The entry on Wikipedia notes "Once a very widely read book and now relatively neglected, it culminates in the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79."

I should certainly hope so. You can't do Pompeii without having it destroyed at some point, and the title guarantees lots of fiery destruction.

Actual historical detail on the street: stones that let you cross when rain had temporarily flooded the streets.