Last Days of Pompeii
Author(s): Edward Bulwer-lytton
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Narrators: Ric F, Becky Cook, Rachel Triska, Ann Boulais, Christine Blachford, Ruth Golding, TriciaG, BenW, Amy Benton, Iskander Shafikov, Kristine Bekere, Philippa
Number of Chapters: 56
Length: 16 hours and 44 minutes
Language: English
Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by 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. (Summary from Wikipedia)