FROM THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN Claudia Morrison Dunvegan (Ont.), Cormorant Books, 1990. 173pp, paper, ISBN 0-920953-43-3 (cloth) $21.95, ISBN 0-920953-33-6 (paper) $6.95 Distributed by Cormo­rant Books, RR#1 Dunvegan, Ontario KOC1JO. CIP Adult Reviewed by Louise Dick. Volume 19 Number 2 1991 March A richly detailed Pompeii in 79 A.D. is the setting for the story of Claudia, wife of Propertius and mother of Lucilla and Drusus. First-person narrative is in the form of a journal and letters from 10 June to August 23. Claudia reveals her struggle with depression, conflict with her daughter, over-protection of her young son, and relationships with husband and lover. Throughout these interpersonal tensions she expresses philosophic and religious uncertainties, her feminism, and her terrifying and prophetic dreams. The physical setting of patrician life in Pompeii and Stabiae and intellectual and political climate seem real and immediate. Discussions of the nature of liberty, role of violent spectator sports and censorship indicate the universality of Morrison's themes. Plot is of second­ary interest. Over-abundant detail in the Roman background and personal relationships focused through Claudia suggest the novel would appeal prima­rily to grade 13 or adult readers. Louise Dick, Toronto, Ont.