Masterclass for MA students: To Go Where No Woman Has Gone Before

The historical mystery has been experiencing exponential growth in popularity in the last few decades. It is easy to understand the attractiveness of this subgenre, which unites the thrill of the whodunit enigma with a glimpse of life in the past. However, combining the elements of crime and historical fiction convincingly is not always easy, especially in more remote eras, like ancient Rome. While the Roman Empire, with its intrigues, violence, cultural diversity, and rich history, makes for a particularly attractive narrative background for historical crime fiction, it poses a series of problems for novelists who choose it as their setting. Translating the Latin world, and its ethical standards and attitudes to crime, into fiction that is understandable and enjoyable for a contemporary audience is challenging. The risk of creating an anachronistic ‘Sam Spade in a Toga’ (as Lindsey Davis’s Marcus Didius Falco, one of the most well-known Roman fictional detectives, has been called) is considerable. Given the social position of women in ancient Rome, it is even riskier to put a female sleuth at the centre of the criminal investigation. And yet, surprisingly perhaps, there is no shortage of females investigating crimes in modern fiction about imperial Rome. In Davis’ series, there is Flavia Albia, Falco’s daughter. There are also many others including, most recently, Lisa Betz’s Livia Aemilia. Monika Wozniak will explore how the authors try to create a more or less plausible motivation for their protagonists to become involved in a criminal investigation, how they portray their female detectives, and how they balance the requirements of accuracy expected in an historical novel with the necessities of the criminal whodunit.

Organised by Maria Wyke (UCL, Greek and Latin) and Geraldine Brodie (UCL, SELCS).