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Published Mar 2008
400 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
It is spring in the year 118, and Gaius Petreius Ruso has been stationed in the Roman-occupied province of Britannia for nearly a year. After his long and reluctant investigation of the murders of a handful of local prostitutes, Ruso needs to get away. With that in mind, he has volunteered for a posting with the army in Britannia’s deepest recesses—a calmer place for a tired man.
But the edge of the Roman Empire is a volatile place; the independent tribes of the North dwell near its borders. These hinterlands are the homeland of Ruso’s slave, Tilla, who has scores of her own to settle there: Her tribespeople are fomenting a rebellion against Roman control, and her former lover is implicated in the grisly murder of a soldier. Ruso, filling in for the demented local doctor, is appalled to find that Tilla is still spending time with the prime suspect. Worse, he is honor-bound to try to prove the man innocent—and the army wrong—by finding another culprit. Soon both Ruso’s and Tilla’s lives are in jeopardy, as is the future of their burgeoning romance.
"This well-researched novel places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe." - PW.
'Who would guess that life and death in the far reaches of the Roman Empire could be so darn funny? Fans of Steven Saylor and Lindsay Davis will enjoy." - Library Journal.
"Starred Review. Ruso rocks. Let's hear it for those Romans." - Kirkus Reviews.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
© Karen Parker
In 2004, Ruth Downie won the Fay Weldon section of BBC3's End of Story competition. Her first novel, Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls was published in the UK in 2006, and in the USA in 2007 (as simply Medicus). The second in the series, Terra Incognita, was published in the US and UK in 2008. The third, Caveat Emptor, was published in January 2011. Her latest work is, Vita Brevis (2016).
She is married with two sons and lives in Milton Keynes, England.
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