Product Description

Rome. AD 70. Private eye Marcus Didius Falco knows his way round the eternal city. He can handle the muggers, the police and most of the girls. But one fresh 16 year old, Sosia Camillina, finds him a case no Roman should be getting his nose into ...Sosia's uncle is a Senator with suspicions. Some friends, Romans and countryment are doing a highly profitable, if highly illegal, trade in silver ingots or pigs. For Falco it's the start of a murderous trail that leads far beyond the seven hills. To a godforsaken land called Britain, to Emperor Vespasian himself, and to Helana Justina - a lady leagues out of Falco's class.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27305 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 318 pages

From the Back Cover
Rome, AD 70.
One hot day in the Forum, Marcus Didius Falco, private informer, runs into sweet sixteen-year-old Sosia Camilina. She is fleeing for her life. Rescuing her is the start of a dangerous game, involving stolen imperial ingots and a dark political plot. Commissioned by mysterious, highly-placed clients for a job he knows he does not want, Falco is drawn on the long trail to Britain, where he endures physical hardship and heartache in the deadly silver mines.
Mother knows best, but even she cannot help her boy once he meets Helena Justina, a Senator's daughter who is connected to the traitors he has sworn to expose. She is out of his class; he is out of his depth - but for Falco the challenge is irresistible...
The Silver Pigs is the first book in Lindsey Davis's bestselling Falco series. This new edition has an introduction by the author.
'One of the most original and endearing books since the first Flashman' Time Out

'Davis's writing zings with fun' Daily Mail

About the Author
Lindsey Davis's first Falco novel, The Silver Pigs, was published in 1989. Since then, her novel Two For the Lions won the inaugural Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in 1998, and in 1999 she received the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective for her creation, Marcus Didius Falco. Lindsey's last ten novels have all been Sunday Times hardback bestsellers. She was born in Birmingham but now lives in Greenwich.

Customer Reviews

A darker novel, but with life and humour
This first 'Falco' novel from Lindsey Davis has a more sombre quality than her subsequent novels but with no less humour and attention to characterisation. This remains my favourite of the series, partly because it defines the relationships between the principal characters. It also tells the events that form the haunting memories of some of Davies' later novels. Like any good read it expands beyond the confines of the pages and grabs the imagination. The smells of the ancient Roman empire, both fragrant and foul, infuse the pages.

Introducing Falco
This is the first of a series of detective stories set in Vespasian's Roman Empire and featuring the informer Marcus Didius Falco.

I tried this historical detective story because I had enjoyed Ellis Peter's "Brother Cadfael" detective stories. They were excellent but this is brilliant, as is the rest of the series.

Funny, exciting, and based on a painstaking effort to re-create the world of 70 AD.

By chance, Falco rescues a 16-year old girl called Sosia Camillina from a gang of thugs. She turns out to be the illegitimate niece of a senator, who suspects that an illegal trade is going on in silver pigs (ingots) from a godforsaken remote corner of the empire - Britain. To Falco's disgust he has to return to this barbaric spot where he had once served with the legions ...

The events of this story very from the tragic to the hilarious, and are often completely unexpected.

If you have met and enjoyed the Cadfael series, this is even better.

It isn't absolutely essential to read these stories in sequence, as the mysteries Falco is trying to solve are all self-contained stories and each can stand on its own. Having said that, there is some ongoing development of characters and relationships and I think reading them in the right order does improve the experience.

The full Falco series, in chronological order, consists at the moment of:

The Silver Pigs
Shadows in Bronze
Venus in Copper
The Iron Hand of Mars
Poseidon's Gold
Last Act in Palmyra
Time to Depart
A Dying Light in Corduba
Three Hands in the Fountain
Two for the Lions
One Virgin Too Many
Ode to a Banker
A Body in the Bath house
The Jupiter Myth
The Accusers
Scandal taks a Holiday
See Delphi and Die
Saturnalia
Alexandria

I have read and can warmly recommend all of these.

Lindsey Davis has also written a historical novel set in the same timeframe called "The Course of Honor" which is about the love affair between Vespasian and his mistress Caenis. The author has taken the two sentences from Suetonius which are all we know of Caenis, and from them she has conjured the vital image of a woman beautiful in both form and personality and a charming love story.

An excellent mystery novel set in ancient Rome. 10/10
Based in ancient Rome in the time of the emperor Vespasian, The Silver Pigs finds itself deep in the intrigue and deception of the roman administrators, right to the top. In his search for the truth it takes Falco, (the main character), to near death in the distant, and freezing, (the Romans didn't have underwear), province of Britannia. Of course, he saves the day but only by weaving his way through the rich and twisting tapestry of everyday life as a roman citizen.
The book is based on a strong plot and a very likable character, but is highly detailed about roman politics and everyday roman life. Anyone can read and enjoy this, you don't have to know anything about ancient Rome but it will appeal more to those who like the roman period. The best thing about the book is that it is the first in a string of Falco novels (thirteen so far, I have them all), so once you are hooked you can follow your hero all over the roman empire as he eaks out an existence doing his bit for Rome and tries to inch his way up the greasy pole to a better life.
I would give this book 10/10, one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read.