Toga Tales: Books About Ancient Rome

I'm going on holiday this year! Sorry to mention it, but as someone who averages a proper holiday every five or six years, I'm excited! I'm going to Italy and I'm going to see Pompeii.

Naturally my History Reading Challenge has taken to the theme, awakening my Ancient Roman Nerd from it's long slumber; growing up close to Colchester - a major Roman settlement before Boudica got involved - will do that to a kid.

So here are the books I've read, perfect for when you're in the mood for some toga action...

Vesuvius By Night by Lindsey Davis

This is an odd book - more of a dramatic re-enactment than a novel. We follow two roommates in the immediate hours following the eruption, each taking a different approach. One - a conman - decides to use the opportunity to loot. The other - a family man (and one of the 'painters at work') attempts to get his daughter out of the city. His wife - based in Herculaneum - seeks safety for her other children in the now-infamous boathouses. It's a compelling, emotional narrative, as we follow people who are already doomed and yet utterly unaware that they are about to become some of the most famous dead people on Earth. 

The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

This is also by Lindsey Davis and is the first in her popular Falco detective series, which takes all the Noir Detective tropes and applies them to an ancient Rome setting. Falco, an 'informer', is a direct inversion of those solitary PI stereotypes - a slightly embarrassing military service history, surrounded by extensive loving (and interfering) family members, and his ladies' man status hampered by his habit of accidentally forming meaningful relationships with women.

I found the mystery a little underwhelming, but only because the book was having to introduce an entire historical setting, a complex main character (plus other major players), and a surprisingly well-developed romance all at once. I'm eager to read the next books in the series.  

Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town by Mary Beard

This non-fiction title did feel, at times, a little bit like doing homework. That said, it also feels like the only homework needed. Mary Beard breaks down the known (and speculated) history of Pompeii, as well as the major assumptions historians have made, while keeping everything down-to-earth and understandable to someone without the benefit an Ancient History degree.

From Pompeii's reverse-Brexit-flavoured attempt to rebel against Rome for not letting them into the empire (only to be really mad when Rome cheerfully colonised them) to theories about wall decor, cart zoning permits and looters, this is history at it's most human and a reminder that the town was more than just that terrible day.