The Poisoned Honey Cake

The Roman Mystery Scrolls #2

by Caroline Lawrence, Helen Forte (Illustrator)

Floridius, freelance soothsayer, is afraid that he has lost his talent for seeing the future. Threptus wants to find some titbits of information that his mentor can use to convince people he still has the gift, but will a poisoned honey cake lead to disaster along the way?

Join Threptus and Floridius on their hilarious and action-packed adventures among Rome's superstitious underclass, and don't miss this ruder, funnier and still historically accurate companion to The Roman Mysteries.

Genres: Historical Fiction

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Caroline Lawrence won a scholarship to Cambridge to read Classical Archaeology, then did a degree in Hebrew and Jewish studies at University College London. She now lives in London with her English husband and teaches Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Art and French to children.

Series:
* Roman Mysteries
Western Mysteries

Reviews

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a boy from the Roman Era who is an apprentice to the soothsayer, Floridius. Floridius encounters a tumultuous period when his ability to read the future is compromised. Floridious and Thereptus soon realize that without his powers, Floridious will not retain customers, and will not be able to support himself or Thereptus. Ravenously hungry, Thereptus ventures down into the sewers to spy on locals, and listen to any gossip from the bathhouses that would be of aid to Floridius. To no avail,Thereptus begins his trek home . He spots a honey cake on the way at an alter and ravenously gobbles it all up .However this angers the God Fabulinus. The honey cake had been poisoned. Thereptus feels horrendous-dizzy and queasy, and has lost his ability to speak. Floridius cares for him at home but Thereptus soon realizes he must make amends with the God if he is to win back his voice.

I loved this book. It provided a humourous yet fascinating account into the everyday lives of the Romans. The book had plenty of humour that allowed for a very fast paced and pleasant reading experience. It had 87 pages, but this was more than enough, as this tale was one of several in a series, and the tales are short, snappy insights into Thereptus's life , which leaves the reader eager to know what happens in the next tale. With The Romans as a very important topic of learning in primary schools, this book could be used in English class as a side reading activity to understand the everyday lives of the Romans. I think the main character Thereptus strikes a chord with schoolchildren because he is so relatable-his age, his desires, dislikes and his personality are the equivalent to a child's of today- and that opens up a whole different world to children- the realization that the past is a real experience with people living real lives, rather than an account from a textbook.

[Saadia Munshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a young boy who lives with his mentor called the soothsayer. The soothsayer had gambled 50 seserti in the hope of making more money to provide for himself and the little boy. However he looses the money and as a result he cannot afford to buy food for hinself or the little boy.

The soothsayer says that he has lost his ability to see the future and will not be able to make a living. The little boy then suggests that he go and be a spy (as he had done previously) and listen to people talking to help the soothsayer 'predict' what will happen. The soothsayer reluctantly agrees and the boy sets off down into the sewer and tries to listen to peoples conversations, however he was not getting any information it also began to rain heavly causing the little boy to drown.

He later regains consciousness and is so hungry that he decides to steal some honey cake that has been left for a God. However upon eating the cake he fell very ill and lost his voice too. Upon reaching home the soothsayer gave the little boy some chicken soup ( money which he had borrowed).

whilst the boy was resting he had a dream in which his oldmaster appeared, telling him that he will only get better if he replaces the cake he had stolen and give one precious item. The next morning the boy did as he was told and soon after got better. It seemed that after replacing what had been stolen their luck changed- a banker came to the soothsayers house ro appologise for being rude and gave him and the little boy a large sum of money.

This was a very good read and one I enjoyed very much, however I did feel it was quite short, it seemed as though the writer could have delved into the story a little more. Nevertheless I think it would be great for yr4-5 possibly yr6. it can be read as a class book, an independent read or even be used to teach children about Roman Gods.

[Arthur Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was quite an interesting story but the book wasn't long enough to get into it properly.
The book is about a boy and his mentor is a soothsayer, the soothsayer is nice but has a problem with gambling and at a chariot race he bets 50 seserti on Scorpius a charioteer but then Scorpius gets disqualified so the soothsayer looses his money so then the soothsayer and the boy go hungry. The boy offers to go down the sewers to listen to people talking above to help the soothsayer predict what is going to happen to them to get money to buy food.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roman Mysteries Scrolls is a spin-off sequel to the Roman Mysteries series, and a lot of fun! In this one, Threptus loses his voice to a poisoned honeycake . . .

[Rafaella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very entertaining and funny, I love Greek and Roman gods, and enjoyed the facts in the book about the gods. We are learning about the Roman empire in class as a part of social studies and I have learned a lot of facts about their daily life and also their religion and from what I've read I think the language and words in the book are very accurate. I would really like to read as much of the roman mysteries as I can.

[Kluknavskym Kluknavsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this bood quite a bit. It was filled with great content and a great overall story. There was also well used language and discription that enhance the enjoyment of the story. I think that anyone would easily enjoy this story. It was also filled with old Roman, Greek, and Estuscan facts and beliefs. That all just makes the story all the better.

[Cilla Glud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good! It was just a bit too easy for me. I know Mr. Callaway chose this book because of our visiting author, but still. If I was 8-9 years old, I probably would have liked it a bit more.

[Saviour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Read my full review at http://pirottablog.com/2012/07/04/boo...

[Kimk · Rating 3 out of 5]

l enjoyed the book. Really great book.

[Gibran]

This book is so good

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery was entertaining. My class seemed to enjoy it, and it provided a great run-up to Caroline Lawrence's visit in a couple of weeks.

[Ismael Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the plot of this story and the way the author describes the life of an ancient roman.

[Erika Toguy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was very much how a person would be treated in real life, don't know what I'm talking about? Read the book.

[Tamima Alshanfari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book, and it was really interesting.

[Colin Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Poisoned Honey Cake is a fun and lively introduction to historical fiction and certainly an accessible text for a younger reading audience. I look forward to meeting the author in two weeks.