The Slave-girl from Jerusalem
First edition, 2007
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| Author | Caroline Lawrence |
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| Illustrator | Richard Russell Lawrence (maps) |
| Cover artist | Peter Sutton, Fred van Deelan |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Roman Mysteries |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Orion Books |
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Publication date
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2 April 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback) |
| Pages | 240pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 77257695 |
| Preceded by | The Charioteer of Delphi |
| Followed by | The Beggar of Volubilis |
The Slave-Girl from Jerusalem is a children's historical novel by Caroline Lawrence. The novel, the thirteenth in The Roman Mysteries series, was published in 2007. It is set in December AD 80 in and around Ostia, and deals with death, slavery and the Roman legal system.
Jonathan's sister, Miriam, is approached by Hepzibah, a girlhood friend from Jerusalem. Hepzibah is in serious trouble. Formerly a slave owned by the wealthy landowner Dives, she claims that she was manumitted (set free), but Dives has just died, and his heir, Nonius Celer, says he has no proof of her freedom and insists on keeping her as part of the estate.
Miriam asks Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia, and Lupus, to help prove Hepzibah is free. But they have barely started investigating when the town is upset by a series of murders: first, Papillio, one of the town Decurions, and then Mercutor, a freedman on Dives's (now Celer's) estate.
Before long, Celer brings charges against Hepzibah for murder. His theory is that the Decurion would have confirmed that she was never set free; and the freedman must have suspected that Dives didn't die of natural causes – Hepzibah killed him. She had a motive: Dives was a soldier (as was Celer's father) in the legions that sacked Jerusalem during the Great Revolt.
Hepzibah is tried in the basilica; the children's old friend Pliny offers to help, but withdraws quickly when Celer retains the legendary orator Quintilian to present his case. The children turn to their other friend, aspiring lawyer Gaius Valerius Flaccus (or, as Flavia calls him, "Floppy").
During the first day in court, however, things do not go well; Quintilian is polished and smooth, while Flaccus's speech comes off as rehearsed and insincere. The evidence against Hepzibah is strong: witnesses say that Dives wanted to marry her, but she ran away, screaming that she hated him. Hepzibah is forced to admit this is true. Moreover, the two murder victims were killed by someone unfamiliar with a sword, most likely a woman.
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