

LITERACY AMONG THE ROMANS
In THE DEADLIEST THIEF, we again encounter Bion, Phoebe’s husband. Once a slave owned by the Roman authorities, he was able, through good...


Miriam Searches for Phoebe
Miriam had been to the Abandoned Village on Pharos Island before, but when she directs the bearers to take her there in THE DEADLIEST...


A Roman Funeral Procession
“Look,” Bion says in THE DEADLIEST THIEF, “I can’t be sure when Phoebe will be back so let me choose the undertaker. I’ll select a burial...


Which came first?
The word pharos is of Greek origin and means lighthouse. So, I wondered whether the word for lighthouse came from the name of the island,...


Semi-identical twins?
Miriam tells us in THE DEADLIEST LIE that her servant Phoebe was a Greek foundling her mother rescued. Finding the infant wrapped in a...


WHY READ MYSTERIES?
In THE DEADLIEST HATE, during her voyage to Caesarea, Miriam sits with her feet elevated on a long chaise in one of the Orion’s deckhouse...


The flax, Ma’am, just the flax.
In THE DEADLIEST THIEF, Miriam describes a scene when she and Judah were in their dining room: Our couch, flanked by ebony lamp stands,...


ROMAN GLASS
By Miriam’s time, the first century of the Common Era, Roman glass was being manufactured into everyday containers and plain tableware....


A WIG FIT FOR AN EMPRESS
Near the beginning of THE DEADLIEST THIEF, Phoebe is kidnapped. Miriam suspects she was abducted from a wig shop when her lead bearer...


A MOTHER'S SAVIOR
In THE DEADLIEST THIEF, my newest mystery, Miriam reminds us that her mother died of childbed fever after giving birth to her and her...