The Last Days of Pompeii
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by the baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. 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 79 AD.
The novel uses its characters to contrast the decadent culture of first-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 favorably 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.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
- 1877 - an ambitious theatrical adaptation was mounted at the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre in London that featured a staged eruption of Vesuvius, an earthquake and a sybaritic Roman feast – the earth did not quake, the volcano did not work, acrobats fell onto the cast below, and the production was an expensive flop.
- 1913 - The Last Days of Pompeii (Italy), directed by Mario Caserini.
- 1926 - Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (Italy), directed by Carmine Gallone.
- 1935 - RKO's film The Last Days of Pompeii, with Preston Foster and Basil Rathbone, carried a disclaimer that, although the scenes of Vesuvius erupting had been inspired by the novel, the movie did not use its plot or characters.
- 1950 - The Last Days of Pompeii
- 1959 - The Last Days of Pompeii (Italy), directed by Sergio Leone.
- 1984 - TV series, The Last Days of Pompeii (UK)
