'This marvellous book won the Wolfson History Prize and is a model of subtle but accessible writing about the past' Judith Rice, Guardian 'Classicist Mary Beard has had a great time rooting about that ghostly place and she has brought it quite splendidly back to life' Nicholas Bagnall, Sunday Telegraph 'To the vast field of Pompeiana she brings the human touch - this absorbing, inquisitive and affectionate account of Pompeii is a model of its kind. Beard has caught the quick of what was and, in our lives today, remains the same' Ross Leckie, The Times 'Very readable and excellently researched - Beard's clear-sighted and accessible style makes this a compelling look into history' Alexander Larman, Observer 'If you want to know what really happened in the last days of the petrified city, Beard's meticulous reconstruction will fill you in, scraping away many of your preconceptions as it goes, while her evocative writing will transport you back' Guardian (Best Holiday Books)
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Mary Beard is a professor of classics at Newnham College, Cambridge, and the classics editor of the TLS. Her books include the acclaimed The Roman Triumph and The Parthenon (in the Wonders of the World series of which she is general editor).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Robert Harris' best-selling novel 'Pompeii' convincingly put flesh on the bones of the town's inhabitants. Mary Beard's historical survey does the same for the town itself.
Beard is careful to avoid distortion through over-simplification. She takes pains to stress, for example, that the reality of Pompeii's story is not the clichéd one of a town 'frozen in time' but a more complex and fascinating one altogether. First, she explains that many inhabitants upped sticks well before the fateful day in August 79, taking their treasures with them. Secondly, townpeople and looters alike had plenty of opportunity to salvage/steal valuables after the eruption. And thirdly, much of what we see today is, in fact, reconstruction - almost all of the upper levels of Pompeian buildings for a start. All of these things, together with 'aggressive restoration', Allied bombing and erosion mean that what we see today is far from the sealed capsule that time-travellers hope for.
Beard's Pompeii is an up to the minute account drawing upon much fascinating research - on studies of wheel ruts gouged into the town's shiny black-bouldered streets, for example, which indicate complex one-way traffic systems. Or of plaster casts of plant roots which help to identify crops.
Perhaps Beard's greatest gift is a no-nonsense directness that often cuts through academic over-speculation. For instance, following a discussion of what anthropologists call 'zoning' (in which sectors of a town are associated with particular functions or degrees of affluence), she concludes: 'the simple truth is that Pompeii was without the zoning we have come to expect.'
As ever, Beard's style is highly readable and her book is therefore as valuable to the general reader as to the student. Pompeii is exhilarating and unique. It has found the book it deserves.
Beard is careful to avoid distortion through over-simplification. She takes pains to stress, for example, that the reality of Pompeii's story is not the clichéd one of a town 'frozen in time' but a more complex and fascinating one altogether. First, she explains that many inhabitants upped sticks well before the fateful day in August 79, taking their treasures with them. Secondly, townpeople and looters alike had plenty of opportunity to salvage/steal valuables after the eruption. And thirdly, much of what we see today is, in fact, reconstruction - almost all of the upper levels of Pompeian buildings for a start. All of these things, together with 'aggressive restoration', Allied bombing and erosion mean that what we see today is far from the sealed capsule that time-travellers hope for.
Beard's Pompeii is an up to the minute account drawing upon much fascinating research - on studies of wheel ruts gouged into the town's shiny black-bouldered streets, for example, which indicate complex one-way traffic systems. Or of plaster casts of plant roots which help to identify crops.
Perhaps Beard's greatest gift is a no-nonsense directness that often cuts through academic over-speculation. For instance, following a discussion of what anthropologists call 'zoning' (in which sectors of a town are associated with particular functions or degrees of affluence), she concludes: 'the simple truth is that Pompeii was without the zoning we have come to expect.'
As ever, Beard's style is highly readable and her book is therefore as valuable to the general reader as to the student. Pompeii is exhilarating and unique. It has found the book it deserves.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An outstanding account of the town of Pompeii and what has been discovered there, this book questions the many assumptions which have been made in the past - often with very little proof, viz. the pictures on the walls of the brothel there. The numbers above the erotic depictions have always been explained as the 'positions' that customers wanted. (Liking the idea for a novel,I used it in my first book.) As Beard posits, however, it's much more likely that the numbers were above places for customers to place their sandals and clothes.
Pompeii is not only a compelling read, but it's been written by one of the heavyweight academics of the Roman world. In my opinion, it's an essential part of any Roman enthusiast's library. Highly recommended. Beard's other books are also well worth reading, particularly The Roman Triumph.
Ben Kane, author of The Forgotten Legion.
Pompeii is not only a compelling read, but it's been written by one of the heavyweight academics of the Roman world. In my opinion, it's an essential part of any Roman enthusiast's library. Highly recommended. Beard's other books are also well worth reading, particularly The Roman Triumph.
Ben Kane, author of The Forgotten Legion.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a very enjoyable book, and brought the town to life even for someone who hasn't been there (yet). It was well written and went into everything you can imagine and more, about what went on in the town, the buildings, the objects and monuments, to who lived there and what they did as well as who ruled and how the town was run. The book is well researched and Mary Beard is very knowledgable on the the issue which you can tell in the book.
I think this would be a brilliant guide/pre read for anyone who is planning on going to pompeii as well, which is one reason why I bought because I am going there and think is well worth reading to before.
I think this would be a brilliant guide/pre read for anyone who is planning on going to pompeii as well, which is one reason why I bought because I am going there and think is well worth reading to before.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Detailed
Detailed and efficient one. Very good view on accomodation and sites to visit. Luck of pictures do not heart immagination and impretion.
Published 1 month ago by AdirG
Beautifully written account
Great book to read ahead of your visit to Pompeii - maybe on the Eurostar as it rushes to Salerno or Naples from Rome? Rather go to Salerno, Naples is too crowded and dirty. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Cl Smith
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