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House Of The Vestals (Hardcover)

by St. Martin's Press (Author) "ECO," I SAID, "do you mean to tell me that you have never seen a play? ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 31.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Product Description

From Booklist

Saylor serves up a collection of short stories designed to fill in some of the gaps that have piqued the curiosity of devoted fans of his popular Roma Sub Rosa series. Set between the years 80 and 72 B.C., these nine tales document some of the early adventures of Gordianus the Finder. During the course of these cases, Gordianus establishes firm and tender relationships with Eco, his adopted son; Bethesda, his Jewish-Egyptian concubine; Belbo, his loyal manservant and bodyguard; and Lucius Claudius, his generous patron. While each brief mystery presented is a gem in and of itself, readers will delight in the informational overview provided by the collection as a whole. As usual, Saylor does a superb job of seamlessly incorporating the tumultuous history of the Roman Republic into the narrative flow. A welcome addition to the ever fascinating chronicles of Gordianus the Finder. Margaret Flanagan


From Kirkus Reviews

It's no wonder Gordianus the Finder solves so many of these nine cases in a single flash of insight. Most of the mysteries aren't very mysterious; even Gordianus' slave (and future wife) Bethesda picks out the thief of his friend Lucius Claudius' silver the minute she hears the story. Still, three groups of readers will find these stories irresistible: history buffs who appreciate Saylor's careful research into Roman politics and Roman mores; fans of his five novels (A Murder on the Appian Way, 1996, etc.) who want to find out how he first became Lucius Claudius' friend, or how he acquired his faithful slave Belbo; and anyone who enjoys leisurely, literate storytelling. Though none of the stories is more than five years old, nearly half (``A Will Is a Way,'' ``The Lemures,'' ``King Bee and Honey,'' ``The Alexandrian Cat'') have already been anthologized. All the others could well follow. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Even his short fiction in this series shines!, Oct 21 2002
By TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Mass Market Paperback)
I've loved Steven W. Saylor's work even before he published under this name and his Gordianus series is better by far. This is actually a collection of 9 short stories, all of which were previously published in mystery magazines. All of the stories are good solid character pieces with mysterious happenings and detective work that makes sense for the time period involved (90-73 BCE). Several of the stories are told as stories by one character to another though several are also the ongoing investigations of the finder himself. Historians may cringe a bit but frankly, in this ancient historian's opinion, Saylor's series is about the best I have ever read particularly his portrayal of slavery, a human institution often misunderstood and misrepresented by modern Americans.
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4.0 out of 5 stars breezy, enjoyable stories; consider them Saylor-Light, May 13 2002
By lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Mass Market Paperback)
The House Of The Vestals is very enjoyable collage of ancient Roman mystery stories loosely based on either real history or ancient folklore. And somehow Saylor's irrepressable private eye, Gordianus, winds up being a bit like Forrest Gump - he always finds himself in the middle of this historic events. All the stories are rather trifling and forgettable, but somehow very readable and enjoyable. Saylor has a very light and breezy style to his prose. And unlike his other Gordianus novels, this collection of short stories does not get bogged down with explanations of Roman history ... and so even folks who might have found Saylor's other works to be a bit dry will like The House Of The Vestals.

Bottom line: perfectly enjoyable Roman fluff. Recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars An underrated gem for the Saylor enthusiast., May 3 2002
By Erick Franz P. Vergara (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Mass Market Paperback)
A worthy contribution to the historical mystery genre (if such a classification exists), "The House of the Vestals" exhibits both the detective skills of Gordianus the Finder and the remarkable writing ability of his creator to telling effect.

As Saylor himself points out in the foreword, some of his readers may have found themselves wondering what happened to the Roman sleuth between the years 80 BC (the setting of his first novel, "Roman Blood") and 72 BC (the year of the Spartacan slave revolt, as described in the sequel "Arms of Nemesis"). "The House of the Vestals" provides the answer, filling in the eight-year gap with nine intriguing short cases that test Gordianus' wits and leave the reader yearning for more.

Four of the stories are based, in varying degrees, on real events (in accordance with Saylor's acknowledged writing style) while the rest dwell on aspects of Roman life that have come down from us through the ancient sources. "The House of the Vestals" -- the closing story from which the entire anthology derives its name -- is by far the most faithful to history, inspired by the allegations of unchastity levelled against two Vestal Virgins and their alleged paramours by the demagogue Publius Clodius in 73 BC. Some of the characters in this and the stories preceding it have featured in Saylor's other novels, ensuring that this "flashback" addition to an otherwise chronologically released series maintains full relevance all throughout Roma Sub Rosa and throwing in a bit of irony as to the eventual fate of recurrent figures.

True enough, the stories included in the anthology are far too short for those (myself included) who may have gotten used to long-winded plots and vast settings in Saylor's other works. Be that as it may, the life of Gordianus the Finder could never be complete without these little in-betweeners to fill the time between more significant events. Moreover, "The House of the Vestals" offers a wonderful solution for people beset with a shortage of leisure time: read a story whenever you feel like it. (After all, for people like me, it takes a Herculean effort to pull away from a novel when things begin to turn exciting.)

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Quickie Roman Holidays
This collection of short stories about Gordianus the Finder, the Philip Marlow of the Roman Empire, shows how a fine hand at historical research can enliven the most traditional... Read more
Published on Feb 24 2002 by William Peschel

5.0 out of 5 stars Wickedly Addictive Tales of Mystery in Ancient Rome
I can't get enough of Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder, and this marvelous collection of short stories was like opening a box of Godiva chocolates - each one is delicious! Read more
Published on Aug 12 2001 by E. Rothstein

4.0 out of 5 stars Fill-in-the-blanks mysteries
This is a collection of short stories centering around Gordianus the Finder, Saylor's Ancient Roman "detective" first featured in his novel, *Roman Blood. Read more
Published on April 17 2001 by Minsma

5.0 out of 5 stars Delight yourself while accompanying Gordianus
Fans of Gordianus, the Finder will be happy to get a hold of this book right away. It includes nine short stories in chronological order to be read after "Roman Blood"... Read more
Published on April 17 2001 by Karina A. Suarez

3.0 out of 5 stars Great fun
This collection of short mysteries all feature Gordianus from Ancient Rome. I haven't read any of Saylor's other books, so I can't connect them to his others, but I certainly am... Read more
Published on April 2 2001 by blissengine

4.0 out of 5 stars A good selection of short stories
These collection of short stories by Steven Saylor add new insights into the character of Gordianus the finder as he begins his investigating career in ancient Rome. Read more
Published on Jan 11 2000 by adavis7424

5.0 out of 5 stars more to the point than the novels
For those who think - probably rightly so - that Mr. Saylor uses more pages than necessary for the story in his novels, this collection of short stories should be the choice... Read more
Published on Jan 7 2000 by Werner Kattinger

3.0 out of 5 stars short whodunit stories from a writer of historical novels
Roaming the Internet a couple of months ago I stumbled across "The House of the Vestals", a new title by Steven Saylor. Ordering the book via Amazon. Read more
Published on Aug 8 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars Ave Saylor, legentes te salutant
This is not the ultimate in literature, but the stories are vey pretty, nevertheless. The characters of Bethesda and Lucius Claudius are drawn beautifully. Read more
Published on Sep 28 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars Wondeful stroll thru ancient times with a good friend.
It is so easy to overlook the past, thinking of those who lived 2000 years ago as some crude, distant barbaric history that the human soul has now transcended. Not so. Read more
Published on Aug 15 1997 by Brian Eckert

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