Last week I received some very sad news. A longtime fellow Roman writer and, more than that, a friend had passed into the shades. Ruth was an intelligent, knowledgeable and generous-hearted woman with a dry sense of humour. Here she is in her own words on her website which I hope will stay online for a while to commemorate her.
Her series about a Ruso, a grumpy and let’s be fair, put-upon, Roman army medic and his British wife, Tilla has given pleasure to hundreds of thousands of readers. I love every story and am thrilled to have signed copies of several of them.
We shared many conversations and had fun at events and festivals. In contrast, I particularly enjoyed the quiet weekend spent with her at her home in Devon in March 2023.
Although we’ve kept in contact until recently, I last saw her in September 2024 at the Historical Novel Society conference in Dartington, Devon, where we dressed up as Romans along with fellow author Kate Quinn and gave our unique view on what we thought about how Romans were portrayed on screen.
We did make the audience laugh, but we also combined to make them think beyond the swords-and-sandals stereotype view of how we perceive Romans.
And there wasn’t a gladius in sight!
Here we are at the Colchester Roman festival 2023 with author Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis, Alison Morton, Ruth Downie
Ruth was an early guest on my blog in 2014 where she gave us a unique insight into ancient Roman medical practice (involves donkey poo…)
Donkey – essential to Roman medicine
And here we all are at the first Colchester Roman festival in 2022
Ruth was often the one taking the photos, but I and others did manage to capture a few of her.
She was so supportive of my own writing, giving me an endorsement for AURELIA and suggesting reference books on Roman travel and discussing the death count in our books or the liklihood a of a Roman slave girl remaining a virgin at 22. (Roman fiction authors are not known for their delicacy.)
I shall miss her sorely as will her readers and other colleagues.
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM, set in the late 4th century, tell the story of Roma Nova’s foundation. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes form a new contemporary thriller series. A new collection of Roma Nova short stories, HEROICA, is now out.
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