Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town

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Description

Pompeii explodes a number of myths - from the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; and the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, to the massive death count which was probably less than ten per cent of the population.

Street Life, Earning a Living: Baker, Banker and Garum Maker (who ran the city), The Pleasure of the Body: Food, Wine, Sex and Baths, these chapter headings give a surprising insight into the workings of a Roman town. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica. A fast-food joint on the Via dell' Abbondanza introduces food and drink and diets and street life. These are just a few of the strands that make up an extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain's leading classicist.

Reviews

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 Pompeiiana 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 *
The world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy ... scrutinising and animated in equal measure. -- Laura Silverman * Daily Mail *
A brilliant portrait ... this meticulous, vivid study of life in the town rightly and resolutely focuses on the living city. -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

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).