Desperate Undertaking

Desperate Undertaking
Cover of 1st UK hardback edition 2022
AuthorLindsey Davis
SeriesFlavia Albia
Genrehistorical fiction, crime fiction
PublisherHodder & Stoughton, Minotaur Books
Publication date
7 April 2022
Publication placeUK
ISBN9781529354713
Preceded byA Comedy of Terrors 
Followed byFatal Legacy 

Desperate Undertaking is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the tenth in her Flavia Albia series.[1] It was published in the UK on 7 April 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN 9781529354713)[2] and in the United States on 27 July 2022 by Minotaur Books (ISBN 9781250799883).[3]

The tale is set in Rome in late December 89 AD, set in and around the Field of Mars, and involving murders among the theatrical community.[2][4] It is divided into parts, of varying lengths, with titles "Laureolus", "Pasiphae", "Oedipus Rex", "Medea", "Selurus the bandit king of Sicily", "Orpheus or possibly Daedalus", "Aeschylus", "Jason" and "The Girl from Londinium".[5]

The cover of the first UK hardback edition shows a damaged bas-relief carving of a seated man contemplating a theatrical mask which he holds in his outstretched hand.[2] The image is of part of "Relief of a seated poet (Menander) with masks of New Comedy, 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.", held by the Princeton University Art Museum.[6] The American cover shows a girl in a white and purple tunic looking towards a Roman theatre while clutching a large dagger.[3]

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote that the novel "reinforces Davis’s place at the top of the Ancient Roman historical subgenre".[7] Kirkus Reviews and the Historical Novel Society also gave favourable reviews.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ Murphy, Jane (1 June 2022). "Desperate Undertaking". Booklist. 118 (19–20): 36–37 – via Gale.
  2. ^ a b c Desperate Undertaking. Hodder & Stoughton. 6 October 2021. ISBN 9781529354713. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Desperate Undertaking". Macmillan. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Desperate Undertaking". Lindsey Davis. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ Davis, Lindsey (2022). Desperate Undertaking. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 1, 77, 181, 277, 311, 355, 375, 389, 399. ISBN 9781529354713.
  6. ^ "Relief of a seated poet (Menander) with masks of New Comedy (y1951-1)". artmuseum.princeton.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2022. Identified in an acknowledgement on the dustjacket
  7. ^ "Desperate Undertaking: A Flavia Albia Novel by Lindsey Davis". Publishers Weekly. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  8. ^ "DESPERATE UNDERTAKING". Kirkus Reviews. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  9. ^ Ashworth, Mike (August 2022). "Desperate Undertaking (Flavia Albia)". Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 27 October 2024.


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