and get into trouble.
Into this setting steps the harassed, impoverished
and newly divorced Gaius Petrius Ruso, fresh off the
boat from Africa, newly appointed medicus to the
20th Legion. His hope is that this damp little...
Beyond the Book
In 2004, Ruth Downie, a librarian from Milton Keynes, won the Fay
Weldon section of BBC3’s
End of Story competition;
Medicus, her first novel, was first
published in Britain as
Medicus and the Disappearing
Dancing Girls, but simply as
Medicus in the USA. The second in the series,
Terra Incognita, was
published in the USA and UK last
month.
Interesting Links:
Pictures of the Roman settlement
of Deva (now known as
Chester).
...
