Short Stories in English
Last updated XXIX MARTIUS 2016

Directory of Authors:

Gail-Nina Anderson · Paul Barnett · Molly Brown · Ron Burns · Richard Butler · Simon Clark · Lindsey Davis · Miriam Allen Deford · Jane Finnis · Laura Frankos · Anne Gay · Lois Gresh · Robert Weinberg · Claire Griffen · Keith Heller · Dorothy J. Heydt · Edward D. Hoch · Tom Holt · Phyllis Ann Karr · Michael Kurland · Wallace Nichols · Anthony Price · Mary Reed and Eric Mayer · John Maddox Roberts · Rosemary Rowe (Rosemary Aitken) · Steven Saylor · Darrell Schweitzer · Brian Stableford · Kelli Stanley · R.L. Stevens · Keith Taylor · Marilyn Todd · Harry Turtledove · James Yaffe

• "In This Sign, Conquer" Classical Whodunnits
  In Alexandria during the reign of Constantine, Egyptian physician Theocritas Amun-Arten has just six overnight hours to discover who committed a locked-room murder and stole a valuable ancient map in the famous library. [★★★+]

• "Imogen" Shakespearean Whodunnits
  Imogen, the leading character from Shakespeare's play Cymbeline, sifts her memories concerning the real events of the story. [★★★+]

• "Mother of Rome" Shakespearean Whodunnits
  Taking up where Shakespeare's Coriolanus leaves off, Titus Lartius investigates the true cause of the death of the title character, sticking mostly to Shakespeare's vision of Rome. [★★]

• "Murderer, Farewell", Classical Whodunnits
  In AD 8 Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) investigates the murder of Marcellus Gaius at the behest of Augustus. [★+]

Richard Butler

• "The Last Legion", The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits: A New Collection
  On the orders of Emperor Honorius, Britain's last legion is shortly to pull out when murder and theft strike the legion. The rascally Silanus Gaius Escobinius, aka Spiro, a Celtic legionary, is ordered to use magic to find the rather obvious culprits. A reluctant detective, he is aided by his wife Gwynedd in this dramatic and humorous tale which will probably mostly appeal to the male audience. [★★★]

Lindsey Davis

• "Investigating the Silvius Boys",
  No Alibi
  Classical Whodunnits
  Investigations into the activities of Romulus at the founding of Rome, but more of a "true crime" than a mystery. [★★+]

• "De Crimine",
  Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 1952
  The Theme is Murder: An Anthology of Mysteries
  Death and the disappearance of valuable jewels cause the friend of Cicero's late daughter Tullia to seek his aid. [★★★]

• "The Cleopatra Game"
  The Mammoth Book of Ancient Roman Whodunnits aka The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits
  The make-believe games of an Egyptian heiress pall when murder intrudes. [not yet rated]

• "Merchants of Discord", Crime Through Time III
  Decurion Quintus Vestinus Corvus investigates crime that results from the squabblings of long-distance merchants at his post near Hadrian's Wall. Claims to be set in the first century AD, but placement at Hadrian's Wall is clearly impossible as it was not even begun until 122 AD. There is a strong feeling of a fantasy medieval setting. Not clear that the story "plays fair" on a mystery basis. [★★+]

• "The Fire That Burneth Here", Shakespearean Detectives
  Valerian, henchman of Tarquinius Collatinus, seeks the murderer of his inamorata, Claudia, slave to Lucrece. Inspired by "The Rape of Lucrece". [★★]

• "Three Meetings and a Funeral" Shakespearean Detectives
  Lucillus, sham soothsayer and speaker of the famous words "Beware the Ides of March", overhears a conspiracy that makes him investigate whether something more than politics was behind Caesar's death. Marcus Antonius, Brutus, Cassius, Calpurnia et al. also appear. Inspired by Julius Caesar. [★+]

• "A Pomegranate for Pluto", Classical Whodunnits
  At Misenum in the time of Caligula, Hengist (a Celt, despite the Anglo-Saxon name), former gladiator and current wineshop keeper in Pompeii, investigates a mysterious death following a tempestuous dinner. [★★★★]

• "The Brother in the Tree" Classical Whodunnits
  During the reign of Domitian, Epictetus, Greek philosopher of Nicopolis (in Epirus of northwest Greece), forays into the world of horror as well as that of Stoic philosophy. [★★+]

• "The Gift of Minerva" Sword and Sorceress X
  During the First Punic War, when sailing from the island of Phaneraia to Panormus, Cynthia, witch of Syrakuse, is asked to identify the on-board murderer of a Carthaginian returning home on the ship of his Roman friend, Caius Duilius Nepos. [★★★]

• "The Things That Are Caesar's" Classical Whodunnits
  This tale explores a new angle on the death of Julius Caesar. [★★+]

• "Cinna the Poet", Shakespearean Whodunnits
  The father of the deceased poet, Publius Oppius Cinna, investigates the circumstances of his death during the riots following the assassination of Julius Caesar. [★]
• "A Good Report of the Worm", Shakespearean Detectives
  A Greek, a clerk named Philocleon, is ordered by a Roman army tribune to write a report explaining the death of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Marc Antony's former chief-of-staff who defected to Octavius. Trying to complete the report turns up one oddity after another, raising questions of treachery and conspiracy. Inspired by Antony and Cleopatra. [★★+]

• "The Ass's Head", Classical Whodunnits
  In Roman Britain in the early days of Christianity, the granddaughter of legate Cassius Marcellus Flavian is kidnapped and young decurion Marcus Gordius Octavio must investigate. Based on The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert L. Wilken (1984). [★★]

• "Blind Justice", The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits: A New Collection
  Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35-95 AD), aka Quintilian, the rhetorician, teacher and writer (Institutio Oratoria) is the detective and lawyer working a parricide case on behalf of a friend of the accused. His secretary Plautus Maximilianus Aureus acts as his "Watson". The author's understanding of Roman personal names is a bit hazy and the identity of the culprit far too obvious, but the feeling of the Roman court comes through strongly. [★★+]
• "Four Hundred Slaves", Adventure, volume 1
  An heroic detective sets out to save not just one unjustly accused slave, but also all his fellows. [not yet available for review]

• "The Case of the Empress's Jewels",
  LMM, April 1950, 3
  The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits
  Only slave detective Sollius can solve the mystery of the Empress Faustina's missing baubles. [★★★★]
• "The Treasury Thefts",
  LMM, June 1950, 4
  The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits
  In AD 174, Emperor Marcus Aurelius entrusts Sollius with an impossible case. [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Garden God",
  LMM, August 1950, 5
  Mystery / An Anthology of the Mysterious in Fact and Fiction
  London Mystery Anthology
  Sollius travels to the countryside north of Rome to investigate claims that a statue of Priapus is causing livestock deaths. [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Murdered Senator"
  LMM, October 1950, 6
  The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives
  The powers of Slave Detective Sollius are taxed more than usually in a tricky, and perilous, case. [★★★★]
• "The Hidden Snake", LMM, December 1950, 7 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Frightened Poet", LMM, February 1951, 8 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Senate's Gift", LMM, April 1951, 9 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Etruscan Pin", LMM, August 1951, 11 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Buried Chains", LMM, March 1952, 12 [★★]
• "The Festival of Cybele", LMM, June 1952, 13 [★★★★]
  Festival of Cybele
• "The Case of the Poisoned Shaving-Oil", LMM, March 1953, 16 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Honey Cake", LMM, June 1955, 25 [★★+]
• "The Case of the Parthian Arrow", LMM, September 1955, 26 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Missing Slave Girl", LMM, December 1955, 27 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Drugged Wine", LMM, March 1956, 28 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Greek Play", LMM, September 1956, 30 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Hidden Tablet", LMM, December 1956, 31 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Wasted Lesson", LMM, June 1957, 33 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Yellow-Haired Spy", LMM, September 1957, 34 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Two Soothsayers", LMM, December 1957, 35 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Chariot Wheel", LMM, March 1958, 36 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Lion's Claws", LMM, June 1958, 37 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Golden God", LMM, September 1958, 38 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Murdered Babies", LMM, December 1958, 39 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Senator's Farm", LMM, March 1959, 40 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Missing Head", LMM, April 1959, 41 [★★★] [excerpt]
• "The Case of Corbulo's Trial", LMM, September 1959, 42 [★★★★]
• "The Case of Chrysis", LMM, December 1959, 43 [★★★]
• "The Case of Justice Served", LMM, March 1960, 44 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Fearful Perfume", LMM, June 1960, 45 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Beheadings", LMM, September 1960, 46 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Burnt Villa", LMM, December 1960, 47 [★★★★]
• "The Case in the Camp", LMM, March 1961, 48 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Missing Baby", LMM, May 1961, 49 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Persian Ring", LMM, September 1961, 50 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Roman Banquet", LMM, November 1961, 51 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Bank Theft", London Mystery Magazine (LMM), March 1962, 52 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Unfinished Villa", LMM, June 1962, 53 [★★★]
• "The Case of the First Cup", LMM, September 1962, 54 [★★★]
• "The Case of Cotta's Jewels", LMM, December 1962, 55 [★★+]
• "The Case of the Pleader's Notes", LMM, March 1963, 56 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Roman General", LMM, June 1963, 57 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Goldsmith's Daughter", LMM, September 1963, 58 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Bearded Man", LMM, December 1963, 59 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Courtyard Games", LMM, March 1964, 60 [★★★+]
• "The Case of No Conclusion", LMM, June 1964, 61 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Two Horses", LMM, September 1964, 62 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Haunted Farm", LMM, December 1964, 63 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Nest of Evil",
  LMM, March 1965, 64
  Classical Whodunnits
  During the reign of Septimius Severus, Sollius is beset by too many suspects when he happens upon a murder in a household. [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Pharaoh's Eye", LMM, June 1965, 65 [★★★★]
• "The Case of Hanno's Oasis", LMM, September 1965, 66 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Legion's Pay-Chest", LMM, December 1965, 67 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Senator's Folly", LMM, March 1966, 68 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Servile Gang", LMM, June 1966, 69 [★★★]
• "The Case of the Last Skin", LMM, September 1966, 70 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Missing Corcyran", LMM, December 1966, 71 [★★★★]
• "The Case of His Own Abduction", LMM, February 1967, 72 [★★★★]
• "The Case of the Talisman", LMM, May 1967, 73 [★★★+]
• "The Case of the Sacred Horn", LMM, September 1967, 74 [★★★★]
• "The Great Tin Mine Case", LMM, December 1967, 75 [★★★★]

• "A Green Boy",
  Winter's Crimes 5
  Classical Whodunnits
  In Roman Britain of AD 77, Quartermaster Gnaeus Celer is called upon to investigate ambushes of the corn supply. [★★★]
• "The Boudicca Killing", Winter's Crimes 11
  A Roman investor has made a shocking profit in the wake of the Boudiccaean Revolt – the Colonel of Arcani is sent to forbidding Britannia Province to investigate. [★★★]

• "And All That He Calls Family",
  The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits: A New Collection
  The Mammoth Book of More Historical Whodunnits
  A curse tablet (used to beseech the gods to bring misfortune on an enemy) is pulled up from a well on a country estate. In this Christie-style mystery where six characters are introduced in the first four paragraphs, John wants to determine who did this and whether they mean to back it up with mayhem. Sixth in the series. [★★]
• "Beauty More Stealthy", Classical Whodunnits
  John the Eunuch has only one night to discover the murderer of a wealthy noble lady married to a barber. Third in the series. [★★+]
• "A Byzantine Mystery", The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits
  During the Nika Riots, Justinian gives his Lord Chamberlain, John the Eunuch, just twenty-four hours to recover a stolen reliquary containing a splinter from the True Cross. First in the series. [★]
• "The Finger of Aphrodite"
  The Mammoth Book of Ancient Roman Whodunnits aka The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits
  [not yet rated]
• "Leap of Faith", Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 1998
  John the Eunuch has until sundown to explain the death of a controversial stylite or otherwise take his place living at the top of a forty-foot marble column. The Empress Theodora appears. Fourth in the series. [★]
• "A Lock of Hair for Proserpine", Chronicles of Crime,
  Fifth in the John the Eunuch series. [not yet rated]
• "A Mithraic Mystery", The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives
  John the Eunuch enters a world of byzantine plots and counterplots when he investigates a murder in the mithraeum, holy place of Mithraism, at the behest of the Empress Theodora. Second in the series. [★★]

• "Academic Question, An", Past Poisons: Brother Cadfael's Legacy
  [not yet rated]
• "Beware the Snake", Down these Strange Streets
  At the behest of Julius Caesar, Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus, with his wife Julia and slave sidekick Hermes, investigates the disappearance of a snake sacred to the Marsi. Besides the Marsi and ancient views on snakes, also delves into Roman customs in personal naming. Julius Caesar appears. [★★★★]
• "Etruscan House, The", Crime Through Time II
  His aedileship over, Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus investigates the death of a senator in Rome amid political controversies. Marcus Antonius, Cicero, Pompeius, Metellus Scipio and Cato appear. [★★+]
• "King of Sacrifices, The", The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives
  At age 73, a still spry Decius Caecilius Metellus investigates a potentially scandalous murder at the behest of First Citizen Augustus. [★★★]
• "Mightier Than the Sword", The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits
  Newly-elected Aedile Decius Caecilius Metellus finds himself diverted from duty when he stumbles across a corpse. [★★+]
• "The Statuette of Rhodes," Classical Whodunnits
  After just barely escaping his last adventure in The Temple of the Muses, Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus arrives expecting to spend a holiday of dissipation in Rhodes when, near the ruins of the famous Colossus, he discovers a corpse. [★★★]
• "Venus in Pearls"
  Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July-August 2001
  Although somewhat tired of being Gaius Julius Caesar's dogsbody, Decius agrees to find his pearly breastplate in advance of the Triumph. Caesar's grand-niece Julia also appears. The titular Venus statue does not appear to be historical. [★★+]
• "The Will"
  The Mammoth Book of Ancient Roman Whodunnits aka The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits
  Decius is in Rome following the murder of Gaius Julius Caesar. [not yet rated]

Rosemary Rowe (Rosemary Aitken)

• "Mosaic", Classical Whodunnits
  Libertus, freedman and mosaic maker, in Glewaw (Gloucester), Britain, some time after the Roman conquest, is ordered by the proconsul (governor) to investigate the murder of his patron. [★★★]
• "A Payment to the Gods" The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits: A New Collection
  Libertus the pavement maker unravels a tricky case of a missing infant. [★★★]