Ovid: A Marcus Corvinus Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Roman mistery book with a new hero, Corvinus
Review: I have read several books of David Wishart and I have found them all very good, witty and enjoyable. 'Ovid', the first one of the series featuring Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus as an upper class Roman detective sets the plot for the subsequent books, 'Germanicus', 'Sejanus' and 'The Lydian Baker', giving new interpretations to known political misteries in the reign of Tiberius, all of it with humor and a very sarcastic (even explicit) language. Marcus Corvinus, a patrician diletant that spends his days and nights enjoying wine (in big quantities), Roman cooking (incredible recipes) and all sorts of entertainment without thought of following his ancestors duty and starting the first steps of his Cursus Honorum, see his lazy existence shattered when a primly and very attractive joung matron, Ovid stepdaughter, remainds him of his duty as a representative of Ovid's patron family to bring back Ovid's ashes from exile. A simple request that turns not so simple when it is rejected by a very scared bureaucrat at the imperial palace, with the note that it has been considered and refused by the highest possible authority, no further explanations given. Mustard up his nose and backed up by generations of stubborn, upper class Valerii, Corvinus sets up to find out what did Ovid really do, back in Augustus time, to have the imperial displeasure extended to a handful of ashes years later, even if that means confronting Tiberius and Livia! For those who enjoyed I Claudius, you will find here a new vision, not necessarily opposed, of the imperial Caesar family and, as the titles indicate in Germanicus and Sejanus, a new vision of some well know episodes of the Tiberius reign. David Wishart has published two additional biography books, 'I Virgil' and 'Nero', that I also recommend. Unfortunately, I have not found any of the books in Amazon, except for 'Ovid', but I hope this will change...

Rating:
Summary: An excellent mystery but I have a question or two
Review: I thank you or your recommendation of David Wishart's Marcus Covinus mysteries in my Personal Recommendations section. I bought [i]Ovid[/i] and enjoyed it very much. It was as close to a page-turner as I have yet found in historical mysteries. The author's knowledge of ancient Rome in the Early Principate is quite good, both socially and politically. But I do wonder why he chooses to use some of the terms that he does. For instance, he uses the term "Market Square" for the Roman Forum leading the unsuspecting into picturing a bazaar-like atmosphere, whereas the Forum was so much more. It was the political and social center of Rome, the banking center, and the legal center, as well. Similarly, he calls a toga, the draped wrap for which Rome is still famous, a "mantle", implying some sort of a light cloak wrapped loosely around the body such as the ancient Greeks wore. As anyone who has read much about Ancient Rome or even looked at one of their statues of a togate man can easily see, this is hardly the case. The toga was a quite large and heavy item worn formally and draped in a very definite, prescribed fashion. Mr. Wishart's use of the terms was initially somewhat confusing and I believe that he would have served his readers and the story better had he used the terms with which almost all people who would buy his books would be familiar.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Roman mistery book with a new hero, Corvinus
Review: Ovid knew where the bodies were buried in Rome and important people don't want his "natural" death investigated. At times a bit too musch like Carry On Romans rather than I, Claudius but very readable and smoothly written.

Rating:
Summary: Readable whodunnit set in Ancient Rome
Review: Ovid knew where the bodies were buried in Rome and important people don't want his "natural" death investigated. At times a bit too musch like Carry On Romans rather than I, Claudius but very readable and smoothly written.