Desperate Undertaking is a historical novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the tenth in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 7 April 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN 9781529354713)^[1] and in the United States on 27 July 2022 by Minotaur Books (ISBN 9781250799883).^[2]

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.^[1][3] 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".^[4]

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.^[1] 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.^[5] The American cover shows a girl in a white and purple tunic looking towards a Roman theatre while clutching a large dagger.^[2]