Description
Book SynopsisThe Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1905 largely on the basis of his historical novel Quo vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero. The novel''s vivid and moving reconstruction of religious persecution and struggle against tyranny catapulted its author into literary stardom. But, before long, Quo vadis began to ''detach'' itself from the person of its author and to become a multimedial, mass culture phenomenon. In the West and in the East, it was adapted for stage and screen, provided the inspiration for works of music and other genres of literature, was transformed into comic strips and illustrated children''s books, was cited in advertising, and referenced in everyday objects of material culture. This volume explores the strategies Sienkiewicz used to recreate Neronian Rome and the reasons his novel was so avidly consumed and reproduced in new editions, translations, visual illustrations, and adaptations to the stage and screen across Europe and in the United States. The contributions render visible for English-speaking readers the impact of a Polish work of high literature on the presence of Nero, Christian persecution, and ancient Rome in Western popular culture.
Trade ReviewHis paper is based on intimate acquaintance with the rhythms, leaders and main themes of Polish classicism. This level of insight should appeal greatly to an anglophone audience, who will surely learn much from its observations on the importance of Latinity to the creation of a Polish national image, especially under the Russian and German occupations, and from its analysis of the ways in which the Polish language was masterfully employed to construct an inspirational but believable picture of Neronian Rome. * TOM STEVENSON, The Classical Review *
The Novel of Neronian Rome and its Multimedial Transformations: Sienkiewicz's "Quo vadis" is a significant contribution to the field of classical reception in general and specifically on the various permutations of Quo vadis. Whether within an individual chapter or section or the entire collection, teachers, students, and scholars of Nero, ancient Rome on screen, and the reception of Rome in general will find much useful and interesting material. * Meredith Prince, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of Contents1: Monika Wo'zniak and Maria Wyke: Introduction I. Literary Context 2: Jerzy Axer: The Paradoxes of Quo vadis: The Polish Classical Tradition in Action 3: Adam Zió/lkowski: Sienkiewicz and the Topography of Ancient Rome. The Riddle of Ostrianum in Quo vadis 4: Ewa Skwara: Costumes in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo vadis and Their Literary and Painterly Sources 5: Ruth Scodel: Quo vadis and Ancient Rome in the United States, 1896-1905 6: Comparing the Reception of Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur in the United States, 1896-1913 II. Quo vadis up to the Second World War 7: David Mayer: Quo vadis on the stage 8: Stella Dagna: Dangerous Liaisons: Quo vadis? (1913, dir. Enrico Guazzoni) and the Previous Theatrical Adaptations of Sienkiewicz's Novel 9: Maria Wyke: Word and Image: Competitive Adaptation in the Feature Film Quo vadis? (1913) 10: Raffaele De Berti & Elisabetta Gagetti: Illustrating Quo vadis in Italy (1900-1925): Between Cultivated Tradition and Popular Culture 11: Ewa Górecka: Horror amid Sweetness: Kitsch and the Intertextual Strategies of Quo vadis Postcards III. Quo vadis post the Second World War 12: Jonathan Stubbs: 'A more permanent world': Quo Vadis (1951), Runaway Production, and the Internationalisation of Hollywood 13: Martin M. Winkler: M-G-M's QVO VADIS: From Historical Fiction to Screen Spectacle 14: Monika Wo'zniak: 'O omnivorous powers, hail!': Film Dialogue in Quo Vadis (1951) 15: Monica dall'Asta and Alessandro Faccioli: Ursus as a Serial Figure 16: El:zbieta Ostrowska: The (In)discreet Charm of the Romans: Quo vadis (dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 2001)
