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Invitation to Die: A Short Story of Falco's Rome
Emperor Domitian is hosting a banquet for the senators in honour of fallen soldiers, and it's an invitation Aelianus and Justinus Camillus dare not refuse. On arrival, they enter a black-painted room furnished with couches resembling those found in mausoleums, complete with a tombstone bearing each of the senators' names. As the evening progresses the brothers conclude that Domitian has finally turned against them for their uncle's part in a plot to oust his father, and start to wonder if they'll ever see the light of day again . . .
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Praise for Lindsey Davis and the Flavia Albia series
'Lindsey Davis has seen off all her competitors to become the unassailable market leader in the 'crime in Ancient Rome' genre . . . Davis's squalid, vibrant Rome is as pleasurable as ever' - Guardian
'Davis's prose is a lively joy, and Flavia's Rome is sinister and gloriously real' - The Times on Sunday
'For fans of crime fiction set in the ancient world, this one is not to be missed' - Booklist
'Davis's books crackle with wit and knowledge . . . She has the happy knack of making the reader feel entirely immersed in Rome' - The Times
*************
Praise for Lindsey Davis and the Flavia Albia series
'Lindsey Davis has seen off all her competitors to become the unassailable market leader in the 'crime in Ancient Rome' genre . . . Davis's squalid, vibrant Rome is as pleasurable as ever' - Guardian
'Davis's prose is a lively joy, and Flavia's Rome is sinister and gloriously real' - The Times on Sunday
'For fans of crime fiction set in the ancient world, this one is not to be missed' - Booklist
'Davis's books crackle with wit and knowledge . . . She has the happy knack of making the reader feel entirely immersed in Rome' - The Times
89 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2019
152 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Lindsey Davis
78 books1,493 followersLindsey Davis, historical novelist, was born in Birmingham, England in 1949. Having taken a degree in English literature at Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall), she became a civil servant. She left the civil service after 13 years, and when a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she decided to become a writer, writing at first romantic serials for the UK women's magazine Woman's Realm.
Her interest in history and archaeology led to her writing a historical novel about Vespasian and his lover Antonia Caenis (The Course of Honour), for which she couldn't find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the Roman "detective", Marcus Didius Falco, The Silver Pigs, set in the same time period and published in 1989, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of historical whodunnits. A further nineteen Falco novels and Falco: The Official Companion have followed, as well as The Course of Honour, which was finally published in 1998. Rebels and Traitors, set in the period of the English Civil War, was published in September 2009. Davis has won many literary awards, and was honorary president of the Classical Association from 1997 to 1998.
Her interest in history and archaeology led to her writing a historical novel about Vespasian and his lover Antonia Caenis (The Course of Honour), for which she couldn't find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the Roman "detective", Marcus Didius Falco, The Silver Pigs, set in the same time period and published in 1989, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of historical whodunnits. A further nineteen Falco novels and Falco: The Official Companion have followed, as well as The Course of Honour, which was finally published in 1998. Rebels and Traitors, set in the period of the English Civil War, was published in September 2009. Davis has won many literary awards, and was honorary president of the Classical Association from 1997 to 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 18, 2022
Have you ever suffered working for a paranoid, murderous boss?
Well pity the ancient Romans who really suffered under their paranoid, murderous emperor Domitian.
Two brothers must dine with him this night.
Claudia's children are fascinated by a solider delivering invitations of dinner with the emperor.
Two of her boys had found the time to throw on red tunics and grab their little wooden toy swords—as had her daughter. This girlie, only about four years old, seemed even more excited than her brothers to be meeting real soldiers. All three ran straight up to take a close look.
The soldiers shrank together. They only knew civilians as foreign scum, tribal trolls that they were allowed to plunder, curse and rape. Bold, rich Roman tots were new. They were worried.
“Leave them alone,” said the mother vaguely. She had a big nose and a distracted manner. “You don’t know where they’ve been.” Although this was presumably addressed to the children, it could just as easily be a warning to the soldiery about her offspring.
Lessons in language
“Shit!” said the officer again, glad to have the answer, yet needing to relieve his annoyance at this pickle. A couple of the children took up the word, noting the kind of occasion when you could officially use it. With sidelong glances towards their mother, they began trying it out together in undertones, testing it on the tongue like an exotic new fruit.
“What is this extra meal about? What does Domitian want to say to the Senate? Is he up to something?” she cajoled. As the wife of a man who depended on her for money, and as the mother of many self-willed infants, she knew how to squeeze; people faced with Claudia Rufina found they would weakly cooperate.
The officer’s orders had been specific: no collusion. He tapped his nose, in a more-than-my-post’s-worth gesture. All he would say was: “It is a banquet for the fallen.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Meline, much too brightly. “Claudia darling, Domitian wants to talk about death!”
“Oh shit!” whispered one of the little boys. He was about eight, but had correctly interpreted this as a situation when he was allowed to say it.
Poison at the dinner?
“So you are definitely going?” he asked. “Don’t eat the mushrooms, then!”
This was a time-honoured joke about the Emperor Claudius, who supposedly died at the palace from poison in his dinner. There tended to be fewer jokes about emperors who might themselves poison other people. It could be you next.
The role of the Roman wife
Meline smiled. Generations of women in Karystos had shown her that a wife’s role was to let her husband make pronouncements, which she should serenely ignore.
Whatever happened to the official poisoner?
“Do we think Locusta is still alive?”
“If so, she would have to be about two hundred.”
“Sipping at the Fountain of Youth?”
“No, I think she was killed in the Year of the Four Emperors.”
“Poison?”
“Natural causes—execution.”
The older sister's duties
Meline found herself sitting up straighter in her basket chair, as if a more-than-usually caustic aunt had descended on them. The aunts of Karystos were legendary.
Helena Justina was the archetypal elder sister. Nobody called her bossy—no one dared—but she had supervised her brothers all their lives, which was absolutely for their own good.
With their families at home worrying if their husbands/fathers would return the two brothers at the dreadful dinner are even less sure of their survival under the care of Domitian.
Take delight in this creepy tale from Lindsey Davis who brings ancient Rome to life and death.
Enjoy!
Well pity the ancient Romans who really suffered under their paranoid, murderous emperor Domitian.
Two brothers must dine with him this night.
Claudia's children are fascinated by a solider delivering invitations of dinner with the emperor.
Two of her boys had found the time to throw on red tunics and grab their little wooden toy swords—as had her daughter. This girlie, only about four years old, seemed even more excited than her brothers to be meeting real soldiers. All three ran straight up to take a close look.
The soldiers shrank together. They only knew civilians as foreign scum, tribal trolls that they were allowed to plunder, curse and rape. Bold, rich Roman tots were new. They were worried.
“Leave them alone,” said the mother vaguely. She had a big nose and a distracted manner. “You don’t know where they’ve been.” Although this was presumably addressed to the children, it could just as easily be a warning to the soldiery about her offspring.
Lessons in language
“Shit!” said the officer again, glad to have the answer, yet needing to relieve his annoyance at this pickle. A couple of the children took up the word, noting the kind of occasion when you could officially use it. With sidelong glances towards their mother, they began trying it out together in undertones, testing it on the tongue like an exotic new fruit.
“What is this extra meal about? What does Domitian want to say to the Senate? Is he up to something?” she cajoled. As the wife of a man who depended on her for money, and as the mother of many self-willed infants, she knew how to squeeze; people faced with Claudia Rufina found they would weakly cooperate.
The officer’s orders had been specific: no collusion. He tapped his nose, in a more-than-my-post’s-worth gesture. All he would say was: “It is a banquet for the fallen.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Meline, much too brightly. “Claudia darling, Domitian wants to talk about death!”
“Oh shit!” whispered one of the little boys. He was about eight, but had correctly interpreted this as a situation when he was allowed to say it.
Poison at the dinner?
“So you are definitely going?” he asked. “Don’t eat the mushrooms, then!”
This was a time-honoured joke about the Emperor Claudius, who supposedly died at the palace from poison in his dinner. There tended to be fewer jokes about emperors who might themselves poison other people. It could be you next.
The role of the Roman wife
Meline smiled. Generations of women in Karystos had shown her that a wife’s role was to let her husband make pronouncements, which she should serenely ignore.
Whatever happened to the official poisoner?
“Do we think Locusta is still alive?”
“If so, she would have to be about two hundred.”
“Sipping at the Fountain of Youth?”
“No, I think she was killed in the Year of the Four Emperors.”
“Poison?”
“Natural causes—execution.”
The older sister's duties
Meline found herself sitting up straighter in her basket chair, as if a more-than-usually caustic aunt had descended on them. The aunts of Karystos were legendary.
Helena Justina was the archetypal elder sister. Nobody called her bossy—no one dared—but she had supervised her brothers all their lives, which was absolutely for their own good.
With their families at home worrying if their husbands/fathers would return the two brothers at the dreadful dinner are even less sure of their survival under the care of Domitian.
Take delight in this creepy tale from Lindsey Davis who brings ancient Rome to life and death.
Enjoy!
June 17, 2019
Charles van Buren
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars Set in the world of the Falco and Flavia Albia stories
June 16, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Review of the Kindle edition
Publication date: June 4, 2019
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Language: English
ASIN: B07NH9M64D
In this story Ms Davis takes the position that the Emperor Domitian was a tyrant and a viscious, dangerous monster who initiated a reign of terror. Indeed, upon his death, that was the Roman view and for centuries was the accepted view. Many modern historians seem to think that Domitian was actually a pretty good emperor with bad press. However, this story wouldn't work unless Domitian was a monster who presided over a reign of terror against the Roman aristocracy and the senate.
The upper classes live in fear which is heightened by a strange invitation to the senators to attend what proves to be a nerve racking, terror inducing dinner with the emperor. Some would say nothing happens in this story. True only if you regard knee knocking terror as nothing. It certainly wasn't nothing to the unfortunate guests at Domintian's dinner.
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars Set in the world of the Falco and Flavia Albia stories
June 16, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Review of the Kindle edition
Publication date: June 4, 2019
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Language: English
ASIN: B07NH9M64D
In this story Ms Davis takes the position that the Emperor Domitian was a tyrant and a viscious, dangerous monster who initiated a reign of terror. Indeed, upon his death, that was the Roman view and for centuries was the accepted view. Many modern historians seem to think that Domitian was actually a pretty good emperor with bad press. However, this story wouldn't work unless Domitian was a monster who presided over a reign of terror against the Roman aristocracy and the senate.
The upper classes live in fear which is heightened by a strange invitation to the senators to attend what proves to be a nerve racking, terror inducing dinner with the emperor. Some would say nothing happens in this story. True only if you regard knee knocking terror as nothing. It certainly wasn't nothing to the unfortunate guests at Domintian's dinner.
May 11, 2020
I love Lindsey Davis books but get impatient between publications, so this is a short novella to enjoy that brings the family together (Falco, Flavia, etc.)
Thankful I did not live under the rule of Domitian! This would be a good Halloween read.
Thankful I did not live under the rule of Domitian! This would be a good Halloween read.
March 8, 2019
A dark dish
A three star because it is a short story but really a five star for tension, humour and excitement. The tricky Camilli brother's are invited to a senatorial banquet by homicidal maniac Emperor Domitian. Will they survive? Back home their wives and Aunty Helena get tipsy and prepare for the worst. Hugely enjoyable. All our beloved Falco's relatives are a joy. Roll on the next Flavia story and could we have more of the brothers and please, please, please, some more Falco. How we miss that sexy mischief maker. Even Flavia's gorgeous man isn't as fascinating as our wily boy. And please, more of his extended family. Never dull, always entertaining. They make the ancient past live again.
A three star because it is a short story but really a five star for tension, humour and excitement. The tricky Camilli brother's are invited to a senatorial banquet by homicidal maniac Emperor Domitian. Will they survive? Back home their wives and Aunty Helena get tipsy and prepare for the worst. Hugely enjoyable. All our beloved Falco's relatives are a joy. Roll on the next Flavia story and could we have more of the brothers and please, please, please, some more Falco. How we miss that sexy mischief maker. Even Flavia's gorgeous man isn't as fascinating as our wily boy. And please, more of his extended family. Never dull, always entertaining. They make the ancient past live again.
June 7, 2019
Davis returns us to Falco's world, revealing Ancient Rome as one just as psychologically and socially complex as our own. It's the specifics that always get me with her work, evidence of much reading and research, from how people dress according to their rank and occasion to the execution of bureaucratic tasks. Her message, though delivered with a wink and unabashed use of slightly slangy British English, is that this culture was a sophisticated one full of a variety of people of different origins, of various personalities, and with similar motivations and desires. Her characters are not necessarily realistic, but she blows the dust off this era and makes it come alive with nuance and sensory detail.
April 10, 2019
As short story about a historical dinner party. Possibly an apocryphal story, about a dark dinner thrown by possibly tyrannical Emperor Domitian. Incredibly atmospheric, and really worth a read if you've read some or all of the Falco books.
May 16, 2019
Amusing Short Story for a rainy afternoon
June 14, 2019
This novella brings together family members from author Lindsey Davis’s closely related Falco and Flavia Alba series, both set during the Rome’s Flavian period—two good emperors followed by a monster. That monster invites his full senate to dinner one evening, including brothers Aulus and Quintus. We watch how they and their extended families deal with the possibility that it is, indeed, an invitation to death. Based on an actual incident during the reign of the emperor Domitian, the story has all the texture one expects from Lindsey Davis, if a little less drama. It seems like a set-up for what may be coming in the Flavia Alba books. Quick read, but certainly worth the low price for Davis fans.
September 21, 2019
Lindsey Davis is a Superstar author in every aspect! Not only does she have the temerity and discipline to produce a book a year, the books are consistently as good as the first she wrote. Whereas an author can write one great book, an author who can, on schedule, produce book after book filled with unique mysteries and unforgettable characters (as well as making you feel as if your feet were solidly on the Roman Aventunes in the first century A.D.) is an author who should go down in history as a Literary Great.
I was delighted to have fresh material from two more characters of the Falco household. I love having unique perspectives of characters about whom I’ve spent years and years reading. This novella was a welcome respite in the time spent waiting for a new Flavia Alba book. The story does not disappoint and Davis’s dry, English wit is ever present.
Thank you Ms. Davis! Thank you for everything you’ve given to me!… $15 is a small price to pay for the magnificent-and munificent-amount of entertainment and historical knowledge I’ve gained over the last decade.
As you can see, this is less about the book and more about Ms. Davis and her utilization of the gift she was given! These accolades, in my opinion, are long overdue!
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I was delighted to have fresh material from two more characters of the Falco household. I love having unique perspectives of characters about whom I’ve spent years and years reading. This novella was a welcome respite in the time spent waiting for a new Flavia Alba book. The story does not disappoint and Davis’s dry, English wit is ever present.
Thank you Ms. Davis! Thank you for everything you’ve given to me!… $15 is a small price to pay for the magnificent-and munificent-amount of entertainment and historical knowledge I’ve gained over the last decade.
As you can see, this is less about the book and more about Ms. Davis and her utilization of the gift she was given! These accolades, in my opinion, are long overdue!
.
November 3, 2019
The Emperor Domitian was known to be capricious and ruthless. So when he invites all the Senators in Rome to dinner -- and invitation they can't refuse, all are worried that they won't survive the evening. This includes Aelianus and Justinus Camillus, brothers-in-law to Marcus Didius Falco, the hero many mystery novels by Lindsay Davis.
This novella isn't a mystery. Instead, it's a solid historical, centered on characters we know. Davis, as usual, captures Roman life -- including how family life worked-- as well as the way Rome must have felt under Domitian. Though she also at least briefly touches on what Domitian also did well.
A good historical novella. It can be read by anyone, though probably it's best appreciated by those who are already familiar with Davis' mystery series.
This novella isn't a mystery. Instead, it's a solid historical, centered on characters we know. Davis, as usual, captures Roman life -- including how family life worked-- as well as the way Rome must have felt under Domitian. Though she also at least briefly touches on what Domitian also did well.
A good historical novella. It can be read by anyone, though probably it's best appreciated by those who are already familiar with Davis' mystery series.
July 28, 2019
Lindsey says someone assumed Helena was an only child, so she wrote a stand alone short story/novella to refute the fact.
Aulus and Quintus live side by side in the family house at the Capena gate (it was divided to accomodate a previous pair of brothers). Both brothers (along with the rest of the senate) receive an unexpected invitation to a banquet hosted by the more than slightly paranoid emperor Domitian. The banquet is arranged to demonstrate the emperor's power to destroy anyone who might oppose him.
There are echoes of a current megalomaniac ruler and details to flesh out the brothers' home life.
Aulus and Quintus live side by side in the family house at the Capena gate (it was divided to accomodate a previous pair of brothers). Both brothers (along with the rest of the senate) receive an unexpected invitation to a banquet hosted by the more than slightly paranoid emperor Domitian. The banquet is arranged to demonstrate the emperor's power to destroy anyone who might oppose him.
There are echoes of a current megalomaniac ruler and details to flesh out the brothers' home life.
July 14, 2019
An intimate glimpse in into the Camillus brothers' home life..
A tense novella set on the evening after the Emperor Domitian's "triumphant" return to Rome after a costly but ultimately underwhelming campaign in the East. The entire Senate, including Helena's brothers, Aulus and Quintus, are invited to a banquet to "honor the dead." Just what sort of "honors" the Emperor has in mind provides the suspense. We get to see the action from their wives perspective as well while Falco & Albia remain off-stage. A tantalizing appetizer that leaves us hungry for the next installment.
A tense novella set on the evening after the Emperor Domitian's "triumphant" return to Rome after a costly but ultimately underwhelming campaign in the East. The entire Senate, including Helena's brothers, Aulus and Quintus, are invited to a banquet to "honor the dead." Just what sort of "honors" the Emperor has in mind provides the suspense. We get to see the action from their wives perspective as well while Falco & Albia remain off-stage. A tantalizing appetizer that leaves us hungry for the next installment.
January 28, 2023
Dominitan is back in Rome and makes his presence felt straight away by hosting a dinner for the senate, senators only invited. The Camilli brothers have their own family reasons for reading Dominitan's wrath, but so far have managed to stay beneath his notice but they cannot refuse this invitation. The wives and family are left to worry at home as they set off for what they fear may be their last meal. What follows is a nightmarish event the product of a diabolical mind, the brothers just look to each other for strength and support hoping to be able to go home after its all over........
Read
July 15, 2025this was less of a story with a tension-driven plot and mystery and more of a wrap-up for long time fans of lindsey davis who want to know where the camillus family ends up some 10-odd years after the end of the falco series
and anyway, i will eat it up bc of the insight it gives us into claudia and quintus specifically bc i love marital tension plot lines and their character/relationship development is so interesting to me. also their children are hilarious. also yay aelianus for settling into his own happiness in life after being such a crabby loner during his 20s
and anyway, i will eat it up bc of the insight it gives us into claudia and quintus specifically bc i love marital tension plot lines and their character/relationship development is so interesting to me. also their children are hilarious. also yay aelianus for settling into his own happiness in life after being such a crabby loner during his 20s
August 6, 2021
( Format : ebook/kindle)
"Don't blame me sir. I'm just the messenger."
Lindsey Davis is a truly talented writer, delivering an atmospheric story of a single night in senatorial Rome under Vespasian. Even better, the reader gets to meet again with Falco's two brothers in law, and their sister, Helena Justina.
A short, quick read, each sentence packed with menace and emotion. Brilliant.
"Don't blame me sir. I'm just the messenger."
Lindsey Davis is a truly talented writer, delivering an atmospheric story of a single night in senatorial Rome under Vespasian. Even better, the reader gets to meet again with Falco's two brothers in law, and their sister, Helena Justina.
A short, quick read, each sentence packed with menace and emotion. Brilliant.
November 13, 2022
A Dictator 's Sinister Dinner
The Camallai brothers are both summoned to Domitian's palace along with other Senators for some nefarious purpose, but what and why? Fear and dread rule the night, how will it end? The reader will not be disappointed by the many twists and turns, but is left wondering, who wind in the end. Very interesting read which I highly recommend.
The Camallai brothers are both summoned to Domitian's palace along with other Senators for some nefarious purpose, but what and why? Fear and dread rule the night, how will it end? The reader will not be disappointed by the many twists and turns, but is left wondering, who wind in the end. Very interesting read which I highly recommend.
June 17, 2019
Invitation to more?
This is a mood piece, a welcome return to check in on old friends we had come to know and care for during re twenty Falco books. It's nice to see how they are doing, as time passes, and be reminded that life and adventures Wil continue.
This is a mood piece, a welcome return to check in on old friends we had come to know and care for during re twenty Falco books. It's nice to see how they are doing, as time passes, and be reminded that life and adventures Wil continue.
June 19, 2019
Great Addition to the Falco Universe
Thank you so much for this quick story that adds to the continuing expansion of characters in Falco's Rome. I cannot wait for your next offering. A great read , I could not put it down.
Thank you so much for this quick story that adds to the continuing expansion of characters in Falco's Rome. I cannot wait for your next offering. A great read , I could not put it down.
July 10, 2019
Domition invites the entire senate of Rome to dinner. What could possibly go wrong? One shudders to think. The brothers cannot refuse but oh how they wish they could! Sa great read! Deliciously suspenseful and positively nerve at times but, over all , delightful. I may just go read it again!
November 25, 2019
A tense visit with the Camilli brothers, their wives, and Helena, their sister. It was interesting to see other character's POV of the newlyweds and Falco while lingering with the family for a bit. Domitian was really not a nice guy, but we knew this.
April 18, 2020
A satisfying prequel to Master and God
This novella nicely ties the Falco and Albia mystery novels to the historical novel. It also supplies more depth to the story of the Camilli brothers.
This novella nicely ties the Falco and Albia mystery novels to the historical novel. It also supplies more depth to the story of the Camilli brothers.
April 29, 2020
The story of Emperor Domitian's notorious Black Banquet, as seen by the senatorial relatives of Davis's fictional detective Marcus Didius Falco. A serious historical event leavened with Davis's wit and irony. On finishing this I moved my unread Falco mysteries up the TBR list.
July 25, 2022
As usual, a bracingly well written book which I just couldn't put down. I love the merge of true historical content with fiction and it was good to see some old familiar characters from a new perspective. Thanks you Lindsay Davies...please keep up this magical writing
December 29, 2024
an odd story
I suspect this story was based on fact. That something rather like this had really happened. I’ll have to look it up. The author is excellent. I shall search out more of her books.
I suspect this story was based on fact. That something rather like this had really happened. I’ll have to look it up. The author is excellent. I shall search out more of her books.
June 13, 2019
Always a good read and I always come away having learned something new about ancient Rome.
June 14, 2019
Gripping account of one event in the tyrannical reign of the Emperor Domitian.
June 28, 2019
Vivid descriptions and palpable sense of tension. One of her best.
July 18, 2019
A chilling but witty look at what life was like under Emperor Domitian
September 25, 2019
A very timely tale.
It's scary how similar ancient Roman politics are to current events. This is an inciteful story about tyrants and their self importance.
It's scary how similar ancient Roman politics are to current events. This is an inciteful story about tyrants and their self importance.
January 30, 2020
Fin scary read
I thoroughly loved the huma elements of life in ancient Rome . Noy too unlike today
Great read that you will enjoy
I thoroughly loved the huma elements of life in ancient Rome . Noy too unlike today
Great read that you will enjoy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews