Book Review - The Thieves of Ostia

[Kalgri Sicaria]

*This review was written as part of the Astonishing Adaptations event*

Title of the book: The Thieves of Ostia
Authors: Caroline Lawrence
Series: The Roman Mysteries
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Children's, Fiction
Short summary of the story:
A mystery story following the adventures of twelve-year-old Flavia Gemina and her three friends in the year 79AD as they attempt to determine who is killing dogs and robbing people's houses in their neighbourhood.
Good points / bad points:
This is the first in a series of seventeen books, and does a really good job of introducing you to the world of a Roman port town and the people who live in it. The children are all interesting individuals who don't have much in common but somehow work together well. The book tackles difficult topics, such as the Roman perception of slavery, yet presents it in a way that children can easily understand. I remember being a little scared when reading part of this book as a child, due to the descriptions of dead dogs, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it and read the entire series multiple times. Having re-read it again recently I think that for a children's book written over twenty years ago it still holds up, and I can credit this series as being the catalyst for my love of ancient history and archaeology. Ostia was a real Roman town, and I got the chance to visit the archaeological site a few years ago - seeing the places mentioned in this book in real life was a magical day that I will never forget.

Adaptation:
In 2007, CBBC in the UK made a TV series adaptation of some of the Roman Mystery stories. Whilst the exact storyline from the first book in the series was not used, parts of the story are seen in the first episode, as the characters all needed to be established before the second book (The Secrets of Vesuvius) could start. I believe that the producers chose not to use the entire storyline because it would be difficult to encourage children to watch a show when the first two episodes are based on the premise of dogs being killed. However, they do show Flavia and her neighbour Jonathan meeting, as well as Flavia insisting that her father buy a slave girl, Nubia, to save her from a worse fate. I think that the adaptation is fairly accurate and a good interpretation of the source material. I do think that the acting of the children is a little wooden in places, although the boy who played Lupus did a good job considering he had no speaking lines in the entire show (the character is mute). I do think it is a shame that only twenty episodes were made, spanning the first eleven books, however, I think that at the time the TV show was made, the series was not fully released. I enjoyed re-watching the show, but I do think that I prefer the books.