Five Go Mad In Rome

[Petermax]

Quite by chance, I have come across an article in the Daily Mail Weekend supplement entitled Five Go Mad In Rome. It refers to the Roman Mysteries, a BBC childrens TV series set around the 79 A.D to 81 A.D. era. Based on the books by American author Caroline Lawrence, the plot revolves around four children and a dog who unravel all manner of mysteries 2000 years or so before their mid 20th century counterparts.

The similarity with the 1940's/50's Five books is unmistakable, Roman Mysteries has been described by one critic as the Famous Five in Togas! Sadly, the Daily Mail article is not available online, but here is a suitable link;

http://www.romanmysteries.com/

[Pippa-Stef]

Yes I've seen that show,. on occastion I manage to flick on to BBC one for the channel when searching for something to watch.

Compared to the other programs it is a good watch, because it actually makes you use your mind!

I never thought to compare it to the Famous Five though!! How interesting! I shall have a look for that tomorrow!

[Enikyoga]

I am wondering as to whether Caroline Lawrence was inspired by "Five On A Secret Trail" where the Five encounter one of the twins excavating Roman remains

[Tony Summerfield]

I have read all the books in the series (so far), and I am quite certain that Caroline Lawrence wasn't inspired by the Famous Five. As she is an American (though she now lives in London) she is very unlikely to have even read Enid Blyton as a child. I think she is inspired by her love of that period of History, it is as simple as that.

[Pippa-Stef]

Have I missed something here?

[Petermax]

It would seem that the good old tried and tested formula of adventure stories that contain four or five children plus a pet is universal and certainly not unique to Enid Blyton. The similarity between the Roman Mysteries and Famous Five is almost certainly coincidental, bearing in mind that Enid Blyton books have never really had a foothold in the U.S.A.

I resist the temptation to add Roman Mysteries to my reading/viewing list, if only there were more hours in the day. Maybe once I take retirement will I find the time.

[Bannerman65]

I've never heard of these books, before now. How good are they?

[dsr]

Quite good, actually. I've read a few of them, and yes, I can see the similarities to the FF, but only to the extent that it's about children solving grown-up mysteries. The same could probably apply to most children's mystery series.

They're set in Rome & other parts of Italy in the 70's or so AD (I think Vesuvius goes up in one of them, which would fix it at 79 AD) and there's an interesting early Christian family in there. Flavia Gemini, the star, is Roman, and she has a friend who's a freed Nubian slave.