The irrepressible Vicki Leon got in touch the other day, in search of tales of the  woe, embarrassment, and sheer oddity that lurk behind the so-called glamour of writing about the Ancient World.

I’d imagine that anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will have had few illusions anyway,  but I’m longing to find out what she’s gleaned from the others on the list.  The link will appear here  as soon as it’s up. Apparently I’ll be in some fine company, so get ready for some shameless name-dropping.

Meanwhile, over on Jane Finnis’s blog there’s an interview with a chap who may not yet know what he’s let himself in for. Bruce Macbain’s first book is called ROMAN GAMES, and the detective is none other than Pliny the Younger. Macbain comes at the Classical world from an American perspective, and has some interesting things to say about why twenty-first century Westerners are attracted to it.

I wish him much joy in his new career, and the very minimum of embarrassment.