Editing Lindsey Davis

{{short description|English novelist}}
{{About|the historical novelist|the American bishop (born 1948)|G. Lindsey Davis}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name         = Lindsey Davis
| caption      = 
| pseudonym    = 
| birth_date   = {{birth year and age|1949}}
| birth_place  = [[Birmingham]], England
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| nationality = British
| occupation   = [[novelist]]
| period       = 1989–present
| genre        = [[Historical whodunnit|Historical crime fiction]]
| movement     = 
| notableworks = Marcus Didius Falco series, Flavia Albia series
| website      = {{URL|http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/}}
}}
'''Lindsey Davis''' (born 1949) is an English [[historical novel]]ist, best known as the author of the Falco series of [[historical mystery|historical crime stories]] set in [[ancient Rome]] and its empire. She is a recipient of the [[Cartier Diamond Dagger]] award.

==Life and career==
Davis was born in [[Birmingham]] and after taking a degree in [[English literature]] at [[Oxford University]] ([[Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|Lady Margaret Hall]]),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/Alumni/Prominent-alumni.aspx | title=LMH, Oxford - Prominent Alumni|access-date=20 May 2015}}</ref> she became a [[civil servant]] for 13 years. When a [[romantic novel]] she had written was runner up for the 1985 ''[[Georgette Heyer]] Historical Novel Prize'', she decided to become a writer, at first writing romantic serials for the UK women's magazine ''[[Woman's Realm]]''. One of these, ''The Bride from Bithynia'', was published in her 2023 collection ''Voices of Rome''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Lindsey |title=Voices of Rome |date=2023 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=9781399721332 |page=10-11 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref> 

Her dedication of the book ''[[Rebels and Traitors]]'' (2009) reads: "For Richard / dearest and closest of friends / your favourite book / in memory", and the author's website relates: "I am still getting used to life without my dear Richard. For those of you who haven't seen this before, he died in October [2008]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |title=Lindsey's page |work=The Official Lindsey Davis Website |access-date=2009-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429084212/http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |archive-date=2009-04-29 }}</ref> The author says in her publisher's newsletter: "The greatest recommendation I can give is that Richard, its first reader, thought it wonderful. He devoured chunks, demanding ‘Bring more story!’ even when he was in hospital. One of the last things I was ever able to tell him was that ''Rebels and Traitors'' was to be published by Random House, so I would be working with dear friends for his favourite book."<ref name=news09>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/lindsey_davis/issue9/Lindsey%20Newsletter.pdf|title=The Lindsey Davis Newsletter, no. 9|date=January 2009|work=Random House Publishing|access-date=2009-03-31|archive-date=19 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519201552/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/lindsey_davis/issue9/Lindsey%20Newsletter.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Davis suffered from the eye condition [[keratoconus]] from childhood, and in adulthood had a [[corneal transplant]], about which she has said: "A stranger's generosity freed me from years of pain and anxiety" and urges her readers to carry a [[donor card]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Lindsey|title=Five-minute memoir: Lindsey Davis on life with her brand new eye|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/fiveminute-memoir-lindsey-davis-on-life-with-her-brand-new-eye-7618940.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/fiveminute-memoir-lindsey-davis-on-life-with-her-brand-new-eye-7618940.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 August 2012|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=7 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lindsey's Page: Organ Donor Card Appeal |url=http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |publisher=The Official Website of Lindsey Davis |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911103325/http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |archive-date=11 September 2012 }}</ref>

==Writing==
Davis's 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 could not find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] "[[detective]]", Marcus Didius Falco, ''The Silver Pigs'' (1989), set in the same time period, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of [[historical whodunnit]]s.  A further 19 Falco novels have followed, as well as ''The Course of Honour'', which was published in 1997.  She published ''[[Falco: The Official Companion]]'' in June 2010.

''[[Rebels and Traitors]]'', set in the period of the [[English Civil War]], was published in September 2009.

''[[Master and God]]'', published in March 2012, is set in ancient Rome and concerns the emperor [[Domitian]].

In 2012, Davis and her publishers, [[Hodder & Stoughton]] in the UK and [[St. Martin's Press]] in the US, announced that she was writing a new series of books centred on Flavia Albia, Falco's British-born adopted daughter and "an established female investigator". The first title, ''[[The Ides of April]]'' was published on 11 April 2013 in the UK,<ref name=flavia>{{cite web|title=Lindsey's page: Next Book |url=http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |publisher=The Official Website of Lindsey Davis |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911103325/http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseyspage.htm |archive-date=11 September 2012 }} ''(Copy of publishers' press release)''</ref> and its sequel, ''[[Enemies at Home]]'', was published in 2014,<ref name=ld-enemies>{{cite web|url = http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/publications/enemies-at-home/|title = Enemies at Home|website = Lindsey Davis official website|access-date = 1 August 2013}}</ref> followed by annual additions. In an interview in 2019 Davis discussed her plan to write an Albia novel set on each of the [[seven hills of Rome]], starting with the [[Aventine Hill]] in the book ''The Ides of April'' and culminating with the [[Capitoline Hill]] in the book ''[[A Capitol Death]]''.<ref name=hodder-interview />  By 2022 she had published three more Albia books, set in particular locations just outside the [[Servian Wall|wall of Rome]]. After two further books in and around Rome, her 13th Flavia Alba book will be set near [[Pompeii]], ten years after [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD|the eruption of Vesuvius]].<ref name=lindsey2024oct7 />

Davis has won many literary awards, including, in 2011, the [[Cartier Diamond Dagger]] of the Crime Writers' Association given to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution to the genre.<ref name=allen>{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Katie|title=Davis to be awarded Cartier Diamond Dagger Award|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/davis-be-awarded-cartier-diamond-dagger-award.html|access-date=26 January 2011|newspaper=[[The Bookseller]]|date=25 January 2011}}</ref> She was honorary president of the [[Classical Association]] from 1997 to 1998, and is a life member of the Council of the [[Society of Authors]].<ref name="soa">{{cite web |title=About: Council and President: Lindsey Davis |url=https://www.societyofauthors.org/About-Us/Council/Lindsey-Davis |website=www.societyofauthors.org |publisher=The Society of Authors |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref>

== Published works ==

=== Marcus Didius Falco ===
# ''[[The Silver Pigs]]'' (1989)
# ''[[Shadows in Bronze]]'' (1990)
# ''[[Venus in Copper]]'' (1991)
# ''[[The Iron Hand of Mars]]'' (1992)
# ''[[Poseidon's Gold]]'' (1993)
# ''[[Last Act in Palmyra]]'' (1994)
# ''[[Time to Depart]]'' (1995)
# ''[[A Dying Light in Corduba]]'' (1996)
# ''[[Three Hands in the Fountain]]'' (1997)
# ''[[Two for the Lions]]'' (1998)
# ''[[One Virgin Too Many]]'' (1999)
# ''[[Ode to a Banker]]'' (2000)
# ''[[A Body in the Bath House]]'' (2001)
# ''[[The Jupiter Myth]]'' (2002)
# ''[[The Accusers]]'' (2003)
# ''[[Scandal Takes a Holiday]]'' (2004)
# ''[[See Delphi and Die]]'' (2005)
# ''[[Saturnalia (Davis novel)|Saturnalia]]'' (2007)
# ''[[Alexandria (novel)|Alexandria]]'' (2009)
# ''[[Nemesis (Davis novel)|Nemesis]]'' (2010)

'''Omnibus editions'''
* ''Falco on His Metal'' (1999)
** ''Venus in Copper''
** ''The Iron Hand of Mars''
** ''Poseidon's Gold''
* ''Falco on the Loose'' (2003)
** ''Last Act in Palmyra''
** ''Time to Depart''
** ''A Dying Light in Corduba''

'''Companion'''
* ''[[Falco: The Official Companion]]'' (2010)

===Flavia Albia===
# ''[[The Ides of April]]'' (2013, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|978-1-4447-5581-7}})
# ''[[Enemies at Home]]'' (2014, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|978-1444766585}})  
# ''[[Deadly Election]]'' (2015, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|9781444794229}})
# ''[[The Graveyard of the Hesperides]]'' (2016, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|9781473613386}})
# ''[[The Third Nero]]'' (2017, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|9781473613423}})
#''[[Pandora's Boy]]'' (2018, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN| 9781473658653}}) 
#''[[A Capitol Death]]'' (2019, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN| 9781473658745}})<ref name="hodder-interview">{{cite web |title=Lindsey Davis interview: A Capitol Death and the Flavia Albia series |url=https://soundcloud.com/hodderbooks/lindsey-davis-interview-a-capitol-death-and-the-flavia-albia-series |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |access-date=10 April 2019 |date=2 April 2019}}</ref>
#''[[The Grove of the Caesars]]'' (2020, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN| 9781529374247}})
#''[[A Comedy of Terrors]]'' (2021) ({{ISBN|9781529374322}}) <ref name="hs">{{cite web|title=A Comedy of Terrors|url=https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/lindsey-davis/a-comedy-of-terrors/9781529374322/|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref>
#''[[Desperate Undertaking]]'' (2022, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|978-1529354683}})
#''[[Fatal Legacy]]'' (2023, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|9781529354737}})
#''[[Death on the Tiber]]'' (2024, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN|978-1399719612}})
#''[[There Will Be Bodies]]'' (3 April 2025, Hodder & Stoughton, {{ISBN| 9781399719636}})<ref>{{cite web |title=There Will Be Bodies [publisher's announcement] |url=https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/lindsey-davis/there-will-be-bodies/9781399719636/ |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |access-date=7 October 2024 |date=2 October 2024}}</ref><ref name=lindsey2024oct7>{{cite web |title=Lindsey's Page |url=https://lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseys-page/ |publisher=Lindsey Davis |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007112704/https://lindseydavis.co.uk/lindseys-page/ |archive-date=7 October 2024 |quote=The 13th Flavia Albia is now finished ... It's set in Stabiae on the Bay of Naples, during the reconstruction after the Vesuvius disaster.}}</ref>

=== Other works set in Ancient Rome ===
'''Novels'''
* ''[[The Course of Honour]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Master and God]]'' (2012)

'''Novellas'''
* ''The Spook Who Spoke Again'' (2015, ebook and audio only, {{ISBN|9781473617001}})<ref>{{cite web|title=The Spook Who Spoke Again|url=http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/publications/the-spook-who-spoke-again/|publisher=Lindsey Davis|access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref>
* ''Vesuvius by Night'' (2017, ebook and audio only, {{ISBN|9781473658851}})<ref>{{cite web|title=Vesuvius by Night|url=http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/publications/vesuvius-by-night/|publisher=Lindsey Davis|access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>
* ''Invitation to Die'' (2019, ebook and audio only, {{ASIN|B07L31RZ4G}})

'''Novella collection'''
*''Voices of Rome: Four Stories of Ancient Rome'' (2023, Hodder & Stoughton:{{ISBN|9781399721332}}) comprising ''The Bride from Bithynia'', ''The Spook Who Spoke Again'', ''Vesuvius by Night'', and ''Invitation to Die''

=== [[English Civil War]] ===
* ''[[Rebels and Traitors]]'' (2009)
* ''A Cruel Fate'' (3 February 2014,  Hodder & Stoughton: {{ISBN|9781444763188}}),<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.hodder.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781444763188|title = Lindsey Davis - A Cruel Fate|website = Hodder and Stoughton|access-date = 1 August 2013}}</ref> (a [[Quick Reads Initiative|QuickRead]] set in the English Civil War)<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/publications/a-cruel-fate/|title = A Cruel Fate|access-date = 1 August 2013|website = Lindsey Davis official website}}</ref>

=== Short story ===

* "'Going Anywhere Nice?'" (2005), published in ''The Detection Collection'', edited by [[Simon Brett]].

==Awards and nominations==
* Shortlisted for the [[Georgette Heyer]] Prize for two unpublished works (pre-Falco).
* Winner of the Author's Club Prize for "Best First Novel" in 1989 for ''[[The Silver Pigs]]''.
* Winner of the [[Crime Writers' Association]] (CWA): [[Dagger in the Library]] for being an author "whose work has given most pleasure" in 1995. {{cite web | url=http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/library.html | title=The Dagger in the Library | publisher=CWA | access-date=17 August 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514063945/http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/library.html | archive-date=14 May 2012 }}
* Winner of the first [[Ellis Peters]] Historical Dagger awarded by the [[Crime Writers' Association]] in 1999 for ''[[Two for the Lions]]''.{{cite web|url=http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/historical.html |title=The Ellis Peters Historical Award |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107114654/http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/historical.html |archive-date= 7 November 2013 }}
* Winner of the Sherlock Award for the Best Comic Detective in 2000 for Didius Falco.<ref name="sherlock">{{cite web |title=Sherlock Awards |url=http://www.sherlockholmes.com/media/awards-winners.htm |publisher=Sherlock Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061019112130/http://www.sherlockholmes.com/media/awards-winners.htm |archive-date=19 October 2006 |date=2004}}</ref> 
* Awarded the 2010 [[Premio Colosseo]], awarded by the city of Rome to someone who ''"has enhanced the image of Rome in the world"''<ref>{{cite web|title=Management Committee|url=http://www.societyofauthors.org/management-committee|work=Society of Authors|access-date=3 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920224818/http://www.societyofauthors.org/management-committee|archive-date=20 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Winner of the 2011 [[Cartier Diamond Dagger]] from the [[Crime Writers' Association]]<ref name=allen /> 
* Winner in 2013 of the first Barcelona Historical Novel Prize (''Premi Internacional de Novella Històrica Barcino'')<ref>{{cite news | url=http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/11/12/catalunya/1384290318_675953.html | newspaper=El Pais | title=Lindsey Davis recoge el Premio de Novela Histórica Barcino | date=13 November 2013 | access-date=1 May 2014 | first=Paula | last=Montana Tor}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/ The official website of Lindsey Davis]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041209194122/http://www.txclassics.org/exrpts3.htm Interview with Lindsey Davis]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070208105525/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/lindsey_davis/index.html RandomHouse Publisher's newsletters]
* [https://www.hodder.co.uk/Articles/Lindsey%20Davis%20Newsletter.page Hodder & Stoughton Publisher's newsletters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081936/https://www.hodder.co.uk/Articles/Lindsey%20Davis%20Newsletter.page |date=14 April 2017 }}
*[https://dunnettcentral.org/videos/lindseydavis Lindsey Davis speaks to the Dorothy Dunnett Society] ''1h27m video of 2018 talk and Q&A session''
*[https://vimeo.com/401996943 Lindsey Davis talks about ''The Grove of the Caesars'', 28 March 2020] 50 minute video: Davis talks about her life and writing

{{Falco novels}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Lindsey}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century English novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century English women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century English women writers]]
[[Category:English crime fiction writers]]
[[Category:English mystery writers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford]]
[[Category:English historical novelists]]
[[Category:Writers of historical mysteries]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity]]
[[Category:English women mystery writers]]
[[Category:English women historical novelists]]
[[Category:Cartier Diamond Dagger winners]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Classical Association]]