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 h
as had a great time rooting about that ghostly place and she has brought it quit
e splendidly back to life' Nicholas Bagnall, Sunday Telegraph 'To the vast field
of Pompeiana she brings the human touch...this absorbing, inquisitive and affec
tionate 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 'Ver
y readable and excellently researched...Beard's clear-sighted and accessible sty
le 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 precon
ceptions as it goes, while her evocative writing will transport you back' Guardi
an (Best Holiday Books)
