History of the Detective Novel Perhaps the first crime writer was Cicero. He was born Marcus Tullius Cicero in Arpinum, a small town on the outskirts of Rome on January 3, 106 BC. As a young man in Rome his skill as an orator had already begun to grow. He began to plead cases in the public forum in his 20s, becoming well known in a very short period of time. By the time he was in his mid-30s he was the most recognised pleader at the Roman bar. A magistrate as well as a public speaker, at 42 he was elected Consul, Rome's highest office. His main skill, however was that he was a consummate writer as well as a statesman. His extensive writings included 58 speeches, about ten thou