Pompeii

I'm currently writing a novel set in Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius (as in, it starts before the eruption and then, towards the end, it happens) and I was wondering if any of you could recommend some good books to help in my research. There's a lot of literature out there and I just wanted to know if someone with experience here knows if there is a particularly good text that stands above the rest.

The things I need most help with are the culture and religion of the people and the likely general attitude of the community in the lead up to the eruption.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Going to go take a look at them right now.

Buffysquirrel said:

Mary Beard was mentioned. She wrote a book about Pompeii which I thought was useful. It's called Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. She also recently blogged about her recommended secondary sources on the Romans here: http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2014/01/some-good-books-on-ancient-history.html.

Most of my books are more on the military side, I'm afraid, but you could try Invisible Romans by Robert Knapp for insights into the lives of more ordinary people. Citizens of Rome by Simon Goodenough is a useful overview.

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More great suggestions. Thank you!

mirandashell said:

Not sure libraries over here will have them but it would be worth asking I guess.

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I'm going to check the library at uni tomorrow. It's really big so it's worth a shot. If I can't get it there, Amazon has used copies going cheap. I'm just worried about shipping.