The Taras Report on its Last Days
Pompeii’s
Secrets
Alan Lloyd
9780285642348 Special
Ebook release £6.99
Fully illustrated with photos
of the ruins of Pompeii, death-casts and artefacts
This ebook parallels the current British
Museum exhibition and provides a fascinating imaginative recreation of Pompeii
and fictional histories and personalities for the victims of the volcano whose
casts can be seen in the exhibition. Alan Lloyd asks who were these people who
lived in Pompeii and what were their lives like in the last days?
“Pompeii indulged the senses on every side. With the scent
from sheltered gardens mingled the odours of spiced cooking.”
Through
the eyes of Taras the Mede, a subject of the Parthian empire who reports on
Pompeii for his government, we witness the eruption of the volcano. Taras is
Alan Lloyd’s narrator, and his curiosity allows the reader to discover the real
Pompeii, its geography, food, history and culture with a sense of compelling realism.
“To
Eastern eyes, perhaps no trait was so marked in these people as immodesty.”
Alan
Lloyd, an acclaimed historian and novelist, breathes life into the ghosts that
haunt the empty streets, quiet courtyards and silent rooms of Pompeii while
stirring the imagination of everyone who has seen the well preserved ruins of
the ancient city.
“Above
it, rose the cries of vendors hawking buns, sweets, and other edibles. The
smell of baking was conspicuous.”
Alan
Lloyd’s brand of popular history concentrates on the details and colour that
make for engrossing reading, skilfully depicting a seminal moment in history
and, above all, creating a readable narrative that will enthral readers of all
ages. Combining Alan Lloyd’s extensive research with vividly imagined
experiences of daily life Pompeii’s Secrets is an
engrossing adventure novel, as well as a fascinating historical survey.
Alan
Lloyd is a widely published historian and novelist of over 30 books. Souvenir
Press also publish his Marathon: The Crucial Battle That Created Western
Democracy. ‘The Observer’ commented of Lloyd’s writing : “there’s not a
single boring page”.
1 comment:
We have had this (non-e) book on our bookshelves since the 1980's, we read it then and thoroughly enjoyed it, although felt it was very based on Bulwer-Lytton's style of story. In our copy there is a black and white photo entitled "interior of museum". Does anyone know if it will ever open again?
It is a very easy-read novel, but perhaps not necessarily to be recommended for archaeologists. It was published in 1975 and knowledge of Pompeii will have advanced greatly since then.
It would be interesting to see how the British Museum is using the book for their exhibition. We see the museum has and iphone/android app now available.
Well done for publishing an e-book on Pompeii and using technology to promote the city to a wider audience.
Jackie and Bob
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