Other editions of book The Last Days of Pompeii

The Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting The Last Day of Pompeii by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates in the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.The Last Day of Pompeii, Karl BryullovThe novel uses its characters to contrast the decadent culture of 1st-century Rome with both older cultures and coming trends. The protagonist, Glaucus, represents the Greeks who have been subordinated by Rome, and his nemesis Arbaces the still older culture of Egypt. Olinthus is the chief representative of the nascent Christian religion, which is presented favourably but not uncritically. The Witch of Vesuvius, though she has no supernatural powers, shows Bulwer-Lytton's interest in the occult—a theme which would emerge in his later writing, particularly The Coming Race.A popular sculpture by American sculptor Randolph Rogers, Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (1856), was based on a character from the book.

Book Club edition, dust jacket has mosaic. In what is recognized as one of the most penetrating views of Roman Life, Sir Edward makes Pompeii live again--showing its gardens and temples, its wealthy and its poor, its banquets, orgies and brutal gladiatorial combats. This vivid tapestry is the background for the exciting story of the lovers Glaucus and Ione...the devoted slave Nydia...Arbaces, the wicked Egyptian priest...and a host of other characters who play out their parts in a great human drama, unaware of the catastrophe that is about to consume them. (from dust jacket)

The Last Days Of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The story is set in Pompeii, A.D. 79. Athenian nobleman Glaucus arrives in the busy Roman town and quickly falls in love with the beautiful Greek Ione. Ione's former guardian, the Egyptian sorcerer Arbaces, has designs on Ione and sets out to destroy their growing happiness. Arbaces has already ruined Ione's sensitive brother Apaecides by luring him to join the vice-ridden corrupt priesthood of Isis. Any profits made from the sale of this book will go towards supporting the Freeriver Community project, a project that aims to support community and encourage well-being. To learn more about the Freeriver Community project please visit the website- www.freerivercommunity.com

'HO, Diomed, well met! Do you sup with Glaucus to-night?' said a young man of small stature, who wore his tunic in those loose and effeminate folds which proved him to be a gentleman and a coxcomb. 'Alas, no! dear Clodius; he has not invited me,' replied Diomed, a man of portly frame and of middle age. 'By Pollux, a scurvy trick! for they say his suppers are the best in Pompeii'. 'Pretty well—though there is never enough of wine for me. It is not the old Greek blood that flows in his veins, for he pretends that wine makes him dull the next morning.'