Desperate Undertaking

{{Short description|2022 historical crime novel by Lindsey Davis}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{use British English|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox book

| italic title =

| name = Desperate Undertaking

| image = Desperate_Undertaking_cover_2022_UK_hbk.webp

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Cover of 1st UK hardback edition 2022

| author = Lindsey Davis

| audio_read_by =

| title_orig =

| orig_lang_code =

| title_working =

| translator =

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country = UK

| language =

| series = Flavia Albia

| release_number =

| subject =

| genre = historical fiction, crime fiction

| set_in =

| publisher = Hodder & Stoughton

| publisher2 = Minotaur Books

| pub_date = 7 April 2022

| english_pub_date =

| published =

| media_type =

| pages =

| awards =

| isbn = 9781529354713

| isbn_note =

| oclc =

| dewey =

| congress =

| preceded_by = A Comedy of Terrors

| followed_by = Fatal Legacy

| native_wikisource =

| wikisource =

| notes =

| exclude_cover =

| website =

}}

Desperate Undertaking is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the tenth in her Flavia Albia series.{{Cite journal |last=Murphy |first=Jane |date=2022-06-01 |title=Desperate Undertaking. |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&id=GALE%7CA708840613&v=2.1&it=r&userGroupName=anon%7E7846f06c&aty=open-web-entry |journal=Booklist |language=English |volume=118 |issue=19-20 |pages=36–37 |via=Gale}} It was published in the UK on 7 April 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton ({{ISBN|9781529354713}}){{cite book|title=Desperate Undertaking|date=6 October 2021 |url=https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/lindsey-davis/desperate-undertaking/9781529354713/|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|isbn=9781529354713 |accessdate=15 March 2022}} and in the United States on 27 July 2022 by Minotaur Books ({{ISBN| 9781250799883}}).{{cite web |title=Desperate Undertaking |url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250799883/desperateundertaking |website=Macmillan |access-date=15 March 2022}}

The tale is set in Rome in late December 89 AD, set in and around the Field of Mars, and involving murders among the theatrical community.{{cite web |title=Desperate Undertaking |url=https://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/desperate-undertaking/ |website=Lindsey Davis |access-date=15 March 2022 |date=1 October 2021}} It is divided into parts, of varying lengths, with titles "Laureolus", "Pasiphae", "Oedipus Rex", "Medea", "Selurus the bandit king of Sicily", "Orpheus or possibly Daedalus", "Aeschylus", "Jason" and "The Girl from Londinium".{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Lindsey |title=Desperate Undertaking |date=2022 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location= |isbn=9781529354713 |pages=1, 77, 181, 277, 311, 355, 375, 389, 399}}

The cover of the first UK hardback edition shows a damaged bas-relief carving of a seated man contemplating a theatrical mask which he holds in his outstretched hand. The image is of part of "Relief of a seated poet (Menander) with masks of New Comedy, 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.", held by the Princeton University Art Museum.{{cite web |title=Relief of a seated poet (Menander) with masks of New Comedy (y1951-1) |url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/23937 |website=artmuseum.princeton.edu |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=en}} Identified in an acknowledgement on the dustjacket The American cover shows a girl in a white and purple tunic looking towards a Roman theatre while clutching a large dagger.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote that the novel "reinforces Davis’s place at the top of the Ancient Roman historical subgenre".{{Cite web |date=26 April 2022 |title=Desperate Undertaking: A Flavia Albia Novel by Lindsey Davis |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250799883 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Publishers Weekly}} Kirkus Reviews and the Historical Novel Society also gave favourable reviews.{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2022 |title=DESPERATE UNDERTAKING |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lindsey-davis/desperate-undertaking/ |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=Kirkus Reviews}}{{Cite web |last=Ashworth |first=Mike |date=August 2022 |title=Desperate Undertaking (Flavia Albia) |url=https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/desperate-undertaking-flavia-albia/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Historical Novel Society}}