Last Days of Pompeii
by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
'Last Days of Pompeii' Summary
Pompeii, A.D. 79. Athenian nobleman Glaucus arrives in the bustling and gaudy Roman town and quickly falls in love with the beautiful Greek Ione. Ione's former guardian, the malevolent Egyptian sorcerer Arbaces, has designs on Ione and sets out to destroy their budding happiness. Arbaces has already ruined Ione's sensitive brother Apaecides by luring him to join the vice-ridden priesthood of Isis. The blind slave Nydia is rescued from her abusive owners, Burbo and Stratonice, by Glaucus, for whom she secretly pines. Arbaces horrifies Ione by declaring his love for her, and flying into a rage when she refuses him. Glaucus and Apaecides rescue her from his grip, but Arbaces is struck down by an earthquake, a sign of Vesuvius' coming eruption.
Glaucus and Ione exult in their love, much to Nydia's torment, while Apaecides finds a new religion in Christianity. Nydia unwittingly helps Julia, a rich young woman who has eyes for Glaucus, obtain a love potion from Arbaces to win Glaucus's love. But the love potion is really a poison that will turn Glaucus mad. Nydia steals the potion and administers it; Glaucus drinks only a small amount and begins raving wildly. Apaecides and Olinthus, an early Christian, determine to publicly reveal the deception of the cult of Isis. Arbaces, recovered from his wounds, overhears and stabs Apaecides to death; he then pins the crime on Glaucus, who has stumbled onto the scene. Arbaces has himself declared the legal guardian of Ione, who is convinced that Arbaces is her brother's murderer, and imprisons her at his mansion. He also imprisons Nydia, who discovers that there is an eyewitness to the murder who can prove Glaucus's innocence—the priest Calenus, who is yet a third prisoner of Arbaces. She smuggles a letter to Glaucus's friend Sallust, begging him to rescue them.
Glaucus is convicted of the murder of Apaecides, Olinthus of heresy, and their sentence is to be fed to wild cats in the amphitheatre. All Pompeii gathers in the amphitheatre for the bloody gladiatorial games. Just as Glaucus is led into the arena with the lion–who, distressed by awareness of the coming eruption, spares his life and returns to his cage—Sallust bursts into the arena and reveals Arbaces's plot. The crowd demands that Arbaces be thrown to the lion, but it is too late: Vesuvius begins to erupt. Ash and stone rain down, causing mass panic. Glaucus rescues Ione from the house of Arbaces, but in the chaotic streets they meet Arbaces, who tries to seize Ione but is killed by a lightning strike. Nydia leads Glaucus and Ione to safety on a ship in the Bay of Naples, as because of her blindness she used to going about in utter darkness while sighted people are made helpless in the cloud of volcanic dust. The next morning she commits suicide by quietly slipping into the sea; death is preferable to the agony of her unrequited love for Glaucus.
Ten years pass, and Glaucus writes to Sallust, now living in Rome, of his and Ione's happiness in Athens. They have built Nydia a tomb and adopted Christianity.
Book Details
Author
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
England
Bulwer-Lytton's literary career began in 1820 with the publication of a book of poems and spanned much of the 19th century. He wrote in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, mystery, roma...
More on Edward George Bulwer-LyttonDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Book of A Thousand Nights and a Night (Arabian Nights), Volume 07 by Richard Francis Burton
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in Englis...
The Junior Classics Volume 4: Heroes and Heroines of Chivalry by William Patten
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and...
In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield
It is a captivating collection of short stories that provides a glimpse into the lives of various characters residing in a German boarding house. Writ...
Aesop's Fables, Volume 04 (Fables 76-100) by Aesop
Dating back to the 6th century BC, Aesop's Fables tell universal truths through the use of simple allegories that are easily understood. Though almost...
The Junior Classics Volume 2: Folk Tales & Myths by William Patten
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and...
Callista by John Henry Newman
In the third century, a beautiful Greek woman named Callista is forced to choose between her love for a pagan philosopher and her newfound faith in Ch...
Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales by Robert Hamill Nassau
Embark on an enchanting journey into the heart of West African culture, where the animals possess a wisdom that rivals the human experience. In "Where...
The Soul of London by Ford Madox Ford
In the heart of a bustling metropolis, amidst the towering landmarks and the ceaseless hum of urban life, lies the enigmatic essence of a city – its s...
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
The Custom of the Country is a 1913 tragicomedy of manners novel by American Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who...
The Seven Poor Travellers by Charles Dickens
The first chapter relates Dickens' visit to the ancient Richard Watts's Charity at Rochester. The second chapter is the touching story of "Richard Dou...
Reviews for Last Days of Pompeii
No reviews posted or approved, yet...