OUR STORE IS CLOSED ON ANZAC DAY: THURSDAY 25 APRIL
Caroline Lawrence is American. She won a scholarship to Cambridge to read Classical Archaeology, then did a degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College, London. She lives with her husband, a graphic designer, by the river in London and is active as a speaker in schools and at book festivals.
It's the summer of a.d. 79. Flavia, her friend Jonathan, the young mute Lupus, and the slave Nubia have lived through the eruption of Vesuvius. A camp has been set up for those who fled Pompeii. Children are disappearing, however, and rumors of slavers terrify an already scarred people. The four young heroes are sent to a lovely villa, home of the charismatic Publius Pollius Felix, ostensibly out of harm's way. Felix is called The Patron and at first they think he may be responsible for the missing children. His own daughter is spoiled and selfish, and a catfight between her and Flavia is the proximate cause of pirates' grabbing all of them, except Lupus. With Lupus's wily assistance, they instigate most of their own rescue, and Flavia formally frees Nubia. What made the two earlier titles so good was their fast pace and Roman setting: this one is marred by events and mindsets that sound a bit too contemporary; still, readers will want to continue the story. (glossary, author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14) (Kirkus Reviews)
