Un pavé que j'ai lu dans mes années collège, mais qui m'a bien plu.

Grande fresque historique, aux personnages attachants et ménageant une quantité de rebondissement plus qu'appréciables. Evidemment, on connaît la fin, mais c'est pas un critère. Titanic aussi on connaissait la fin, mais ça n'a pas empêché des millions de gens d'aller le voir...

Un bon roman, quoiqu'un peu vieillot dans son style d'écriture (mais bon, personnellement, ça me gêne absolument pas).

A sort of romance built over the archaeological discoveries of the city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the year 79. The style is very nineteenth-century classical, with lots of allusions and quotations from classical writers (Roman and Greek). In the end, the bad guys get what's coming to them and the good guys escape and live happily ever after.

This book was a little difficult, but once I got into the rhythm of it,
I enjoyed it. I did a lot of skipping on the descriptions of the homes, etc.

What a difficult book to read! I've owned "The Last Days of Pompeii" since I was a child, and finally decided to sit down and read it. Over the years I've picked it up, looked at it, and put it back down, always playing with the idea to actually read it. And now that I've read it, I'm glad I did. It was good! So much happened in the storyline, there's not enough time to go over the details. I really appreciated the Christians (Nazarenes) in the story. They caught my attention, being a Christian myself. But Mount Vesuvius! That must've been horrible! What a horrible way to die!

A book about 79 AD Pompeii written with the greatest historical accuracy in 1834. I have been amused by the added layer of confusion when the author adds footnotes for things like converting money to 'present day' currency. His descriptions of the many virtues of our star-crossed lovers go a little overboard. His elaborate set-up to make the eruption of Vesuvius an end-of-days scenario for the five Christians that existed in 79 AD was predictable for the time. Still, I sort of liked it.

I’ve read a few other novels about Pompeii, and I learned about this book after seeing it mentioned in reviews for those other books.

The language felt very unnatural at first, but after doing a little research I learned that the book was written in 1834 so that would be why. I haven’t read many Victorian novels, but I became used to the language after a little while. This is my favorite out of all of the Pompeii-themed novels that I’ve read. The eruption doesn’t happen until the very end, but I was so engrossed in the story and the characters that I didn’t even notice. With other books I’ve always found myself thinking “OK, get to the volcano,” but that wasn’t the case here. In fact, I actually found myself surprised when the eruption began: “Oh right, THIS happens!”

One complaint would be that it’s obvious who the big baddie is from the very beginning. There are a couple of different threads of activity happening at the beginning of the novel, and it gets a little confusing trying to remember who is who at first, but I enjoyed seeing how they all come together into one big plot at the end. There are also entire chapters devoted to one character converting another to Christianity, and they can get a bit preachy, but I was able to start skipping those after a while without feeling like I had missed out on any of the story.

One thing I found interesting, and this isn’t really about the book but it’s something I came across in my research, is that this book has been adapted many times. Opera, theater, film, TV, it’s been turned into them all. There’s even a sculpture of Nydia at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

I have always been fascinated by Pompeii. This 19th century classic apparently used to be more widely read, but now has competition with more contemporary works by Robert Harris and many others. It takes a bit of time to get into the plot of the story, but for ancient history enthusiasts, this book is worth the effort.

The reading of this book was brought to mind when a friend ask me to recommend a book on Pompeii. Even though I read it many years ago, I remember it as a good read.

“Los últimos días de Pompeya” es una novela histórica del británico Edward Bulwer-Lytton, destacado narrador, poeta y dramaturgo que, en sus días, fue más popular que el mismo Dickens. El autor se inspiró en un viaje a la mítica Pompeya sepultada bajo 30 metros de ceniza, borrada del recuerdo con el paso de los siglos, reducida a restos arqueológicos para el estudio de especialistas. Edward Bulwer-Lytton dio vida a los restos humanos calcinados encontrados en las ruinas de Pompeya; otorgó nombres, estímulos y pasiones abigarradas a una de las épocas más icónicas de la humanidad. La novela se ambienta en el año 79, Pompeya es una de las ciudades más esplendorosas del Imperio Romano, decorada con templos y palacios, engalanada con las fastuosas costumbres de su pueblo: fervorosos libertinos, dionisíacos embriagados y sedientos de sangre en la arena: de gladiador o criminal. Las creencias religiosas cruzan sus caminos: romanos, griegos, egipcios, cristianos; cada quien se guía según sus dogmas en la ciudad del exceso y el pecado. Loor a Pompeya, que cómo la antigua Sodoma o la nueva Las Vegas, despliegan lo embustero y lo libidinoso del vicio y el poder. Aquí está Babilonia cobijando a sus hijos con su velo sagrado de depravación.

La trama de la novela sigue a Glauco, valeroso griego que, de regreso en Pompeya, encuentra el amor en los ojos de Ione, protegida del malvado sacerdote egipcio Arbacés, antagonista de la pareja. Los enamorados sobreviven a las perfidias del villano gracias al tino y pericia de Nidia, esclava ciega de hermosa voz y noble corazón que, enamorada de Glauco, dará hasta su propia vida por verlo feliz con Ione, creando un triángulo amoroso conmovedor. El ambiente está muy bien recreado con gladiadores ejercitando sus músculos mientras esperan la oportunidad para salir de la miseria; con cristianos taciturnos, ocultos y proféticos que anhelan la llegada del fin de los tiempos y de esta vida terrenal; con romanos ambiciosos y pendencieros que deleitosos se conducen en pos de su diversión; con magos, brujas y encantadores provistos de sortilegios, ajuares y efluvios para hacer el mal; con dioses tutelares, efigies falsarias, signos en el cielo y un mesías resucitado. Las intrigas se propician, Glauco es condenado a los leones donde enfrentará y luchará ante la muerte con valentía; en contraste Olinto, su compañero prisionero, aceptará regocijado su fin, pues es el camino a las gracias celestiales prometidas por el cristo. A punto de abatirse los combatientes, pareciera que el mismo león de Judá detuvo a los felinos antes del alarido del volcán.

El Vesubio ruge poderoso, desatando lava y ceniza envuelto en grises nubarrones, tiembla la tierra cuarteada ante las intrigas del majestuoso, que, sin dar tregua, sumergió personas y edificios recordando el ínfimo designio del humano, ajustarse a las circunstancias y sobrevivir. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, anclado en el romanticismo, utiliza la erupción del Vesubio para recordar nuestra finitud, nuestra impotencia ante las fuerzas cósmicas y naturales, nuestro descrédito a vigorosos virus y bacterias invisibles que, en instantes, pueden acabar con todo: el fin del mundo está a la vuelta de la esquina. Y en Pompeya, como ahora y como siempre, seguimos los humanos aferrados, a repeticiones y costumbres, a vanos anhelos y esperanza, que como estrellas en el cielo adornan el firmamento. Edward Bulwer-Lytton recupera también esta particularidad humana, aquel brillo singular en medio de la oscuridad del porvenir, aquella paradoja de parecernos a los dioses siendo tan solo animales, aquella pequeñez de la carne contrastada con la grandeza del ser, de la mente, del espíritu o del alma. Somos trazos pasajeros y fugaces de una obra llamada humanidad.

3 1/2 stars. As with many classics, the beginning is yawn-worthy. But it does eventually pick up the pace and become quite exciting. Knowing that at the end the city is destroyed, one wonders who (if anyone) will survive. Which increases the intensity of the subplots, because even if the good-guys win, they may still die at the end. So one wonders if perhaps the bad-guys will win, but suffer in the final demise. Read to find out!

Recreación de la ciudad de Pompeya. Los últimos días de su existencia. Aquellos en que sus habitantes seguían viviendo sin saber que pronto el volcán segaría sus vidas, sus ilusiones, sin querer ver los avisos que la naturaleza les estaba mandando.

Describe las costumbres, las comidas, casas, calles sus juegos en el circo, la aparición de las primeras comunidades cristianas, la religión politeísta frente a la monoteísta, la esclavitud etc.

El argumento gira sobre dos triángulos amorosos: Glauco, ateniense e Iona están enamorados y planean su boda. Abraces el egipcios quiere conquistar a Iona, y no duda en condenar a Glauco al circo de forma arpia. El otro triángulo es el que forma la esclava ciega Nydia enamorada de Glauco.

Esta última representa el amor inalcanzable, sabe la imposibilidad de ser correspondida. Y no duda en sacrificarse por su enamorado. Ve el amor de Glauco e Iona, siente celos, sufre por la indiferencia de Glauco. Pero ella le salva la vida, les guía en la noche y les busca, arriesgando su vida hasta encontrarlos. Y elige un final trágico.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton is one of my favorite authors and I decided on reading "The Last Days of Pompeii" after knowing that the old time radio program, "The Weird Circle" October 29, 1944, episode, "The Fatal Potion" was taken from this novel. I had heard this episode many times and listened again after reading this magnificent story. I loved this book and the radio version was enjoyable, staying closely with several differences, overall not changing this too much. What I loved about "The Last Days of Pompeii" was that Lytton made me feel that I was indeed in Pompeii. I also loved the Christian religious aspect, I had known the persecution of Christians by the Romans and other people that beloved in the Gods not the one and only true God! The so called magic and Gods that are made of stone, the most important is satisfying their desires. The gladiators and beast used to fight man is indeed horrifying. The fate of Pompeii and its inhabitants and the horror of it all. This story is about lovers where many want to keep the couple apart.

Story in short- When Glaucus first saw Ione, he had met his one and only in a temple but will she love him and withstand all, even if they survive that, there is Vesuvius in the bullpen.



The introduction below is from a Delphi collection of Lytton's works.
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The Last Days of Pompeii was first published in three volumes in 1834 by Richard Bentley. Bulwer-Lytton was inspired by the painting The Last Days of Pompeii by the artist Karl Briullov, who had visited the site of the eruption in the 1820’s and made a series of sketches, which he used to create his final work. Bulwer-Lytton saw the painting when he visited Rome and was so struck by it that he determined to write a novel on the subject. The author centres the narrative on events leading up to the volcanic eruption, in which he contrasts different religious beliefs and cultures. Bulwer-Lytton admitted that he mixed the creative with the historical in order to satisfy the public interest in the classical Roman lifestyle. He focused in particular on the opulence or grandeur of the time period, which he believed appealed to Victorian readers. He pays meticulous attention to detail in attempting to render the specifics of the classical world, while also clearly romanticising elements of the work to create a more attractive and interesting canvas for his contemporary audience.
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The narrative focuses on the
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Athenian nobleman Glaucus, who arrives in a busy and ostentatious town and quickly falls in love with the beautiful young Greek woman, Ione. Their potential happiness is thwarted by Ione’s cruel and manipulative former guardian Arbaces; an Egyptian sorcerer, who has already corrupted Ione’s brother by encouraging him to join the vice-laden priesthood, Iris. Glaucus rescues the slave girl Nydia from captivity and she then falls wildly in love with him. The plot then involves the murder of one of the central characters and the attempt to frame Glaucus for the crime. The novel was widely read during the nineteenth century, inspiring two
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theatre productions: Errico Petrella’s opera Jone in 1858 and the ambitious and grand 1887 adaptation at the Queen’s Theatre, which attempted to feature a dramatisation of the eruption of Vesuvius on stage.

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The bells of the cars as they rapidly glided by each other jingled merrily on the ear, and Clodius with smiles or nods claimed familiar acquaintance with whatever
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equipage was most elegant or fantastic: in fact, no idler was better known in Pompeii.
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‘My dear Glaucus!’ said Clodius, ‘I rejoice to see that your losses have so little affected your mien. Why, you seem as if you had been inspired by
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Apollo, and your face shines with happiness like a glory; any one might take you for the winner, and me for the loser.’
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Though Clodius was secretly a little sore at these remarks on his countrymen, he affected to sympathize with his friend, partly because he was by nature a parasite, and partly because it was the fashion among the dissolute young Romans to affect a little contempt for the
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very birth which, in reality, made them so arrogant; it was the mode to imitate the Greeks, and yet to laugh at their own clumsy imitation.
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Thus conversing, their steps were arrested by a crowd gathered round an open space where three streets met; and, just where the porticoes of a light and graceful temple threw their shade, there stood a young girl, with a flower-basket on her right arm, and a small three-stringed instrument of music in the left hand, to whose low and soft tones she was modulating a wild and half-barbaric air. At every pause in the music she gracefully waved her flower-basket round, inviting the loiterers to buy; and many a sesterce was showered into the basket, either in compliment to the music or in compassion to the
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songstress — for she was blind. ‘It is my poor Thessalian,’ said Glaucus, stopping; ‘I have not seen her since my return to Pompeii. Hush! her voice is sweet; let us listen.’

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O buy — O buy the flowers!’ ‘I must have yon bunch of violets, sweet Nydia,’ said Glaucus, pressing
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through the crowd, and dropping a handful of small coins into the basket; ‘your voice is more charming than ever.’ The blind girl started forward as she heard the Athenian’s voice; then as suddenly paused, while the blood rushed violently over neck, cheek, and temples. ‘So you are returned!’ said she, in a low voice; and then repeated half to herself, ‘Glaucus is returned!’ ‘Yes, child, I have not been at Pompeii above a few days. My garden wants your care, as before; you will visit it, I trust, to-morrow. And mind, no garlands at my house shall be woven by any hands but those of the pretty Nydia.’
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Nydia smiled joyously, but did not answer; and Glaucus, placing in his breast the violets he had selected, turned gaily and carelessly from the crowd. ‘So she is a sort of client of yours, this child?’ said Clodius. ‘Ay — does she not sing prettily? She interests me, the poor slave! Besides, she is from the land of the Gods’ hill — Olympus frowned upon her cradle — she is of Thessaly.’
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‘And lo! one of the handsomest in Pompeii, old Diomed’s daughter, the rich Julia!’ said Clodius, as a young lady, her face covered by her veil, and attended by two female slaves, approached them, in her way to the baths.
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‘We shall see you both at my father’s villa soon,’ said Julia, turning to Clodius. ‘We will mark the day in which we visit you with a white stone,’ answered the gamester. Julia dropped her veil, but slowly, so that her last glance rested on the
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Athenian with affected timidity and real boldness; the glance bespoke tenderness and reproach. The friends passed on. ‘Julia is certainly handsome,’ said Glaucus. ‘And last year you would have made that confession in a warmer tone.’ ‘True; I was dazzled at the first sight, and mistook for a gem that which was but an artful imitation.’ ‘Nay,’ returned Clodius, ‘all women are the same at heart. Happy he who weds a handsome face and a large dower. What more can he desire?’ Glaucus sighed.
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In fact, I am not in love; but I could be if there were but occasion to see the object. Eros would light his torch, but the priests have given him no oil.’ ‘Shall I guess the object? — Is it not Diomed’s daughter? She adores you, and does not affect to conceal it; and, by Hercules, I say again and again, she is both handsome and rich. She will bind the door-posts of her

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husband with golden fillets.’ ‘No, I do not desire to sell myself. Diomed’s daughter is handsome, I grant: and at one time, had she not been the grandchild of a freedman, I might have... Yet no — she carries all her beauty in her face; her manners are not maiden-like, and her mind knows no culture save that of pleasure.’

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Glaucus was loved by Nydia the blind girl who was so jealous of his love with Ione. She had saved Ione from Arbaces, the guardian of orphans, Ione and Apaecides. Arbaces has cultivated Ione's mind and was waiting for the time to claim her for a bride but he did not count on her falling in love with Glaucus. Julia was told about a love potion and Nydia tells her about Arbaces who might help her, Nydia did not know that Julia loved Glaucus, when she learned this, she wanted the potion for herself, not knowing she replaces it with water. When Nydia gives the potion, Glaucus still mentions Ione but is immediately an idiot, he runs a mock and accused of killing Ione's brother. He awaits the lion and Olinthus, the Christian awaits the tiger. Arbaces was the accuser and murderer, Vesuvius saves the men for the animals sense something wrong. Arbaces tries to escape with his money and Ione but Glaucus with the help of Nydia find Ione to escape. A final battle between Glaucus and Arbaces for the hand of Ione, a statue falls on the evil man's head. Nydia in the escaping boat with the lovers, knows she will be too jealous to remain with them, and might accidentally harm Glaucus, she slips into the water to her death. Glaucus and Ione remain in Athens.

The radio program had Nydia taking the potion for Arbaces, different names for all except Ione and Nydia. When in Arbaces' cell, Nydia was with Ione and they trick the guard, escape to save Glaucus from the lion. Nydia's love was known by Ione in the radio program not the book, Nydia tried to avoid Ione.