Recommended reading before Southern Italy tour

Have you read the Elena Ferante books set in Naples? She is an excellent writer.

Naples ‘44 by Norman Lewis. It’s a wartime memoir by a British intelligence officer stationed in Naples in the aftermath of the German occupation. There was a movie made about it in 2016, but I didn’t care for it personally. The book is great though.

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2011/may/28/naples-44-norman-lewis-rereading

I'll second the recommendation for Elena Ferrante's books. Naples really comes alive in them. Robert Harris' "Pompeii" is a fun read that takes you back to the week that Vesuvius erupted.

"Pompeii" is definitely a fun read.

I haven't taken the South Italy tour, but before our 2022 trip to Campania, I enjoyed re-reading "I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" by Robert Graves. From an Amazon review: This book may be about Claudius’ life and his account of the major events and people in his life, but the wealth of information about Roman life is impressive. Through Claudius, Graves provided details of what happened behind the scenes of the Senate and the various Emperors that have reigned during his life. You get insight into the culture and political scene of the times.

Not fiction, but Christ Stopped at Eboli is an accoount by a Jewish doctor, Carlo Levi, who spent several years living near Matera. He was exiled there for his antfascist activities. Sympathetic account of the life there prior to WWII.

That Hamilton Woman (older film)

Medici (TV series)

Lying Lives of Adults (Netflix)

Not fiction but will get you in that southern Italy mood - Calabrian Tales by Peter Chiarella, Under the Southern Sun by Paul Paolicelli, and Murder in Matera by Helene Stapinski.

Thank you all! I will see which of these I can easily find and am sure I will enjoy reading them in preparation for the Southern Italy tour. Thanks for all your suggestions!

Don

I ended up ordering Calabrian Tales by Peter Chiarella, Under the Southern Sun by Paul Paolicelli, and Pompeii by Robert Harris. These seemed to be the most historical of the recommended books.
Calabrian Tales arrived first, so I started reading it. Good background for southern Italy in the late 1800's-early 1900's, and a good understanding of the migration from southern Italy to the U.S. (and other places).
The next book I read was Under the Southern Sun (it was a hardcover while Pompeii was paperback and I figured I would rather carry a paperback with me on the tour in late April). Under the Southern Sun continued my understanding of conditions in southern Italy from around WWII to the early 2000's. Good description of how southern Italy handled being an ally of Nazi Germany, and then transitioned to driving the fascists out.
I have just started Pompeii (late first century AD.
I will probably get the Naples books after I come back from the tour, as I think it will be interesting to read fiction set in a foreign place I have visited.
Thank you again for the recommendations. I feel that this preparation will help me appreciate the upcoming tour.
Don

Mary Beard's (nonfiction) book on Pompeii is wonderful and brings the town to life. I believe the same book has different titles depending on the country of publication. You can find it as Pompeii: The Life Of A Roman Town or The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found.

Speaking of Mary Beard, The Los Angeles Review of Books just reviewed her latest Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World. They had some criticisms, but I came away very curious to read it! Again, a non-fiction option, but Beard is a wonderful and accessible author.