In 1954, the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to the god Mithras was uncovered in the City of London. Now wonderfully restored on its original site, the Mithraeum (2) is incorporated into the basement of the European headquarters of Bloomberg, the international multi-media company, on Walbrook. Almost 50 years later the skeleton of a young girl, dating from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD, was found in a graveyard near the Tate Modern. Together, these two archaeological discoveries gave Caroline Lawrence the launchpad for her latest gripping children’s novel, The Time Travel Diaries. Hurtling back through the centuries from contemporary London, its young hero Alex finds himself in Roman Londinium (3), an intriguing city of temples, arenas, huts, shops and muddy streets, occupied by masters and slaves. There, he tries to unravel a mystery.
Lawrence has achieved singular success with her historical novels for children, most notably The Roman Mysteries series. Published between 2001 and 2009, these 17 books chronicle the adventures of four spirited and canny young detectives who live in the Roman port city of Ostia Antica. Translated into 14 languages, over a million copies of the books have been sold in the UK; they were also adapted for a CBBC television series filmed in Bulgaria (4).
This story is from the November/December 2019 edition of Minerva.
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This story is from the November/December 2019 edition of Minerva.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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