If you need assistance finding any of these titles, please contact the Clarence B. Hanson, Jr. Library at the Museum, library@artsbma.org, or your local public library.

Fiction

Pompeii by Robert Harris

From Publishers Weekly:
In this fine historical by British novelist Harris, an upstanding Roman engineer rushes to repair an aqueduct in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, which, in A.D. 79, is getting ready to blow its top…Harris's volcanology is well researched, and the plot, while decidedly secondary to the expertly rendered historic spectacle, keeps this impressive novel moving along toward its exciting finale.

Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tom Perrottet
From Publishers Weekly:
Just when it seemed certain that travel writers had exhausted the pantheon of destinations, Perrottet offers a fresh perspective by taking the road most traveled. From Rome to Naples to Sparta to Cairo, Perrottet traces the favorite itinerary of ancient Romans in search of adventure and culture abroad. adapting a truly classic journey. Much as the English gentry invaded "the continent" in the waning years of the British Empire, the well-to-do citizens of ancient Rome were ubiquitous and presumptuous when traveling through Asia Minor with their convoys of servants and luggage, and perhaps a portable mosaic swimming pool. Perrottet, whose provisions and entourage consist of a precious copy of the world's oldest known guidebook and his gamely pregnant wife, diligently puts himself at the mercy of the malevolent hoteliers, sullen bureaucrats and teeming masses of a Mediterranean summer, all in the name of embracing the same tedious truths that plagued tourists in the age of Plutarch.

A.D. 62: Pompeii by Rebecca East
Book Description from Amazon.com:
A twenty-first century woman is stranded in 1st century Pompeii when a time travel experiment goes awry; she is sold to a wealthy family as a house slave. This provides her with an intimate, upstairs/downstairs perspective on household life in ancient times. At first she does menial work, but she improves her situation by telling stories and making prophecies. As her influence grows, she wins the love of her master and his daughter and provokes the vengeful jealousy of his wife.

Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor
From stevensaylor.com:
Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people.  Steven says: “This book marks a departure from my Roma Sub Rosa series. I wanted to try my hand at a truly epic novel, and to explore the remarkable ten centuries that came before the time of Gladiator, HBO’s Rome, and my own books. This is the story of how the Romans created the greatest city on earth — the story of how Rome became Rome.”
* Also by Steven Saylor: Roma Sub Rosa mystery series

Other Series:

Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis
A series of light-hearted historical mystery novels set in ancient Rome.

Emperor series by Conn Iggulden
Four books of historical fiction based around the life of Julius Caesar.

Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough
Sweeping series on ancient Rome from the author of The Thorn Birds.

SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts
Edgar Award-nominated detective series set in the time of the Roman Republic.  The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger.

The Roman Whodunnits/Libertus Mystery series by Rosemary Rowe
Libertus, the detective in all these stories, is a mosaicist - an expert in puzzles and patterns."If you like your murder trussed in a toga, you'll enjoy this mystery set in second-century Roman Britain." -Audiofile

Marcus Corvinus Mystery series by David Wishart
From the jacket: "Meet Marcus Corvinus, a young Roman who enjoys wine, women and laughter far more than a hard day's work. You can hardly imagine a less likely sleuth."

Non-Fiction Books

Pompeii: The Living City by Alex Butterworth
Nonfiction book that "brings Pompeii startlingly alive once more." - History Today

The Lost World of Pompeii by Colin Amery

A Day in Pompeii by Eva Canterella

Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies
by Andrew Chamberlain and Michael Parker Parson

Pompeii by Allison Cooley

Women and Beauty in Pompeii by Antonio D'Ambrosio

Vesuvius, A.D. 79: The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum
by Ernesto De Carolis

Italian Mosaic: Projects fro Home and Garden Inspired by Roman Imagery
by Elaine M. Goodwin

Gladiators at Pompeii by Luciana Jacobelli

Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum by A. Wallace-Hadrill
This technical book is demanding for the non-specialist, but it is well written and illustrated and repays the effort required. Anyone interested in the use of living space in Pompeii and Herculaneum will find it fascinating.

Pompeii: Public and Private Life by Paul Zanker

Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure by Joseph Jay Deiss
This first account in English of the excavations at Herculaneum is extremely readable and contains 120 black-and-white illustrations.

Pompeii by Salvatore Nappo
A guide to Pompeii, suitable for use by travellers to the site, describing each building in the city, complete with photographs and maps.

Pompeii: An Architectural History by L. Richardson, Jr.
This book is devoted to Pompeiian architecture and urban development. Pompeii is portrayed in context, as a keystone in the architectural history of antiquity. After a general introduction to the city's history and geography, the book proceeds through the four major building periods. Each of Pompeii's public and private buildings and tombs is described and placed according to its importance in the development of its particular architectural form.

Pompeii: The Day a City Died by Robert Etienne, translated by Caroline Palmer
A pocket-sized information book, this is an introduction to the life and times of Pompeii as revealed by modern archaeology. With foldouts and double-page spreads

Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change
by Richard V. Fisher, Grant Heiken and Jeffrey B. Hulen
Probing the science and mystery of volcanoes, this book chronicles not only their geological behaviour but also their profound effect on human life. From Mount Vesuvius to Mount St Helens, it covers the large variety of volcanoes, the subtle-to-conspicuous signs preceding eruptions and the far-reaching atmospheric consequences. Scientific facts take on a very human dimension as the authors draw upon actual encounters with volcanoes. A 'tourist guide' to volcanoes outlines over 40 sites throughout the world.

Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schminke

Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, edited by Haraldur Sigurdsson, Bruce Houghton, Hazel Rymer, John Stix and Steve McNutt
This encyclopedia - co-edited by Professor Sigurdsson of Vesuvius fame - summarises our present knowledge of volcanoes. Over 80 cross-referenced entries elucidate the major concepts and influences of volcanoes on past and present-day processes. Important volcanoes of the world are described as examples of the various aspects of volcanic processes.

Volcanoes in Human History: The Far Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions
by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer

Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions
by Haraldur Sigurdsson
This carefully researched book, with many historic illustrations, tells the fascinating story of how our understanding of volcanoes has developed over the centuries. Writing with authority, Sigurdsson leads the uninitiated reader through the complex history of ideas about volcanoes, the development of which has been intimately related to our understanding of the Earth's interior and the processes of plate tectonics.

Volcanoes by Dorling Kindersley Publishers
Arranged in a logical manner for easy reference, this pocket guide is packed with facts about volcanoes.

The Letters of Younger Pliny

Resources for Kids

Bodies from the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii by James M. Deem
In this well-researched account, Deem retells the story of this devastating eruption, combining a lively text with photographs of the bones and artifacts that have been unearthed through the years.
Mr. Deem will be appearing at the Museum on November 7!

The Buried City of Pompeii: What it Was Like When Vesuvius Exploded
by Shelley Tanaka

The Dog of Pompeii by Louis Untermeyer

(in Teach Your Children Well, edited by Christine Allison, Delacorte Press, 1993)
This short story about a blind boy and his dog in Pompeii at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius is almost a classic.

Pompeii: The Vanished City by Time-Life Books

The Roman Empire and the Dark Ages by Giovanni Caselli

Roman Places by Sarah Howarth

A Roman Soldier by Giovanni Caselli

A Roman Villa by Jacqueline Morley and John James

The Romans and Pompeii by Phillip Steele

The Secrets of Vesuvius by Sara C. Bisel

In Search of Pompeii: Uncovering a Buried City by Giovanni Caselli

Pompeii by Peter Connolly

The Town of Hercules: ABuried Treasure Trove by Joseph Jay Deiss

Volcano by Peter Dennis

Volcanoes adn Other Natural Disasters by Harriet Griffey

Ancient Rome: Exploring the Culture, People, and Ideas of this Powerful Empire
by Avery Hart and Sandra Gallagher

Archaeology by Dr. Jane McIntosh

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