Disaster in Pompeii

I have always been fascinated by the history of the Roman city of Pompeii and the destruction caused that city by the eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius. Kathryn Lasky's book, The Last Girls of Pompeii, tells the story of two young girls living in Pompeii just before the eruption. Julia is the daughter of a wealthy family and Sura is her beautiful slave. Julia's life would be perfect except she bears the Curse of Venus - a withered arm. She has little hope for the future because no family would want their son to marry a girl with this curse. Sura's beauty makes her a desireable property who may be sold away from Julia. For both girls the eruption of the volcano causes a major change in their lives.

The IMC has another fiction book about Pompeii - The Shadow of Vesuvius, by Ellis Dillon. In this story the eruption catches an artist and his slave in Pompeii a few days before disaster strikes. Both books give an intimate picture of what life was like in the city of Pompeii and how the disaster affected the lives of individuals.