pankration A type of “mixed martial arts” practiced by the Greeks.
papyrus/parchment Papyrus, made from a plant that grows along the Nile, was the favored type of writing material in antiquity. Pages were glued together to make scrolls. Parchment, or animal skin, was known as far back as the fifth century b.c., but was considered an inferior material. Both are labor-intensive to make. Parchment won out because it works better in the codex, or book form, which we now use.
Perusia Ancient name for the city of Perugia, one of the major towns of Umbria, founded about 300 b.c. It is near Lake Trasimene, site of one of Hannibal’s major victories over the Romans in the Second Punic War.
Tanagra figurines Small terra-cotta statuettes depicting people, usually women, engaged in daily tasks or sitting and chatting. They were typically 4-7 inches high and originated in the Greek town of Tanagra, north of Athens, in the late fourth century b.c.
tunica rustica The gown traditionally worn by a Roman bride. It was white, with a saffron belt and veil.
Author’s Note
When I wrote the first Pliny mystery, All Roads Lead to Murder, I did not envision a second, let alone a sixth. I’m grateful for the encouragement that readers and reviewers have given me. I also need to express my gratitude to my writers’ group, the West Michigan Writers’ Workshop, which I began to attend in 2001. The make-up of the group has changed over the years, but our facilitator, Steve Beckwith, keeps us focused on the craft of writing. The group has established a web site: https://sites.google.com/site/westmiww/.
In the rest of this note I want to address three unrelated topics: the change in publishers, confusion about Pliny’s family, and the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter.
Publishers
In the interest of transparency, I would like to explain why the Pliny mysteries have been issued by different publishers. Ingalls Publishing Group published the first three, while the fourth and fifth were published by Perseverance Press. Several years ago Ingalls decided to focus on southeastern regional books, and ancient Rome didn’t seem to fit that profile. I was fortunate to connect with Perseverance Press right away and enjoyed working with them on Death in the Ashes and The Eyes of Aurora. It was helpful to have a different editor’s perspective for a couple of years. I learned quite a bit from Meredith Phillips and John and Susan Daniel.
In the world of small-press publishing, we usually work one book at a time, so when Bob Ingalls called and asked if I would consider returning to Ingalls, I agreed to give the offer some thought. I knew I would gain something either way, but I would also give up something, no matter which publisher I went with. It wasn’t as though I had St. Martin’s and Random House bidding for my services, but… Several factors led me to return to Ingalls—primarily my long and excellent working relationship with Judy Geary and Ingalls’s willingness to consider publishing some of my non-mystery projects, as they did a few years ago with Perfect Game, Imperfect Lives. (Perseverance Press is strictly a mystery publisher.)
Sadly, Bob Ingalls died early in 2015. His wife decided to shut down the publishing business. I posted on the DorothyL online list, asking if anyone could suggest a publisher. I was considering doing the book myself when Meredith Phillips contacted me and invited me to come back to Perseverance Press, which I was quite happy to do. I owe Perseverance a lot. They have kept my publishing career—insignificant as it is—going when I thought I might be done.
Pliny’s Family
In this book, and in earlier ones, there are references to Pliny’s biological father, a Lucius Caecilius, and to a possible sibling. Pliny never mentions his father in his letters, nor is there any reference to any siblings. He always refers to his uncle (his adoptive father) as his uncle. Questions have arisen because of two inscriptions, both from the area around Comum (modern Como), Pliny’s hometown. One refers to a Lucius Caecilius Secundus, who began building a temple to the Eternity of Rome and Augustus in honor of his daughter, Caecilia, who scholars believe was deceased. The temple was completed by Caecilius Secundus filius, possibly our Pliny, but part of the name is missing.
Another inscription mentions a magistrate named Lucius Caecilius Cilo and two sons (or possibly brothers) and a concubine, Lutulla the daughter of Pictus. The Caecilius and Plinius families were numerous around Comum and the name Secundus is by no means rare, so we can’t be certain that either of these inscriptions has anything to do with Pliny the Younger. They do, however, provide just enough grist for the mills of a historical novelist.
Pliny was married two or three times, but we know the name of only his last wife, the teenaged Calpurnia. He writes letters to his mother-in-law, Pompeia Celerina, but he never mentions Pompeia’s daughter by name or the name of Pompeia’s husband. A wife of Pliny’s, presumably Pompeia’s daughter, died about the time Domitian was murdered (September a.d. 96), and he seems to have been married to her for some time.
The Pompeius family had many branches, so I don’t think I have stretched the bounds of possibility too far to suggest that Pliny’s mother-in-law may have had some connection with Pompeia Paulina, the much-admired wife of the philosopher Seneca.
Aurora is, of course, a fictitious character. She appeared briefly in the second book in the series, The Blood of Caesar (named by Library Journal one of the Five Best Mysteries of 2008). In each succeeding book she has come to play a larger role. In this book I have again given her a chance to speak in her own voice, as I began to do in The Eyes of Aurora. Sections written from her point of view are in italics. It is a challenge to write from the p. o. v. of a young, wealthy, slave-owning Roman aristocrat, since I am none of those things. It is an equally daunting challenge to write from the p. o. v. of a young female Roman slave, since I am not any of those things either.
Chapter epigraphs
Working on a novel with Fortune as its theme, I was impressed by how much the Greeks and Romans had to say on the subject. I have put epigraphs from various writers—all of whom could have been known to Pliny—at the head of each chapter. Some have more connection with the chapter than others. Once I got started, it was hard to stop. Perhaps someday a graduate student, desperate for a thesis topic, will try to figure out what the epigraphs have to do with the chapters. As Freud allegedly said (but probably didn’t), “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
About the Author
Albert A. Bell, Jr. is a college history professor, novelist, and weekend gardener who lives in Michigan. He and his wife have four adult children and two grandsons. In addition to his Roman mysteries, Bell has written contemporary mysteries, middle-grade novels, and nonfiction. Visit him at www.albertbell.com and www.pliny-mysteries.com.
Also by Albert A. Bell, Jr.
Cases from the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger
All Roads Lead to Murder
The Blood of Caesar
The Corpus Conundrum
Death in the Ashes
The Eyes of Aurora
Fortune’s Fool
Contemporary Mysteries
Death Goes Dutch
For Younger Readers
The Secret of the Bradford House
The Secret of the Lonely Grave
Nonfiction
Perfect Game, Imperfect Lives
Exploring the New Testament World
Fortune's Fool Page 27
