The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found by Mary Beard

The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found Reviews

• 
  Petra X

  I read a lot of this. I carry it everywhere. I really like Mary Beard. But I can't finish it. I'm not sure if it is the repetition of details in a different way time and again or what, because I really did enjoy it and one day I will finish it. I WILL. Pompeii and ancient Greek and Roman culture interest me a lot.
  
  I expect we all have books like that, ones we like but can't finish but mean to some day and it is never too far from us, ready to pick up but... we never do.
  
  Updated 31 Jan 2022, over 10 years after the original review, and I'm still reading it. It's very scruffy now, but I will finish it. I WILL.
• 
  Kalliope

  
  
  I began to read this book before what was my second visit to Pompeii. Sadly, I did not begin it early enough, so I had only reached about half of the book by the time I got there. When I came back, I started it from the beginning again.
  
  This is not a book to read while being there, for it is thematic. It does not go street by street, house by house, nor treat the temples or theatres or amphitheatre individually. For that one needs a guidebook, plenty of time and most probably a good ‘parasol’. Bring also water and patience because one is not the only visitor. Beard writes in what seems her trademark style. She does not offer a normative account but an exploratory one (I am also reading her
  SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome and this questioning style is even more apparent there). Upon my return home I also watched her documentary for the
  BBC. The book and the film complement each other, as text and image usually do.
  
  Another thing to remember is that Pompeii is not fully excavated. There is still about a quarter to be unearthed. This is therefore a ‘city to follow’ for there is still a large amount of information waiting to come back to life thanks to the archaeologists. (*)
  
  
  
  It is recommended to get closer to Vesuvius itself, so that one can try and imagine (impossible to do really) the magnitude of the explosion, since it tore open the mountain. The shape we see now is not how it was. Of course, while being near to the crater one cannot help but feeling a bit antsy, since it is an active volcano and one of the most dangerous ones, but then I have swum in the Pinatubo crater and the gods protected me.
  
  
  
  Contrary to more popular thought, the Pompeiians knew that something nasty was coming up. The eruption of the Vesuvius on the 25th of August in 79 CE had been preceded by a nasty earthquake in 62 and a series of serious tremors. Out of the possibly 12k population, about 2k perished during the explosion and of these only about half have been found. Many had left then. Pompeiians however could not have been aware of how dangerous that mountain was. Even if there had felt an uneasy foreboding, they did not know they lived by a volcano. The previous explosion had taken place about 1500 years before.
  
  
  
  
  There is so much to learn from Beard’s account that writing this review is daunting. I will just give you the main themes and a few things that struck me.
  
  Beard’s main inquiry is to find out how the Pompeiians actually lived. For example: how they organised themselves socially, whether they lived in areas according to wealth and/or profession. In this she proves that they lived in a very mixed manner. There were no ‘quartiers’. She also looks at how the homes and shops were laid out and decorated. Even if the rooms feel rather enclosing and with small windows, Pompeiians favoured mural paintings displaying opening vistas. A fair amount of the frescoes has survived but these are now in the Archaeological Museum in Naples. This museum, like the mountain, is a strongly recommended complementary visit. In the museum shop I found a wonderful and very fat book with the paintings; it is now sitting at home waiting for my eyes and time
  La pittura pompeiana. In her account Beard presented the four styles of painting that span a period of close to three centuries. She also looks at finances and where the money came from and how it related to the very international commerce that was engaged in this Mediterranean port (exotic and expensive dyes from the East, the food staple ‘garum’ from Hispania and a striking 'Indian' statuette). Their politics had to be somewhat provincial since the major decisions that affected the Republic/Empire were made in Rome. Of course only men could vote but curiously several men made references to outstanding women when seeking the voters.
  
  Pompeiians worked hard but they also had fun. They liked to gamble, socialise in bars, drink their wine (and we tried the Neapolitan wine that is supposedly the closest to what the Romans drank, the Lacrimae Christi – very nice but the expert on wines was my friend), go to brothels and baths. The baths, again against popular thought (also shown convincingly in the BBC production) would not be at all attractive to us now. The large public pools did not have circulating water. Beard also tells us that sexuality was not more pronounced in their society than it is in ours. Beard thinks that rather than sex itself, what was at stake was power, male power, and this was expressed through the proliferating penises. Pompeiians were also believers. Their eating habits were somewhat different from ours; it seems that the wealthy ate at home (reclining as seen in the Hollywood recreations) but the great majority, that is, the less wealthy, ate out in sort of 'fast-food' outlets. Their religion was a mixture of the Roman (no text, no tenets, communal, open system, more based upon acts such as animal sacrifice than ritual) and the Oscan (the previous population) which means greater elements with an Oriental origin.
  
  
  
  Things that struck me were the discussion on the Temple of Isis. In our reading of Ovid, the Egyptian deity Isis in a Roman world has come up. And then as one forgets that Pompeii has had a lot of tourists since it was discovered in the 18th Century with some famous figures walking on those same stones before we members of the mass-tourism phenomenon. I was amused to read that Mozart got some of his inspiration for his Zauberflöte from this quaint Isis temple, and that Shelley had a picnic on the steps of the Temple of Zeus. I was also surprised to learn that there had been a proliferation of graffiti in Pompeii, and this is a good example of continuities in history. Naples is so full of graffiti that I hope it is never washed out, so characteristic is it of this fascinating city. Indeed, modern Naples has provided many clues to archaeologists. The way the butchers hang their joints today is seen in some of the ancient murals. And the key to the way one accessed the various floors (up to three) in the Pompeian houses is also provided by some sections in Naples. While walking through the ‘Quartieri Spagnoli’ where the housing on the ground seems like just a few rooms opening directly onto the street, we wondered how one got to the upper stories. And then we saw staircases in between that led directly and perpendicularly to the dwellings on top. This is exactly the arrangement in Pompeii.
  
  
  
  
  Anyway, Pompeii is a continuously fascinating phenomenon. The way it was buried and the way it is coming back to life now. I have recently heard of a group of archaeologists who organise specialized trips there. A friend of mine is joining them soon, and I would love to follow her at some point.
  
  
  
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  It is sad that Beard does not devote text to Herculaneum. In the documentary she did - one visits its sewers with her.
  
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  (*) One day after posting this review these news on recent findings were published:
  
  
  https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...
  
• 
  Jan-Maat

  A rich and thoughtfully structured text. Full of enjoyment and discoveries.
  
  But then a prized possession of mine when young was a mug for drinking tea - for drinking wine at a young age was not cultural acceptable sadly during my childhood - it was decorated in blue and black with lava swamping the neat columns of Pompeii, a legend read: Pompeii 79AD. Eventually the glaze was so cracked that the vessel had to be demoted to desk tidy. But this must have been after many thousands of mugs of tea. So I am plainly a biassed witness.
  
  This is not the kind of book to read if you like to be told a simple story - this is how it was- FACT! Because what Beard does is point out the kind of issues which are unclear and up for debate about Pompeii and lay out some of the evidence , and she takes time to explain her statements. The text is nicely organised - the labels on the colour plates give page references to where in the book Beard discusses that object and at the end she has a guide to visiting Pompeii - I've never been - its a bit far to walk-and again when she suggests visiting certain houses she gives the pages numbers where she deals with that building. It is thoughtfully integrated - with lots of illustrations. She points out that Pompeii isn't a pristine site - it was looted in antiquity once the lava and ashes had cooled down - then it was bombed in 1943 by the allies, only recently have excavations been thoroughly recorded, early restoration work - particularly of wall paintings and frescos was over enthusiastic one example of this was a painting of a man and a woman, on the verge of becoming intimate, but the restorer in an excess of eroticism has painted ropes beneath the couple's feet, as though they were circus acrobats, originally these may have simply been shadows. In addition s Beard says - you tend to find what you seek and in so far as early interpreters were obsessed with brothels and bars - they found them everywhere although all we have are the physical remains of buildings - in which in most cases the upper stories have collapsed into the lowest one and with minimal bric a brac from daily life.
  
  Pompeii was a fairly odd place. There had been an earthquake in 62 AD and some tremors had occurred before the eruption many building were under repair on the cities final day - with scaffolding, plaster and paint pots left in place. It was an old city, one building incorporated an Etruscan column which had stood in a sacred grove, it hadn't been fought over during the years of Hannibal's invasion and grew with refugees during that period. Sulla had besieged it during the Social war - lead shot fired by his soldiers has been found alongside the fragments of allied bombs in the ruins. Sulla declared the town a colony after his victory and settled a contingent of his veterans there. Cicerio had a country house in the vicinity and it is believed that the Empress Poppea's family came from the area. However it was not a major Italian city and there is no way of knowing how typical or atypical it was compared with other towns with colonial status.
  
  The election posters Beard mentions - painted up over the city were not all from immediately before the eruption of Vesuvisus, but ran back over some generations. From these some attempt has been made to construct or understand the political life of the city. The city was a major producer of Garem - a fermented fish condiment, strikingly a kosher version was also manufactured. The manufacturer decorated his house with mosaic adverts of his product, rather as though if you went to the house of Mr Heinz and found in his porch a painting declaiming "57 varieties"
  
  My first surprise reading this book is that apparently relatively few people died following the eruption the argument is that most of the population fled as pre-shocks, animals however died as they couldn't escape - casualties included guard dogs, and donkeys occurred before the main eruption of Vesuvius. The streets were prone to flooding - which was a benefit since they were also used as sewers and toilets. There was a lot of graffiti - mostly in Latin, but some in Greek and Oscan ( the local pre-Latin language, dying out during this period) and one in Hebrew - some of these were literary quotes - partly famous lines from Virgil along side cruder texts.
  
  Chapters look at various aspects of daily life: governance, a focus on a baker, a banker (auctioneer & money lender and general financial middle man), a baker & his business, food, wine, sex and the baths, Pompeii's houses.
  
  But what you are probably wondering about are the penises and lewd pictures. Indeed there was a good deal of this - from erotic frescoes which may have been Roman bedroom decoration to a painted image of Priapus- which Beard says was kept covered up and only uncovered on request in the recent past, the winged phalluses and the oil lamp hung from a figurine of a midget with a giant penis -Beard says that the Romans had a virile macho culture and indeed one of the points of having slaves was that they were always sexually available to their owners, this reminded me of the poem by Ovid in which we compares the theatre goers of Romulus's day about to rape the Sabine women with those of his own day- sexual and military conquest blend into one. For centuries many of these objects were kept in secret collections and not on public display, they are though a visible reminder of the difference between the ancient Romans and modern peoples who would not put up a picture of a Priapus to ward off thieves and burglars with the threat of extreme sexual violence from a God with a permanent erection.
  
  There are several themes running through the book - you find what you look for and how this unique archaeological discovery has affected understanding of early Imperial Rome and shows it to be more of a fast food, cash and carry and smelly place - many houses had only the one toilet - and that in a corner of the kitchen so at least we can imagine now the smell of Roman Italy.
• 
  Matt

  Pompeii is the most famous dead city in the world. In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman city beneath untold tons of volcanic ash. Death is a part of life. But in the case of Pompeii, her death is her legacy. Pompeii exists today because she was buried. It is her tomb-ness that gives her immortality. When we think of Pompeii, we think of the plaster molds taken of the people who died in the eruption; molds that capture their postures in the last instant of life. Pompeii is a mausoleum. It is Death excavated by archaeologists and run for the enjoyment of tourists.
  
  How strange and refreshing, then, to read a book about Pompeii that almost entirely ignores Mount Vesuvius. Despite the title of Mary Beard’s The Fires of Vesuvius, there is no suffocating ash falling from the sky, no pyroclastic flows. There is no darkness “darker and thicker than any night,” as Pliny the Younger recalled. No, this is a book about the life of a city, delivered by an inimitable writer and expert on the era.
  
  Mary Beard is an intellectual rock star in Great Britain. She is huge. That is, relative to other classicists, she is huge. She is a professor; she appears in documentaries; she writes a blog; and she takes on detractors on Twitter. She is Betty White, if Betty White taught at Cambridge. Not only is Beard an expert, but she’s a personality. When she writes and talks about ancient times, she brings it to life with sharp observations, great wit, and a sly sense of humor that tends towards the scatological. Mary Beard is one of those rare historians who is always wondering: I wonder where they pooped?
  
  The Fires of Vesuvius is divided into chapters that each tackle a different subject relating to Pompeii. The topics include Pompeii’s streets, her houses, employment, local politics, and religion.
  
  This is a book I really enjoyed. It is informative, learned, and also fun. It is not, however, a book I blazed through. Despite coming in at only 316 pages (the last three pages a helpful itinerary if you’re planning to visit), The Fires of Vesuvius took me a while to read. The reason, I think, is because there is no central narrative. Beard is not telling a traditional story with a beginning, middle, and end. Instead, she is taking us on a tour. Like any tour – even with the best guides – there will be parts you love, parts you like, and parts you can take-or-leave.
  
  There is nothing in this book that I’d call low quality. Even the chapter on Pompeii’s streets reveal fascinating insights into life around the time of Jesus. My favorite chapters, however, revolved around – you guessed it – the food, the wine, and the sex. When dealing with these topics, especially the latter, Beard gets to play to her ribald strengths. Here, she describes graffiti found within a bar (it should be noted that the asses referenced below refer to a monetary denomination and not, like, you know, asses):
  
  

  [W]e find women’s names written on the wall in a clearly erotic context and sometimes with a price: ‘Felicla the slave 2 asses’, ‘Successa the slave girl’s a good lay’, and even what has been taken to be a price list, ‘Acria 4 asses, Epafra 10 asses, Firma 3 asses.’
  
  We have to be careful in interpreting this kind of material. If today we were to see ‘Tracy is a whore’ or ‘Donna sucks you off for a fiver’ daubed up at a bar or bus shelter, we would not automatically assume that either of them was actually a prostitute. Nor would we assume that ‘a fiver’ was an accurate reflection of the prices charged for these sexual services in the area. They are just as likely to be insults as facts. So too in Pompeii…

  
  
  This is the type of acuity I want in my history!
  
  There were other sections of which I wasn’t as fond. The chapter on religion, for example, coming after sections on sex and sports, was kind of a letdown. But that’s just me. Like I said, this is a tour, and different people want different things on a tour.
  
  The Fires of Vesuvius is also generous in its illustrations. There are black-and-white illustrations, diagrams, and maps interspersed throughout the book, so that when Beard is talking about a building or a work of art, there’ll be a picture of it on the same page. There are also two insets with glossy, full color plates. One of those plates shows a man and woman having sex on a trampoline. Just in case you were still on the fence about reading this.
  
  Part of the trouble in dealing with Pompeii – with any ancient history – is that so much is lost. Most of the time we’re dealing with negative evidence: What isn’t there? What don’t we know? What can’t we prove? If Beard has a shortcoming, it’s that she spends too much time poking holes in other people’s theories, without advancing any theories to take their place. It can be wearying, after awhile, to learn all the things we’ll never learn. For the most part, though, Beard’s chipper tone makes this a minor annoyance.
  
  As a history lover, my deepest shame is that I don’t like ancient Rome enough. Rome, after all, is synonymous with history. Every inch of it is meaningful, somehow. I thought things would change when I actually visited Italy. Just walk around, I thought, And it’ll happen. You’ll be possessed. One look at Trajan’s Forum and you’ll forget the three times you went to Gettysburg.
  
  It didn't quite happen that way.
  
  Yeah, Rome is wonderful. You can’t beat the prices on house wine, after all. But something about it didn't connect. It is stone. Old, dead stone. I found it impossible to imagine the lives that were lived within and among that stone. Mary Beard is able to bridge the divide between stone and life. She breathes existence into the old dead things. She shows you that once upon a time, this place lived.
  
• 
  Kavita

  When people were running away from destruction in 79 AD, after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, they had no idea that 2000 years later they would be famous and the subject of fascination and speculation to many. If you are one of these many, then you need to read this book. Right away!
  
  This book is not about Mount Vesuvius, nor is it about the destruction of Pompeii. Instead, it takes a more positive approach and uses the catastrophe to delve deeper into the life of ancient Pompeii. Because the city was buried under the debris of the volcanic ash, it remained preserved for centuries until finally unearthed by Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748. Since then, it has been the darling of archaeologists.
  
  The book explores different facets of life in the old city of Pompeii. The chapters are divided into different sections, each one dealing with a different topic. So from politics to entertainment, from social lives of the people to their family lives, Mary Beard takes us through each aspect of life in Pompeii. She brings out the flavour of the city as it was with ease but also manages to help you prepare for the city as it is now.
  
  Beard is not afraid to own that there are many things we do not know. She discusses different viewpoints from different historians and then gives her own opinion as well. She often even ends up playing the devil's advocate. This book forces you to think and analyse along with Beard, and it's fun.
  
  The book is chock full of information about the city just before the eruption. There can be no better guidebook to Pompeii than Pompeii : The Life of a Roman Town. If you plan to visit the ruins of the city, then arm yourself with this book. Even if you are the type who wants to enjoy a trip to Pompeii from the comfort of your armchair, look no further!
• 
  Faith

  This book describes life in Pompeii before it was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The portrait of daily life is constructed from archeological research and historical writings. The author makes clear that neither the research (particularly the early research) nor the writing can be relied upon completely, so there is a lot of room for interpretation. The author interprets in a very entertaining manner. This book was informative, but not at all dry, as it covered such topics as art, architecture, who lived where, the materials used, decorative style, public v private areas, furniture, occupations, agriculture, government, food, dining, sex, hygiene and religion. The narration by Phyllida Nash of the audiobook was excellent. I own another book by this author and I will have to move it up on my list of books to read.
• 
  Henk

  Mary Beard manages to bring the Romans, and especially Pompei as a real and vibrant town, closer to me as a reader through this book. By using themed chapters, focusing on a variety of topics, covering religion, economics, politics, food and drinks, leisure and the history of the town. Beard manages to “dig up” anecdotes and evidence to make these abstract topics interesting.
  
  Some perspectives on Roman society in general and Pompei specifically were new for me, making the book a refreshing and engaging read. I will name a couple below per theme just to indicate the breadth of the book and to capture some of my “discoveries”.
  
  History:
  - The history of Pompei goes much further back (7th century before Christ) and is less homogenous Roman than I at least thought.
  - Already before the eruption of 79 AD many smaller earthquakes and a partly evacuation took place, dispelling the notion that Pompei was captured in a way fully representative of an actually fully functional Roman town.
  
  Politics:
  - The sometimes tense relationship between Italian cities and Rome, shown by Roman settlers eventually forming a substantial part of the population and taking over functions in the city council (Ordo) and government.
  - As a minimum one needed 100.000 sertien (equal to the price of 200 mules or 50 very fine slaves) to be electable in the city government.
  - The above demand evidently did not stop Caligula to take a seat in the Pompei “Ordo”.
  
  Economics:
  - The fact that albeit Pompei was a relatively small town it clearly formed a part of a far reaching empire, evidenced by imports (Indian small statues) and exports (rotting fishsfauce called Garum found in Spain and England) from and to everywhere.
  
  Living conditions and hygiene:
  - The average citizen of the town had much less living space than I thought because of the extended family, including slaves, leading in a sense to a kind of modern outside live, in the form of restaurants and bathhouses visits.
  - Roman lavatories were besides the kitchen to easily dispose waste, seriously impacting my perspective of hygiene in ancient times.
  - Apparently Romans liked to keep and eat mice as a delicacy.
  
  Entertainment and society:
  - A shocking mortality rate of 13% per battle for gladiators, with three quarters of them not having more than 10 battles during their careers/lives.
  - The Roman way to marry was more secular, and based on living together for more than a year, instead of by a religious ritual taking place as I expected.
• 
  Chrissie

  I personally am more attracted by the ancient Greek culture than the Roman. This influences my rating.
  
  I whole-hardheartedly recommend choosing this book if you are curious about ancient Roman life. The book is not about the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 C.E. which destroyed the town. It is instead about life in the town before the event. It is about life in a "typical Roman town". It is based on an immense amount of archaeological research carried out over the last two centuries. The book distinguishes between what is conclusively known and what we can reasonably conjecture, supplying detailed supporting evidence. The minutia of details does not become overwhelming in that the chapters are clearly organized by topic. Topics are summarized and conclusions drawn. This is helpful particularly when there is no common consensus. You don't have to be an expert to read this; terms are simply defined.
  
  It reads a bit like a mystery story. You are given the facts and then shown how those facts can be misconstrued. The point is to show what conclusions can be drawn. Presenting the facts in this way keeps you thinking; you analyze the known facts to see if you come close! It is like a puzzle to solve.
  
  Every aspect of life in Pompeii is covered - food and housing and clothes and sex and religion and government and social structure and slaves and entertainment and bathing and gladiators and painting and sculpture and all the arts. You name it, it is here! Even toilet facilities! It is totally mind boggling to see how people were living two thousand years ago. The similarities between then and now astound.
  
  The audiobook narration by Phyllida Nash was absolutely superb. Wow, she reads slowly and pauses at all the right points. I will in the future look out for any audiobook this woman narrates.
• 
  Roy Lotz

  I read this book too late for my visit to Pompeii��about two years too late, sadly. But I am still glad I did. Mary Beard, in her customary way, has written an intelligent and accessible book about this iconic Roman site, which is enlightening regardless of whether or not its reading coincides with your visit.
  
  Beard can be described as an anti-Romantic. Instead of waxing poetic about the suffering of the victims, the scale of the cataclysm, or the priceless value of the archaeological site, she spends most of her time busting myths and bursting bubbles. Yes, this does make her a bit of a killjoy, though the reader is repaid with an honest, scholarly presentation of what we can confidentially say about life in Pompeii.
  
  Her style is relentlessly interrogative—falsifying theories, examining competing explanations, juggling hypotheses. Indeed, it could be a bit headache-inducing after a while. At a certain point I would like to be told what we know about Pompeii, rather than pound my head against all of the things we do not know. But in the end this is a winning strategy, as it takes us into the actual process of doing history, allowing us to see how a site even as extraordinarily well-preserved as Pompeii does not always yield straightforward answers.
  
  Now I am badly wishing I could return to Pompeii to see the many things I missed. But since the pandemic has eliminated that possibility, I must content myself with watching the documentary that accompanies this book (available on YouTube). For added authenticity, maybe I’ll enjoy a snack of boiled snails covered in fermented fish sauce while I do.
• 
  Lucy

  Going to give this book 4.5**** as I did really enjoy it.
  
  I must admit that I did read this book in anticipation for a new historical fiction novel coming out called “The Wolf Den” (by Elodie Harper). That novel is set in Pompeii and centres around a girl in a brothel.
  
  Admittedly I knew next to nothing about Pompeii, other than it being decimated by a volcano and that it’s a very popular tourist site. So I set out to learn more.
  
  This book covers the general lives of the pompeiians pre- 79AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted, wiping out the people in Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum. It was fascinating to learn what could be told and learned from artefacts, graves, remaining establishments, etc., that have been discovered.
  
  For example, I had never really considered Pompeii prior to 79AD but to learn about it prior to this and centuries before hand was fascinating. For example, to learn about the earthquakes that had happened 15 years prior to 79AD and that that is why some of the buildings were still only sort-of constructed when the eruption hit, and evidence from archeological digs gives us this evidence.
  
  It was great to explore the pompeiian streets: their stepping stones (not only over water but the accumulated filth), their houses and restaurants, sewers and homes. Mary Beard explores the work lives of Pompeiian bakers, bankers, and Garum makers, as well as the differences in wealth of pompeiian citizens and how their lives would’ve differed and been similar.
  
  This is all told through wit but informational prose as expected from reading a book by Mary Beard. She is not afraid to explore the more funnier and weirder side of Pompeii including the jokes graffitied into walls by some ‘lad’ saying who his shagged, the funny artistry of ‘comic strips’ found in pubs and some houses, the huge amount of Phallus symbols and pictures found on curious door chimes, on the streets, or large frescoes in houses, as well as brothels and interesting and eyebrow-raising paintings in bath houses.
  
  I found this a highly informational read and I learned so much! I would love to visit Pompeii one day to see all these different sites of this town. Although, I must admit, I was not expecting to see as many phalluses as I did in a book about Pompeii 🙈👀 so that was a shock!
• 
  Iset

  
  I listened to this on audiobook, and the first thing worth mentioning is that Phyllida Nash was an excellent narrator; clearly spoken, and with a pleasing tone that rather than grating or being soporific really got me engrossed in the book.
  
  Surprisingly, I don’t have much to say about this book. Let me stress, the reason for that is that it’s so spot on. Mary Beard comes across here the same way she does in her programmes and lectures – well-spoken (well-written in this case!), lucid, intelligent, knowledgeable – a true authority in her subject. Moreover she’s professional. She’s objective throughout, and thorough in her research, taking the time and care to deconstruct and debunk the untrue myths about Pompeii – including the ones you’ll hear from the tour guides (visitors – beware!). The book starts out by covering the practicalities: the layout of the town, its history before the eruption, even going into such detail as the form and function of the streets. Boring! Give us the juicy stuff, you may cry. But it actually isn’t. This whole section is kept lively by any appropriate anecdotes that can be told, and what’s more it enhanced my enjoyment of the rest of the book. Working from that solid basis, when the personal human stories where then told, I could set them in context and understand their environment and background, which really added to my enjoyment in the second part of the book. Mary Beard paints a vivid picture of life in Pompeii in the lead up to the eruption, and truly seems to bring to life the individuals again.
  
  Simply put, I recommend this book.
  
  
  8 out of 10
• 
  Nicky

  I've been meaning to get hold of and read this since my visit to Pompeii last September. I was worried it might be quite dry and spoil the fun, since it's billed as being very sceptical and as cutting things down to the facts, but I needn't have worried. It's an easy enough read despite all the detail, and Mary Beard's speculations are as interesting as anything she refutes.
  
  I actually recommend you read it before visiting Pompeii, because you'll have a much clearer understanding of what you're seeing. (And you won't need a tour guide, which considering the urban myths they propagate, is all to the good.) It might even be useful to carry around Pompeii with you to help identify and understand some of what you're seeing -- it's not a guide book, it is a narrative, but if you've read it already, you could flip through to refresh your memory on details.
  
  But reading it after a visit to Pompeii works, too, or even if you don't plan to go to Pompeii at all. Remembering or imagining the hot and dusty streets is easy: Mary Beard is always careful to keep in touch with what Pompeii looks like now (even if that is sometimes disenchanting, for example when she points out that some of the paintings have been totally restored, not always perfectly accurately, by modern work), as well as trying to imagine a time when it was a living town.
  
  Actually, that's the part I find hardest: imagining Pompeii as a living town. Maybe it's partially because my memories of Pompeii are often without context: a random house with tumbled-down walls, grass growing in the remains of an oven, the partial remains of mosaics and paintings. I'm not a visual person anyway, so the images of Pompeii that stay in my head are the ones I saw myself. Pompeii is a hushed town, in my mind, with wind and hot sun and pumice sand in your shoes.
  
  Mary Beard does very well at speculating what it might really have been like, nonetheless, and I definitely recommend this if you have any interest in the site.
• 
  Ray

  A wonderful introduction to Pompeii. It gives an insight into life in a modest Roman town. Much of this was utterly alien, like the way in which the gods intruded into everyday life.
  
  Mary Beard has a great knack of presenting history in a lively and infornative manner without dumbing down. I also liked the way in which often she gave alternative interpretations to findings rather than pontificating about what must gave been - sometimes we simply do not know for sure
  
• 
  Marko Vasić

  Exquisite documentary which answered to many of my inquiries regarding Pompeii. I am quite fond of professor Beard’s humour and her storytelling talent and could listen to her narration on BBC for hours. The concept of this book is of the same quality and I consider it quite comprehensive companion with a lot of informative data for someone who would like to visit Pompeii. Mary initiated narration with the very history of the town, its geography, topography, and inevitably the eruption which turned it into a city of the dead. During the next eight chapters, Beard explained daily life and routine in Pompeii, class differentiations, some of the favourite victuals and liquors of the citizens, their favourite meeting places and the most practised trades. Moreover, the book is bursting with the description of frescoes and mosaics, scattered along the private houses and villas. Two chapters of my utmost delight were: first – the one about, brothel with lascivious graffiti on its walls and explained daily sex life of Pompeii, and the second – where the author listed topography of temples and the shrines in private houses, for almost every home had its own lalarium – the shrine dedicated to guardian deities Lares. Interesting part was the story about baths – their organisation and the entire ritual regarding the time spent thither. Beard mentioned, as well, the theatre and boarding games that were practised, along the gladiator combats in Colosseum at the city’s rim. She explained minutely how to reach Pompeii and which railway network is the most suitable, and advised the future visitors what type of paraphernalia to take with them in visit. The map on the inner sheet of the book is more than informative and convenient to mark locations which one would like to see during the visit. At length, in the last session the author listed additional literature for further reading, for every chapter, which makes this book even more valuable.
• 
  Benny

  Dit boek moet je lezen als je de beroemde ruïnes gaat bezoeken, zei een vriend me. Dus ging het mee in onze reiskoffer naar Napels. Terecht, zo bleek.
  
  Mary Beard brengt Pompeii tot leven in negen hoofdstukken waarin telkens een bepaald aspect van het dagelijks leven centraal staat. Dat gaat van diverse beroepen tot religie en vertier. Het is toegankelijk en vlot geschreven.
  
  Telkens zoemt Mary Beard in op individuen (gelinkt aan de opgravingen van Pompeii) maar ze heeft ook oog voor het ruimere plaatje. Daarbij ontkracht ze enkele mythes en misverstanden over de beroemde ruïnestad.
  
  Inderdaad: een must voor al wie Pompeii wil bezoeken en/of geïnteresseerd is in het dagelijks leven van de Romeinen.
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  Mircea Poeana

  Dupa mai bine de 2000 de ani, oamenii aceia sunt vii!
  Rar mi s-a intamplat sa citesc o carte de istorie atat de plina de viata.
  Pompeii pare o asezare omeneasca din zilele noastre.
  Bucurii si necazuri, umor si drama, iubire, arta, vicii...
  Captivantul destin al muritorului care transcende vremuri si epoci.
• 
  Lauren James

  A very fascinating look at what we know about Romans from the Pompeii remains, and how we know those things for sure. I want to be an archaeologist now, please.
• 
  Virginia Cornelia

  Ca orice alta opinie, si aceasta este subiectiva.
  A fost o lectura greoaie, putin captivanta, spre deosebire de seria BBC narata chiar de autoare, unde vocea si povestea arata clar fascinatia lui Mary Beard pentru cultura romana si orasul Pompeii.
  Cartea cred eu, ar fi mai potrivita celor pasionati in mod deosebit de arheologie, si in plan secundar de istoria unui loc.
  Una peste alta, mi a placut mai mult documentarul BBC decat aceasta carte.
  Va ajunge pe raftul cu " de facut cadou".
• 
  Francisco

  Más que interesante aproximación a la realidad histórica de Pompeya. Como en otros casos, la autora nos empuja a hacernos preguntas acerca de los hallazgos arqueológicos, más que realizar afirmaciones categóricas basadas en sus interpretaciones. Lectura más que interesante.
• 
  AskHistorians

  Readable and lively, Beard captures the vivacious character of Pompeii in a book designed for a popular audience by one of the world's foremost experts.
• 
  John

  Terrific book with a short review... author questions several assumptions made about archeological findings - was this "typical" or specific to a situation? Moreover, she emphasizes that Pompeii was a place in its own right, not some sort of proxy mini-Rome. Excellent audio narration adds to the experience.
  
• 
  Charles Edwards-Freshwater

  A perfect book to fuel my long-time obsession with Pompeii. What I found particularly interesting about this one is the deeper look into the daily life of the inhabitants of the town and the clues that the eruption left behind. It's a fascinating exploration of Roman life and economy, as well quite a fun insight into areas such as gods and religion, sexual activity and art.
  
  I will say that certain parts of it held my interest more than others (there are quite a few passages about things such as the direction of traffic) but it's still one of the most comprehensive overviews of the town I've read - plus, Mary Beard brings her trademark wit and insight which made it eminently readable (even the parts about...traffic).
  
  I wish this volume did have more images and photographs though, and I had to google a lot of the artefacts being spoken about to get a better idea of what they looked like. Still, a really compelling read and it's reignited my desire to revisit Pompeii!
• 
  Dan Graser

  Mary Beard, the finest classicist alive, absolutely never disappoints in her wonderful works of history and this snapshot of Pompeii is no different. Rather than just fill the work with pictures of the site and descend into mere travel-brochure level intrigue, she brings the full weight of her erudition and academic credentials to bear in a serious work of history. Along the way she fills the work with so many levels of history from the remains of huge temples to the ridiculous graffiti left behind, all of which have important historical information to communicate.
  
  As such you may not leave this book feeling like you have just taken a tour through the city, what you will leave this book with is a coherent idea as to the events preceding the cataclysm; the social, political, economic, and most interestingly religious life of the average citizen; and a new contextual appreciation for what this city/town represents in Roman history.
  
  Professor Beard's signature wit, erudition, and eminent readability are on full display throughout. Highly recommended for those with an interest in this area.
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  Liliana

  As someone interested in archaeology, history and ancient civilisations, this book was particularly enlightening. It provided interesting details into the typical life of a Roman town at the time Pompeii was destroyed by the Vesuvian eruption. It does so by expounding on academic research about the city done in the last 200 years, trying to support some conjectures and theories with existing evidence and showing how these same facts can be misconstrued.
  Several themes of this "typical life" are covered, namely food, housing, economy, hygiene, sex, religion, social structure, the arts...
  However, in my opinion, while it is definitely detailed and a worthwhile exposition, it failed to be engaging. Nonetheless, it satisfied my curiosity on the topic of society in Pompeii and its contemporary neighbouring towns!
• 
  Laura

  Ha sido toda una experiencia leer este libro. A raíz del descubrimiento de las ruinas de un "restaurante de comida rápida" en Pompeya me entraron muchas ganas de conocer más cosas sobre la ciudad, y Mary Beard es una estupenda comunicadora con la que poder hacerlo. Con este libro te acercas de una manera muy visual y liviana a todo lo que conocemos actualmente de cómo era allí la vida. En cada capítulo se trata un tema diferente, de modo que si sólo te interesa, por ejemplo, conocer datos sobre cómo era la política o la religión, puede utilizarse como libro de consulta. Súper recomendado.
• 
  Guy

  Mary Beard doesn't conform to the stereotype of the dessicated ivory tower classicist, and as a result this is an interesting, readable, and, dare I say it, entertaining book. Written in an earthy, direct style, salted with dashes of wit and irony, it delivers an excellent summary of the results of centuries of intensive study of the ruined city of Pompeii.
  
  And it is astounding how much has been learned -- one gets a good feel for the hundreds of years of painstaking meticulous work, starting with the excavation and reconstruction, and continuing through the cataloguing of the finds and vast amounts of analysis. Of course, despite all that effort there is still much that is unclear, and to her credit Beard is not afraid to say when she doesn't know, but nor does she shy from giving her educated opinion (even when based on little more than intuition) of the shaky theories and conclusions of other scholars.
  
  If you are planning to visit Pompeii, read this book beforehand: it will make your visit much more rewarding. If you have already been there, read it to find out what you could have seen and appreciated if you had been an Oxbridge classics professor familiar with everything that has been unearthed from and deduced about the most fascinating archaeological site in Europe.
• 
  J

  A stupendous book, I started recommending it to friends and family before I finished reading.
  
  I've read a lot of history books, but this one impressed me for simultaneously covering one of the oldest time periods I've read about, while also humanizing history better than any other history book I can think of. Beard goes into detail on subjects I never knew I was interested in, but was enthralled by: everything from how fresco painting was done, to how a bakery was operated, to traffic patterns.
  
  Beard's style is very engaging, something that can't always be said of a history book. She engages with different theories that have been suggested, but also is frank about what we still don't know.
  
  Highly recommended for those with an interest in history, Rome, or even just generally looking for an interesting non-fiction book to read.
• 
  Humberto Ballesteros

  Beard's authoritative book on Pompeii pleased me even more than her SPQR, which I also enjoyed. Her clear and measured voice, punctuated by moments of wry humor, provides the perfect counterpoint for her obsessive attention to detail and her massive bibliography; and her penchant for criticizing her colleagues' more fanciful theories lends itself beautifully to the topic, given the tendency to romanticize Roman life that has affected many authors in the past. One truly gets the feeling that the picture of Roman daily life which emerges from "The Fires of Vesuvius" is as close to the real thing as we can get in this day and age.
• 
  Czarny Pies

  I am giving this very charming tourist guide a mere three stars in order to express my outrage at it having been awarded the 2008 Wolfson History Prize. "The Fires of Vesuvius" is not in any way a work of historical scholarship which the author recognizes well enough. She provides an itinerary for a visit to the site, tips on how to travel there and suggestions where to stop for snacks.
  "The Fires of Vesuvius" would indeed very valuable for the cultured visitor to Pompei. It provides a resume of the current state of academic knowledge on the politics, economics, society, cultural life, diet and sexual habits of the residents of the city at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD which brought an end to the existence of the city. Beard does not however tell us anything that has not been known for a long time in the historical profession. This is purely a work of vulgarisation.
  What irritates me is the amount of time that the author devotes to debunking myths in popular culture about Pompeii. She repeatedly states that Edward Bulwer-Lytton's "Last Days of Pompeii" portrays the city very inaccurately as if anyone had ever taken it seriously. She also notes that Theophile Gautier's "Arria Marcella" paints an inaccurate description of Pompeii which would surprise no one who has read the work.
  She also states early in her book that one cannot trust the "Satyricon" by Petronius Arbiter as a reliable source on Pompeii and then cites the "Satyricon" in half a dozen later passages to explain points.
  The plates and reproductions in the book are often of nineteenth copies of paintings found in Pompeii or scenes of the city as imagined by artists after seen the ruins. These illustrations are certainly pretty but make like contribution to the reader's actual understandign of the historical reality.
  Beard's approach is to first engage the interest of the reader through citing works that he or she might be familiar with and pretty pictures. Next she explains the current state of academic knowledge is. Her method results in a very pleasant reading experience. However, this is not prize winning historical writing.
  
• 
  Ann

  This is one of those books, like Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's book on the Cathars, that makes history come alive for people who like to know "how do you know that? WHy do you think that's so?". I recommend it highly for the general reader with an interest in history and an inquiring, even sceptical, mind. The author discusses life in Pompeii,sticking close to the archeological and historical record. In doing so, she gently pokes fun at some of the more outrageous flights of fantasy that other authors have indulged in. On a more serious basis, she warns against interpreting Roman society through the eyes of the 21st century. For instance, the Roman oncept of the house being a largely public space (modern) versus our view of the home as a private place, was fascinating to me. This results in a nuanced view, where she can distinguish the general rule ("women had a pretty rotten time of it in Roman society" from the notable exception (... "but yet we see evidence of some women being influential, being able to own and sell property").
  
  I want to point out two features that made this book especially attractive to me :
  
  1. She uses the whole of the knowledge of Roman culture to support her points. For instance, she quotes Latin literature and the archeological record from other places. Who knew that a jar from a Pompeiian producer was found as far away as England? Who knew that a bronze plaque found in Spain can throw light on the customs and laws of Pompeii? This type of information really helps to situate Pompeii in the Roman empire, rather than to see it as an isolated curio.
  
  2. She does not require you to have a very good spatial imagination. I just zone out when books start describing "three yards to the north of x, you turn into a street of 3 feet wide, paved with cobblestones that measure 7 by 9 inches." There are plans, pictures and graphs in the book to help you get an instinctive feel for the size and dimensions of the place.
  
  Highly recommended!