| Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero | |
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First American edition title page |
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| Author(s) | Henryk Sienkiewicz |
| Original title | Quo vadis. Powieść z czasów Nerona |
| Translator | Jeremiah Curtin W. S. Kuniczak |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Polish dailies (in serial) & Little, Brown (Eng. trans. book form) |
| Publication date | 1895 |
| Media type | Print (Newspaper, Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish.[1] Quo vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?" and alludes to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he is going to Rome. Jesus says "I am going back to be crucified again", which makes Peter go back to Rome and accept martyrdom.
The novel Quo Vadis tells of a love that develops between a young Christian woman, Ligia (or Lygia), and Marcus Vinicius, a Roman patrician. It takes place in the city of Rome under the rule of emperor Nero around AD 64.
Sienkiewicz studied the Roman Empire extensively prior to writing the novel, with the aim of getting historical details correct. As such, several historical figures appear in the book. As a whole, the novel carries an outspoken pro-Christian message.
Published in installments in three Polish dailies in 1895, it came out in book form in 1896 and has since been translated into more than 50 languages. This novel contributed to Sienkiewicz's Nobel Prize for literature in 1905.
Several movies have been based on Quo Vadis including the 1951 Hollywood production Quo Vadis and the 2001 adaptation by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
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Sienkiewicz alludes to several historical events and merges them in his novel, but some of them are of doubtful authenticity.
1896 was also the year that playwright-actor-manager Wilson Barrett produced his successful play The Sign of the Cross. Although Barrett never acknowledged it, several elements in the play strongly resemble those in Quo Vadis. In both, a Roman soldier named Marcus falls in love with a Christian woman and wishes to "possess" her. (In the novel, her name is Ligia, in the play she is Mercia.) Nero, Tigellinus and Poppea are major characters in both the play and novel, and in both, Poppea lusts after Marcus. Petronius, however, does not appear in The Sign of the Cross, and the ending of the play diverges from that of Quo Vadis.
Film versions of the novel were produced in 1912 and 1925.[2] A 1951 version directed by Mervyn LeRoy was nominated for eight academy awards. The novel was also the basis for a 1985 mini-series starring Klaus Maria Brandauer as Nero and a 2001 Polish mini-series directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
Jean Nouguès composed an opera based on the novel, to a libretto by Henri Caïn; it was premiered in 1909.
The character Ursus was featured in a number of Italian adventure films from 1961 to 1964. He was first featured in 1961's Ursus, where he must rescue his fiancee from a sacrificial cult, and was portrayed by actor Ed Fury. This film was released in the United States initially as Mighty Ursus and was later adapted for the American television film package, The Sons of Hercules, where it was retitled "Ursus, Son of Hercules". In 1961's La Vendetta di Ursus (The Revenge of Ursus), while portrayed by Samson Burke, Ursus is a farmer with his younger brother Doraius, who fights to prevent the malicious King Zagro and Lycurgas from overtaking the neighboring kingdom of Leecha. That same year, Ed Fury returned in Ursus nella valle dei leoni (Ursus in the Valley of the Lions), in which he is the prince of a fallen kingdom, raised by lions after the rest of the royal family was killed.
The next film, Ursus e la regazza tartara (Ursus and the Tartar Girl, released in English-speaking countries as Ursus and the Tartar Princess), was filmed in France in 1962, and starred British actor Joe Robinson as Ursus, but takes place in Central Asia; Ursus fights a Khan played by famous Armenian actor Akim Tamiroff. This film was also released to American television under the title "The Tartar Invasion". Ursus nella terra di fuoc] (Ursus in the Land of Fire), released in 1963, yet again stars Ed Fury. In it, Ursus must overthrow a vicious general who has overtaken the throne of an unnamed country. It was adapted for The Sons of Hercules package, where it was retitled "Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire".
Ursus's next three films were Ursus il gladiatore rebelle (Ursus The Rebel Gladiator, aka "Rebel Gladiators"), 1963 (starring Dan Vadis); Ursus il terrore dei kirghisi (Ursus, the Terror of the Kirghiz, aka "Hercules, Prisoner of Evil") 1964 (starring Reg Park); and Gli Invincibili Tre (The Invincible Three, also released to American television as "Three Avengers") 1964 (starring Alan Steel as Ursus). The final film to feature Ursus was the relatively high-budget teamup film Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincible(Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: the Invincibles) (1964) which was released in English-speaking countries as "Samson and the Mighty Challenge" . The film features Ursus along with Maciste, Samson and Hercules. Yann Larvor portrays Ursus in this film, while Alan Steel played Hercules, Renato Rossini played Maciste and Nadir Baltimore played Samson. This film was also released in Europe as "Le Grand Defi" and "Combate dei Gigantes".