The Novel of Neronian Rome and its Multimedial Transformations: Sienkiewicz's Quo vadis

2020 OUP hardcover edition. Light reading wear else very good condition. The 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. Contents: 1. Introduction by Monika Wozniak and Maria Wyke PART I LITERARY CONTEXT 2. The Paradoxes of Quo vadis: the Polish Classical Tradition in Action by Jerzy Axer 3. Sienkiewicz and the Topography of Ancient Rome: the Riddle of Ostrianum in Quo vadis by Adam Ziolkowski 4. Costumes in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo vadis and their Literary and Painterly Sources by Ewa Skwara 5. Quo vadis and Ancient Rome in the United States, 1896-1905 by Ruth Scodel 6. Comparing the Reception of Quo vadis and Ben-Hur in the United States, 1896-1913 by Jon Solomon PART II QUO VADIS UP TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR 7. Quo vadis on the Stage by David Mayer 8. Dangerous Liaisons: Quo vadis? (1913, dir. Enrico Guazzoni) and the Previous Theatrical Adaptations of Sienkiewicz's Novel by Stella Dagna 9. Word and Image: Competitive Adaptation in the Feature Film Quo vadis? (1913) by Maria Wyke 10. Illustrating Quo vadis in Italy (1900-1925): between Cultivated Tradition and Popular Culture by Raffaele De Berti and Elisabetta Gagetti 11. Horror amid Sweetness: Kitsch and the Intertextual Strategies of Quo vadis Postcards by Ewa Gorecka PART III QUO VADIS AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR 12. 'A more permanent world': Quo Vadis (1951), Runaway Production, and the Internationalization of Hollywood by Jonathan Stubbs 13. MGM's Quo Vadis: from Historical Fiction to Screen Spectacle by Martin M. Winkler 14. 'O omnivorous powers, hail!': Film Dialogue in Quo Vadis (1951) by Monika Wozniak 15. Ursus as a Serial Figure by Monica Dall'Asta and Alessandro Faccioli 16. The (In)discreet Charm of the Romans: Quo vadis (dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 2001) by Elzbieta Ostrowska. …