Customer Reviews

Ovid (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read several books of David Wishart and I have found them all very good, witty and enjoyable. 'Ovid', the first one of the series featuring Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus as an upper class Roman detective sets the plot for the subsequent books, 'Germanicus', 'Sejanus' and 'The Lydian Baker', giving new interpretations to known political misteries in the reign of Tiberius, all of it with humor and a very sarcastic (even explicit) language. Marcus Corvinus, a patrician diletant that spends his days and nights enjoying wine (in big quantities), Roman cooking (incredible recipes) and all sorts of entertainment without thought of following his ancestors duty and starting the first steps of his Cursus Honorum, see his lazy existence shattered when a primly and very attractive joung matron, Ovid stepdaughter, remainds him of his duty as a representative of Ovid's patron family to bring back Ovid's ashes from exile. A simple request that turns not so simple when it is rejected by a very scared bureaucrat at the imperial palace, with the note that it has been considered and refused by the highest possible authority, no further explanations given. Mustard up his nose and backed up by generations of stubborn, upper class Valerii, Corvinus sets up to find out what did Ovid really do, back in Augustus time, to have the imperial displeasure extended to a handful of ashes years later, even if that means confronting Tiberius and Livia! For those who enjoyed I Claudius, you will find here a new vision, not necessarily opposed, of the imperial Caesar family and, as the titles indicate in Germanicus and Sejanus, a new vision of some well know episodes of the Tiberius reign. David Wishart has published two additional biography books, 'I Virgil' and 'Nero', that I also recommend. Unfortunately, I have not found any of the books in Amazon, except for 'Ovid', but I hope this will change...

David Wishart was born in Arbroath, Scotland. He studied Classics - Latin and Greek - at Edinburgh University and after graduation taught for four years in a secondary school. He then retrained as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language and worked abroad for eleven years, in Kuwait, Greece and Saudi Arabia. He returned to Scotland in 1990 and now lives with his family in Carnoustie, mixing writing with teaching EFL and study skills at Dundee University.

This is the first in the series of novel by the author featuring Marcus Corvinus, an amateur sleuth and connoisseur of fine wines. The books take a similar theme to the Falco novels of Lindsey Davis, but Falco and Corvinus are from different periods of Roman history. The time period and class of Wishart's sleuth are different. Falco lives in Flavian Rome and has just worked his way into the Equestrian class, while Corvinus is a patrician in the age of Tiberius. However both Corvinus and Falco have a wife behind them, who it could be said, is the making of them.

The books are popular and for anyone who likes Lindsey Davis or Steven Saylor are a must. This one as the title suggest is about Ovid and the mystery behind what he actually did to get himself exiled from Rome.

a lot like Lindsay Davis Falco, the hero is a fun character. Fun reading for those who like Roman history

I thank you or your recommendation of David Wishart's Marcus Covinus mysteries in my Personal Recommendations section. I bought [i]Ovid[/i] and enjoyed it very much. It was as close to a page-turner as I have yet found in historical mysteries. The author's knowledge of ancient Rome in the Early Principate is quite good, both socially and politically. But I do wonder why he chooses to use some of the terms that he does. For instance, he uses the term "Market Square" for the Roman Forum leading the unsuspecting into picturing a bazaar-like atmosphere, whereas the Forum was so much more. It was the political and social center of Rome, the banking center, and the legal center, as well. Similarly, he calls a toga, the draped wrap for which Rome is still famous, a "mantle", implying some sort of a light cloak wrapped loosely around the body such as the ancient Greeks wore. As anyone who has read much about Ancient Rome or even looked at one of their statues of a togate man can easily see, this is hardly the case. The toga was a quite large and heavy item worn formally and draped in a very definite, prescribed fashion. Mr. Wishart's use of the terms was initially somewhat confusing and I believe that he would have served his readers and the story better had he used the terms with which almost all people who would buy his books would be familiar.

Okay, in my first David Wishart book, The Lydian Baker (Marcus Corvinus Mystery), I was very nearly completely put off by the idea of an ancient Roman detective who talks like Philip Marlowe. I was entertained despite myself, and decided to give another book by him a try.

I *still* do not approve of the mixing of periods (Roman noir), but this first book in the series is actually much more successful and even than The Lydian Baker. The set up eases me into the improbably diction much more smoothly and the plot was, for me, much more compelling.

For those of you who are not familiar with the series, Marcus Corvinus is the disreputable son of a patrician Roman family who makes his living as an early private eye. Wishart was a classics scholar before he started writing, and has a good eye for the kinds of historic puzzles that make his bookish fans happy.

Recommended.

There are only a few sources for the Julio-Claudians. The principal ones are Suetonius and Tacitus. Robert Graves translated the most popular modern version of The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. He wrote his famous novel 'I Claudius' based on that translation. He however goes further and 'explains' the missing motives and connects the narrative. Basicaly he tells us Livia killed all of her husband Augustus' heirs to make room for her son Tiberius.

Certainly the evil of Livia is an effective plot device. I Claudius became the basis for a terrific TV series. Everyone loves the story of the wicked Romans as Graves recounts it.

But is it credible?

Wishart buys into the Graves notions about Augustus and Livia. However I find the idea that Caesar Augustus never noticed that his wife was killing his progeny very hard to accept.

First of all Augustus was no dummy. He was arguably the most consequential political figure in world history. He did not gain or keep power on the battlefield but at court. He ruled a long time and overcame many enemies. Presumably he had his own information sources. Yet Graves and Wishart would have us believe that his wife deceived him for decades and he never noticed.

Secondly the average life span in Imperial Rome was 22. Everybody was dying all the time. There were no autopsies. When someone mysteriously died it could always be attributed to a political enemy. Sometimes an enemy did apply poison I'm sure - but who knew which of the deceased died of poison and which of bad hygene or bad luck?

For example it is well known that Claudius died of eating an Amanita Phaloides (or Verna) mushroom which was in a bowl of Amanita Caesare mushrooms. Today no one eats the tasty Caesare variety because its so easy to confuse them with the deadly Phalodides. Accidents still happen when the deadly Amanitas are confused with the common Agaricus Campestras that Boy Scout troops like to gather.

Was that Amanita put in his bowl by Agrippina? Or was it just a mistake? We can never really know but poisoning makes for a better story.

I find the Graves version of history to be unconvincing. I was a liitle disappointed to read that Wishart followed that line.

Persevered to page 18. If you have adolescent children; no, pre-adolescent children, and love to listen to them talk with each other in a stunted vocabulary full of misogyny, off-color language and gross descriptions of bodily fluids, guts, brains oozing out of ears you'll love this book. If you don't stick, with Steven Saylor and John Maddox Roberts.

Old Rome comes alive with David Wishart. I don't know how historically correct he is but it's certainly enjoyable. It's such a different world. Walking everywhere. Slaves and owners but not based on the color of the skin. Just the cooking of food was so different. It's a wonder we have come this far when it seems people have been all the same through the years. Greed moved the world back then and it still does. This book gave me a different perspective on history. I'm getting more of his books.

Corvinius is a wine guzzling noble, wise cracking and judgemental. Yet he falls for a lovely lady who makes one simple request, she wants a relatives body brought back to Rome for burial. Sounds easy until he tries to get permission and wades into deep political waters of murder, thuggery and mayhem. Luckily he swims well and is detects even better.

A wonderful series, all of the books are not available here in the US and I hope that is remedied soon.

Comic, bawdy and extremely engrossing, OVID is an intriguing tale of
mystery and suspense.

'So tell me.' I was getting pretty angry myself now. I'd had a long hard day and I wasn't taking this crap from anyone. 'You just tell me, Dad. Tell me why the emperor hates a dead poet so much he won't allow his ashes back to Rome. Tell me why when I ask questions about a scandal so old that you can't even smell it any more everyone keeps his mouth shut closer than a Vestal's kneecaps. Tell me why I nearly end up in the Tiber with my throat cut...'

Such are the frustrated words of Marcus Corvinus, a young man who likes to have a good time and enjoys wine, women and laughter far more than a hard day's work. He also happens to be the grandson of the Roman poet Ovid's former patron.

So when Ovid's stepdaughter, the luscious Rufia Perilla, begs him to recover the poet's ashes and bring them back to Rome, how can Marcus refuse? Not that the task turns out to be easy: official permission is abruptly denied. And as Marcus starts asking questions in the higher echelons of Roman society he finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a web of secrecy, treachery and deceit.