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The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

When Karl Briullov unveiled his monumental painting of the doomed city in Milan, he offered viewers a frozen moment of impending catastrophe. Edward…

The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
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Runtime: 16 hr 45 min · Watch the full audiobook on YouTube · Subscribe to Ion Books

When Karl Briullov unveiled his monumental painting of the doomed city in Milan, he offered viewers a frozen moment of impending catastrophe. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, upon seeing it, sought to breathe life into that silent tableau. The result, published in 1834, was a work that did more than recount a disaster; it established the very architecture of historical fiction. We often remember the author for a famously mocked opening line, yet this novel demonstrates a profound command of atmosphere and moral inquiry. It juxtaposes the hedonistic decay of Roman society against the spiritual clarity of emerging faiths, using the looming shadow of Vesuvius as a metronome for human vanity. The narrative invites us to walk the sun-drenched streets alongside Greek nobles, Egyptian priests, and a blind flower girl whose inner sight outshines the visual spectacle around her. As you listen and follow the text, consider how Bulwer-Lytton transforms archaeological detail into a meditation on mortality. The eruption is not merely a backdrop but a moral reckoning, stripping away social pretense to reveal the core of character.

Summary generated by AI model Qwen 3

Public domain & narration

The Last Days of Pompeii was first published in 1834. Works first published before 1931 are in the public domain in the United States, so the text is free to read, share and adapt. The edition shown here comes from Project Gutenberg, which publishes only books that are in the US public domain.

The narration is the LibriVox recording read by 12 volunteer readers, including Ric F, Ann Boulais and BenW. LibriVox volunteers dedicate their recordings to the public domain.

Ion Books adds the synchronized scrolling text and video, so you can read along while you listen, for free.

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Chapters

  1. Book 1, Chapter I (6:31) · watch
  2. Book 1, Chapter II (26:06) · watch
  3. Book 1, Chapter III (40:31) · watch
  4. Book 1, Chapter IV (21:33) · watch
  5. Book 1, Chapter V (16:36) · watch
  6. Book 1, Chapter VI (27:34) · watch
  7. Book 1, Chapter VII (20:43) · watch
  8. Book 1, Chapter VIII (30:55) · watch
  9. Book 2, Chapter I (20:15) · watch
  10. Book 2, Chapter II (11:33) · watch
  11. Book 2, Chapter III (14:01) · watch
  12. Book 2, Chapter IV (30:11) · watch
  13. Book 2, Chapter V (14:04) · watch
  14. Book 2, Chapter VI (14:09) · watch
  15. Book 2, Chapter VII (11:32) · watch
  16. Book 2, Chapter VIII (29:19) · watch
  17. Book 2, Chapter IX (28:29) · watch
  18. Book 3, Chapter I (13:08) · watch
  19. Book 3, Chapter II (19:56) · watch
  20. Book 3, Chapter III (20:08) · watch
  21. Book 3, Chapter IV (24:43) · watch
  22. Book 3, Chapter V (14:05) · watch
  23. Book 3, Chapter VI (15:55) · watch
  24. Book 3, Chapter VII (14:06) · watch
  25. Book 3, Chapter VIII (14:10) · watch
  26. Book 3, Chapter IX (24:26) · watch
  27. Book 3, Chapter X (18:28) · watch
  28. Book 3, Chapter XI (16:55) · watch
  29. Book 4, Chapter I (6:09) · watch
  30. Book 4, Chapter II (21:04) · watch
  31. Book 4, Chapter III (30:05) · watch
  32. Book 4, Chapter IV (13:10) · watch
  33. Book 4, Chapter V (14:57) · watch
  34. Book 4, Chapter VI (26:52) · watch
  35. Book 4, Chapter VII (24:51) · watch
  36. Book 4, Chapter VIII (16:25) · watch
  37. Book 4, Chapter IX (5:48) · watch
  38. Book 4, Chapter X (11:55) · watch
  39. Book 4, Chapter XI (9:51) · watch
  40. Book 4, Chapter XII (10:20) · watch
  41. Book 4, Chapter XIII (16:06) · watch
  42. Book 4, Chapter XIV (5:35) · watch
  43. Book 4, Chapter XV (16:50) · watch
  44. Book 4, Chapter XVI (16:15) · watch
  45. Book 4, Chapter XVII (34:48) · watch
  46. Book 5, Chapter I (25:42) · watch
  47. Book 5, Chapter II (38:11) · watch
  48. Book 5, Chapter III (5:05) · watch
  49. Book 5, Chapter IV (21:57) · watch
  50. Book 5, Chapter V (9:28) · watch
  51. Book 5, Chapter VI (11:02) · watch
  52. Book 5, Chapter VII (12:17) · watch
  53. Book 5, Chapter VIII (8:54) · watch
  54. Book 5, Chapter IX (11:24) · watch
  55. Book 5, Chapter X (6:25) · watch
  56. Book 5, Chapter The Last (13:08) · watch

Full text

This work is too long to show on one page. Read it on Project Gutenberg · download ebook.txt

Sources

Raw pipeline data (admin)