The Lost Voices of Pompeii

‘Delightful … Venner builds an excellent narrative of a city that was thriving and bustling with life at the very point it was snuffed out.’ The Times

We all know how the people of Pompeii died. But what about how they lived?

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In 24 hours, Pompeii will vanish.

The morning of the eruption was a day like any other. Julia Felix opens her tavern for another day of business, defying every convention that says a woman can’t succeed alone. Petrinus, newly freed from slavery, wrestles with an impossible decision about his future. Politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa prepares to host the Plebian Games, a spectacle that will cement his power forever.

In 24 hours, seven lives will change forever.

Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries, Dr Jess Venner brings the ancient streets to life through the eyes of those who lived, worked, loved and ultimately met their fate in Pompeii. Here is a community more complex, diverse and human than we ever imagined.

Pompeii is remembered for its destruction, but here we discover the vibrant lives that came before. Richly evocative and immersive, The Lost Voices of Pompeii vividly recreates the final twenty-four hours before the eruption, reminding us exactly what – and who – was lost in 79 AD.

This is the story of everything, and everyone, that was lost.

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For anyone who has ever walked the ruins of Pompeii and wondered what lives beneath the ash, this is the book that answers that question.