my fave fiction for grown ups

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault

This book changed my life. After reading it age 18, I decided to study ancient Greek. Mary Renault takes you into the agoras, temples, courtyards, baths and arcades of ancient Athens. The young hero Alexias is fictional, but he meets real historical figures of his time - Socrates, Plato and Xenophon. He competes in the games, takes a dream-cure and fights in the Peloponnesian War. This is one of those rare historical novels that really does what historical novels should do: it transports you to another place and time.

The House of the Vestals by Steven Saylor

Steven Saylor is my favourite of those writing 'adult' Roman mysteries. His detective is Gordianus the Finder, a Roman who investigates mysteries at the end of the Republic, when Julius Caesar lived. I love all Saylor's Gordianus books but this collection of elegantly written short stories is my favourite. I especially like the story called 'Little Caesar and the Pirates.' Saylor inspired me to write my own short stories. One of them appears in the 'Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits' (below) with a short story by Steven Saylor.

The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (UK edition)

I was thrilled to be invited to contribute a Roman detective story to this collection by contemporary authors. I was especially honoured because Steven Saylor was not only contributing but writing the forward. At first I toyed with the idea of taking one of my adult characters from the Roman Mysteries - Sisyphus or Bato - and making them the detective. But I couldn't bear not to write about Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, so here they are in a not-so-short story called 'Bread and Circuses'. It takes place between the events of 'The Dolphins of Laurentum' and 'The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina.'

The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (US edition)

This is the same book as the one above, but for American readers. In twenty stories ranging from the time of Hannibal to the dawn of Byzantium, the fictional detectives meet real characters like Scipio Africanus, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. In one story the detective is Pliny the Younger. These short stories will give you a taste of authors writing Roman mysteries for grown-ups. Try Simon Scarrow's 'Heads you Lose' set during the seige of Jerusalem, Steven Saylor's 'A Gladiator Dies Only Once' or 'The Missing Centurion' written in 1862 and therefore probably the oldest example of this genre.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

O'Brian's historical novels are set during the Napoleonic Wars about 200 years ago. This first book in a series of twenty introduces Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. Two very different personalities, they almost fight a duel, but instead become friends. One becomes a captain, the other a spy. O'Brian plunges you right into the early 19th century, so that you taste the food, smell the brine, hear the violin and cello. You are convinced that he must have lived on board a ship in the age of Jane Austen. Someone once called Patrick O'Brain the best author you've never heard of. Now that they've made a movie: 'The Far Side of the World', that should change.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

When I was about ten or eleven I outgrew Nancy Drew and fell in love with science fiction. I discovered the sci-fi ABC's: Asimov, Bradbury and Clarke, but it wasn't till I was over 30 that I discovered D – Philip K. Dick, the best sci-fi writer of all. This story, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is the book that the film Blade Runner is based on. The thing I love most about Dick is something I don't get excited about in any other author: his IDEAS. Many other writers have stolen from him but he is the best.

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

'I first met him in Piraeus.' Whenever I am ill, this is my comfort book. I read it propped up on cushions sipping sweet hot sage, like the narrator in the opening scene. He is sitting in a rain-lashed bar in the port of Athens, waiting for the ferry that will take him to a new life. But it is Zorba who leads him to his new life. One of the most amazing, vibrant characters in the whole world of fiction, Zorba is childlike and warlike, gentle and sly, constantly amazed at the beauty and strangeness of this earth. And through his eyes we see the beauty, barbarity, sinfulness and sorrow of a Greek island: Crete.

Peace Like a River by Lief Enger

Eleven-year-old Reuben Hand begins life by not breathing for twelve minutes. But by a miracle he survives 'in order to be a witness' to other miracles. He is the compelling narrator of this funny, tragic, and ultimately uplifting story. 'Peace Like a River' has elements of 'To Kill A Mockingbird', 'Cold Mountain', and Cormac McCarthy's modern westerns, but it is a masterpiece in its own right. Every sentence is a joy, every thought is fresh, every character believable. Without being preachy or moralising it does what stories are meant to do: inspires you to live a better life. This was my favourite book of 2002.

Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy

It's no secret that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favourite TV programmes, mostly because of the superb scriptwriting, which has influenced my own plot structure and character development. Joss Whedon probably is a genius. He is certainly very funny. 'This is possibly the finest book of the century!' he quips. 'It's exactly like Tale of Two Cities but with 30 per cent more me.' This book could be better but most devoted Buffy fans out there will want to add it to their library

This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart

A mystery in the Mediterranean. A clever amateur female detective.
Dolphins swimmining in phosphorescence. And a dramatic dolphin rescue.
No, it's not The Dolphins of Laurentum.
It's Mary Stewart's classic whodunnit set on Corfu, Prospero's Island.
Very exciting and romantic

Rendezvous in Rome by Carolyn Keene

In the summer of 1999 my sister Jennifer said 'Why don't you write a book for kids set in Pompeii?' My first thought was 'Of course! Nancy Drew in ancient Rome!' So imagine my delight when I recently discovered that Nancy actually dig go to Rome for one of her later mysteries. In Rendezvous in Rome, our teen sleuth investigates the theft of a valuable piece of Etruscan jewellry!

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