Paperback reprint (2005) of an older (1971) book by the excellent classical history populariser Michael Grant. Since there’s been 30-odd years of further work on the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum since the original publication, the material is probably dated, but it’s still an excellent read in the “what-life-was-like-in-“ genre. There’s not that much volcanology (which is alright, since the geology of Vesuvius deserves a full scale book on its own) but a lot of details on what the towns were like, what was sold in the shops and what was done in the houses. Wall graffiti reveals an amazing amount of information, including the observation that Roman ladies were a lot more politically active than expected – although they couldn’t stand for office, they made their elective preferences known by writing on the walls. Everybody’s familiar with the haunting casts of bodies made by injecting plaster into cavities in the ash; Grant points out that these are so detailed that we can tell that Roman ladies shaved their pubic hair into patterns – something I never learned in high school Latin class. Grant further quotes graffiti from Roman men expressing their opinions on styles, which I can’t quote here.


Lots of maps on various scales, and many excellent floor plans; I would greatly like an updated edition but Michael Grant died in 2004. Certainly a good book for general background on Roman life and times. ( )

I love reading Michael Grant, and especially the way classical history and archaeology is being written now. Whilst very academic and rigorous, it is also very conversational. I read this on the train from Paris to Rome, and was all ready to go by the time I got there!! ( )