Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the
University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and
classics.
Saylor's best-known work is his Roma Sub Rosahistorical mystery series, set in ancient Rome. The novels' hero is a detective named
Gordianus the Finder, active during the time of
Sulla,
Cicero,
Julius Caesar, and
Cleopatra. Outside this crime novel series, Saylor has also written three epic-length historical novels about the city of Rome, Roma, Empire, and Dominus. His work has been published in 21 languages.
Saylor has also written two novels set in Texas. A Twist at the End, featuring
O. Henry, is set in Austin in the 1880s and based on real-life serial murders and trials (the case of the so-called
Servant Girl Annihilator). Have You Seen Dawn? is a contemporary thriller set in a fictional Texas town, Amethyst, based on Saylor's hometown,
Goldthwaite, Texas.
Saylor contributed autobiographical essays to three anthologies of gay writing edited by
John Preston, Hometowns, A Member of the Family, and Friends and Lovers, and prior to his novel-writing career he published gay
erotic fiction under the pen name Aaron Travis.
Saylor has lived with Richard Solomon since 1976; they registered as
domestic partners in San Francisco in 1991 and later dissolved that partnership in order to legally marry in October 2008. The couple split their time between properties in
Berkeley, California, and
Austin, Texas.[1]
Listed in publication order. For a chronological listing, see the separate
Roma Sub Rosa article.
Roman Blood (1991), in which Gordianus is hired by the great orator and advocate
Cicero in 80 BC. Like several novels in the series, this one is based on a trial oration by Cicero, in this case In Defence of Sextus Roscius of Ameria (Pro Sexto Roscio Amerino).
The House of the Vestals (1997), a collection of nine short stories which take place between the first novel and the second, during the period 80-72 BC.
Rubicon (1999), in which Caesar crosses the
Rubicon and the members of the Senate flee Rome, plunging the Roman world into civil war.
"Ill Seen in Tyre" (2014), in the cross-genre anthology Rogues, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, set in 91 BC just before the Epilogue of The Seven Wonders
Raiders of the Nile (2014) is a direct sequel to The Seven Wonders, about the further adventures of young Gordianus in Egypt and a plot to steal the golden sarcophagus of
Alexander the Great, set in 88 BC.
Wrath of the Furies (2015) is a direct sequel to Raiders of the Nile, where young Gordianus must travel incognito into the lands ruled by
Mithridates the Great, set in 88 BC.
The Throne of Caesar (2018) is set in Rome during Caesar's murder in March 44 BC.
Roma series
Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (2007), a 1000-year novel of the rise of ancient Rome from its first settlement to the assassination of Julius Caesar.
"The Eagle and the Rabbit" (2013) - short story set in 146 BC (collected in Future, Present, Past )
Dominus (July 2021) spans several generations from 165 to 325 AD
Other books
A Twist at the End (UK title: Honour the Dead) (2000), based on the
Servant Girl Annihilator killings in the 1880s in Austin, Texas, closely reconstructs the murders and the ensuing trials, with young William Sydney Porter (
O. Henry) playing a fictional role.
Have You Seen Dawn? (2003) is a modern-day thriller set in a small town in Texas.
Future, Present, Past (2013) is a collection of three short stories set in different time periods.
My Mother's Ghost (2013) is a collection of three autobiographical essays and a short story.
A Bookish Bent (2013) is a collection of various essay and articles.
Erotic fiction under the pseudonym Aaron Travis[2]