
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
Authors

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...
Books by Edward George Bulwer-LyttonDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by Edward Everett Hale
This collection features ten heartwarming Christmas stories by Edward Everett Hale, a prominent American writer of the 19th century. These tales expl...

Tessa, Our Little Italian Cousin by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade
Tessa, Our Little Italian Cousin is a heartwarming story of a young American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. While there, she learns...

Za chlebem by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Originally published in 1897, 'Bread' tells the story of a Polish father and daughter who leave their homeland for a new life in America. The novel na...

Yiddish Tales (יידיש מעשה) by Various
This collection of 48 English-language stories offers a glimpse into the lives of Jewish communities in 19th-century Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukrai...

Kalendergeschichten by Johann Peter Hebel
Kalendergeschichten, written by Johann Peter Hebel, is a collection of short stories originally published in the Rheinländischer Hausfreund, a popular...

Gullivers Rejser by Jonathan Swift
Gullivers Rejser er en klassisk satire, der følger Lemuel Gulliver, en engelsk kirurg, på hans fantastiske rejser til forskellige fantastiske lande. D...

Contos by José Maria de Eça de Queirós
''Contos de Eça de Queirós'' é uma coleção de doze contos curtos que oferecem uma crítica mordaz à sociedade portuguesa do século XIX, particularmente...

The Descent of Man and Other Stories by Edith Wharton
“The Descent of Man” – Professor Linyard is a man of science who writes a book where he pretends to take the side of religion, expecting it to be unde...

Ocherki proshlago : razskazy by Lev Osipovich Levanda
Levanda's collection of short stories delves into the lives of Jewish communities in Poland, offering a glimpse into their cultural tapestry, traditio...

The Improvement of Human Reason by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Tufail
"The Improvement of Human Reason" by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Tufail is a timeless philosophical work that beckons the mind to wander through th...
Reviews for Last Days of Pompeii
No reviews posted or approved, yet...