Surviving Vesuvius: A Lucky Escape From the Tragic Fate of Ancient Pompeii

by Christopher Harrisson, Beth Waters (Illustrator)

Overview

This narrative non-fiction book brings to life the powerful story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, based on the first-hand account of Pliny the Younger. 

The year is 79 AD. Seventeen year-old Roman student Pliny the Younger is at his home across the bay from the bustling town of Pompeii, where people are going about their daily business. The tremors that sometimes shake the ground are coming more frequently than usual, but all are unaware of the cataclysmic event that is about to unfold. Meanwhile, underground, pressure is building beneath the mountain that looms over the surrounding towns and villages. What follows is one of the most extraordinary and frightening natural distasters in recorded history.

This dramatic retelling is based on letters written by Roman historian Pliny the Younger after the event, and is reimagined featuring characters from the town of Pompeii who are known to have existed, such as the businesswoman Julia Felix and politician Julius Polybius.

The story describes the various stages of the eruption, as well as detailing how the history of Pompeii was later uncovered by archeologists. A timeline and glossary provide extra information, ideal for history enthusiasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711279247
Publisher:	Wide Eyed Editions
Publication date:	02/18/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Christopher Harrisson is a writer, artist, and animator living in Bristol, UK.

Beth Waters is an illustrator and printmaker originally from Yorkshire now living and working in Cambridge, UK. She is a graduate of the MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, her first book, Child St Kilda, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Beth Waters is an illustrator and printmaker originally from Yorkshire now living and working in Cambridge, UK. She is a graduate of the MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, her first book, Child St Kilda, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Editorial Reviews

"This dramatic, illustrated retelling of the eruption of Vesuvius is based on the letters of Pliny the Younger, the lawyer and author who witnessed this monumental historical event."

—The Bookseller

"A solidly researched account of a long-ago tragedy."

—Kirkus Reviews

"Older readers who enjoy history, especially ones that truly draw the reader into the time period, will be entranced...."

—Children's Literature

From the Publisher

2025-05-03
A lightly dramatized view of life in the ancient settlements near Mt. Vesuvius and the devastating eruption of 79 C.E. that covered them beneath ash and rock.

Despite the title and one scene of a few dazed survivors wandering over an ashy plain, this book is more about the catastrophe’s course and victims than its aftermath. Waters sets the stage with a general picture of a typical day in Pompeii for a small cast of actual residents—some enslaved and anonymous, others whose names and occupations were preserved either in the physical record or the long letter written decades later by Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness. Along with simplified elevated and subsurface maps paired with an explanation of the geological processes at work, the account offers a detailed replay of the eruption’s successive explosions of pumice and ash, pyroclastic flows of rock, and clouds of toxic gas. Centuries later, interest in the long-undisturbed site was sparked by an early discovery of artifacts in 1592; systematic excavations began in 1748 and continue to this day, with much yet to be uncovered. In the stodgy illustrations, light- and dark-skinned figures in increasingly smudged ancient dress peer worriedly toward the volcano’s slopes and lament as dark clouds descend. In a final scene, modern people wander about blocky, clean-looking ruins taking photos and selfies. In a closing source note, the author carefully distinguishes fact from invention in his tale.

A solidly researched account of a long-ago tragedy. (timelines, glossary)(Nonfiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews