Many of the observations made by Robert Harris of a bustling first century Roman society could be applied to the modern day. The characters could also be transplanted: the hero Attilius is a civil engineer and an idealistic civil servant who is immune from corruption; the villain Ampliatus is a dodgy property developer; his feisty daughter, Corelia, hates what he stands for. Real historical figures are brought to life: Pliny the Elder, who died during the eruption of Vesuvius, and his nephew Pliny the Younger. Amazingly, the characters have more importance than the plot.



The plot itself is slick. Prior to the eruption, it stands on its own feet: Attilius embarks on an expedition to find a fault in the Aqua Augusta viaduct causing the reservoirs to run dry; Ampliatus sees a commercial angle to the water shortage and subterfuge ensues. The post-eruption events are vividly described, largely from the perspective of Pliny the Elder who has set off to sea to record the stages of volcanic activity. Fiction meets fact when non-vulcanologist readers later learn that the term Plinian Eruption is used today. There is wonderful descriptive imagery of Pliny sailing through a storm of falling pumice, reciting events while his scribe cowers under a table. When the ship is eventually driven ashore to a town just south of Pompeii, Pliny cries through the volcanic storm “Stabia – a most pleasant town in which to spend an evening..I suggest we stay for the night.” For that one line alone, this book is worth reading.