Product Description

First-century Rome is the setting for Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic novel, a story of love, intrigue, and Emperor Nero's hideous persecution of Christians.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #739247 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Polish

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in Polish under its Latin title in 1896. The title means "where are you going?" and alludes to a New Testament verse (John 13:36). The popular novel was widely translated. Set in ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero, Quo Vadis? tells the story of the love that develops between a young Christian woman and a Roman officer who, after meeting her fellow Christians, converts to her religion. Underlying their relationship is the contrast between the worldly opulence of the Roman aristocracy and the poverty, simplicity, and spiritual power of the Christians. The novel has as a subtext the persecution and political subjugation of Poland by Russia.

About the Author
Far more celebrated than any of his positivist contemporaries, Sienkiewicz began as a journalist and achieved considerable renown with his account of a two-year journey to the United States. Between 1882 and 1888 he wrote three historical novels dealing with political and military events in seventeenth-century Poland: With Fire and Sword, The Deluge (1886), and Fire in the Steppe (1888, also translated as Pan Michael). Although superficial in its analysis of historical events, the trilogy gained enormous popularity both in Poland and in other Slavic countries thanks to Sienkiewicz's masterful use of epic techniques and of the seventeenth-century colloquial idiom. Even more popular, if artistically far weaker, was his Quo Vadis? (1896), a novel about Rome in the age of Nero (Sienkiewicz's fame in the West is chiefly based on this work). Another historical novel, The Teutonic Knights (1900), deals with the fifteenth-century struggle between Poland-Lithuania and the Teutonic Order. Among his other works is The Po:eo@lcpl:esaniecki Family (1895), a work that extolled the virtues of philistinism and was sharply attacked by the progressive intelligentsia.

Customer Reviews

Finally a great translation!
I saw the movie as a kid in the fifties and subsequently struggled through the available translation. Despite the quality of that translation, the power of the story came through. This was an accidental purchase (I thought the film was finally available) but a piece of good luck. Like Tina Nunnally's translation of Undset's "Kristin Lavransdatter", Kuniczak's translation clears up any lingering questions that an English-speaker might have had about the power and grace of this story. Great book - great translation!

It's been a long time...
...since I first read this novel. I read it forty years ago when I was a teenager. I have no idea how I first found it, but I have fond memories of having read it. It was one of the first great "adult" books I ever read. Highly recommended for young readers of all ages.

Superb work of literature!
"Quo Vadis" is one of my favorite works of literature. The characterization is generally very well executed and the plot was able to hold my interest throughout. Sienkiewicz created characters who are sure to be loved or supremely disliked by the audience and several characters change throughout the novel making them even more interesting. Despite some historical errors (most scholars now believe Nero didn't order Rome burned), the work was obviously highly reasearched. Sienkiewicz did a fantastic job at showing some of the darker sides of Roman culture; the novel is very violent in places. Sadism is quite blatantly visible in regards to some of the "amusements" the imperial court and circus crowds entertain themselves with. The scene in which Rome burns was protrayed vividly and epicly. Overall, I believe Sienkiewicz deserved a nobel prize for literature for this piece alone.
I read "Quo Vadis" earlier this summer after returning from a trip to Italy. The reading experience was greatly enhanced by seeing some of the sites promently featured in the novel. Although the novel leans Catholic, I believe Christians of about any denomination can enjoy it (I am a Southern Baptist myself). Even non-Christian readers might enjoy the plot and vivid detail.
Personally, I preferred this novel to Ben-Hur (I enjoyed and would recommend both books though).