Ode to a Banker

Rome. July - August AD 74. Falco is to give a poetry recital with Rutilus Gallicus, and Caesar Domitain is expected. Aurelius Chrysippus, a wealthy Greek banker and vanity publisher, introduces the event and is found dead the next day. With Rubellus absent, and the vigiles busy, Petro hires Faco to resolve the murder.

Families and backgrounds, past history and present day relationships inform many parts of this narrative, both in Falco's family and Chrysippus's family; Chrysippus had divorced and remarried. His first wife still operated their bank with a freedman, one Lucrio.

It is interesting that the banking community of Rome hung about in a dead end alley named after the two faced god, Janus, for the bankers certainly had a face to the world with their lending practices, and then another face to their clientele with calling in loans and credit.

Falco discovers the tensions in the world of vanity publishing, and is aided admirably by his wife, Helena Justina, who turns out to be a flawless reader who re-educates the reading habits of one Passus, a recently recruited vigile, whom Falco has instructed to notarise all the scrolls found at the murder scene.

We know that Vespasian has recently advanced Falco to Equestrian status, and created the position of Procurator of the Sacred Poultry to stabilise Falco's ongoing income; he pays his mother's rent, the schooling for his sister's children, provides financial support for his deceased brother's child, and his sister Maia's rent. Favonius is grieving the loss of his beloved red-headed scarf-maker. Anacrites is boarding with Falco's mother, and seeing Maia, and has hopes of becoming part of the family. Falco is not so sure and knows Anacrites as totally untrusworthy. The procurator of the Sacred Geese and Sacred Chickens has to arbitrate a duck-fight within his own family

• Maia Favonia, his sister, is single and needs an income;
• Elder sister Junia wants to take over the capuona and spreads nasty gossip about Junilla Tacita and Maia;
• Anacrites is giving poor financial advice to Junilla Tacita;
• Helena Justina is unconcered about Maia's current beau and knows what is coming;
• Marius is sleeping at Falco's habilliment and keeping a close eye on his puppy;
• Can Ma be told about the filthy rumours of her having a lover floating around?

Alack, a son can never tell his mother what is what; a mother is entitled to her privacy, and right conduct demands that the son respects that. Falco learns its better not to get involved in a duck-fight. As ducks do, they flap their wings and sail away from each other, fight over. Energy dispersed, Falco is free to take his expert adviser in matters publishing and create a denouement wherein the killer of Aurelius Chrysippus (the banker who is not a very good judge of literary worth) is exposed and perhaps, another killer is free.

The banking community of ancient Rome and their business practices appear to be little different 2000 years later as the money moguls clearly still go their own way with other people's money.

Family provides a suitable antithesis between Falco and the family of the murdered arts patron, Chrysippus. We take a closer look at these families.