Book: Pompeii's Ashes The Reception of the Cities Buried by Vesuvius in Literature, Music, and Drama

To be published in March:

Eric Moormann, Pompeii's Ashes. The Reception of the Cities Buried by Vesuvius in Literature, Music, and Drama. De Gruyter, March 2015. ISBN 978-1-61451-873-0

Although there are many works dealing with Pompeii and Herculaneum, none of them try to encompass the entire spectrum of material related to its reception in popular imagination. Pompeii’s Ashes surveys a broad variety of such works, ranging from travelogues between ca. 1740 and 2010 to 250 years of fiction, including stage works, music, and films. The first two chapters provide an in-depth analysis of the excavation history and an overview of the reflections of travelers. The six remaining chapters discuss several clearly-defined genres: historical novels with pagan tendencies, and those with Christians and Jews as protagonists, contemporary adventures, time traveling, mock manuscripts, and works dedicated to Vesuvius. “Pompeii’s Ashes” demonstrates how the eternal fascination with the oldest still-running archaeological projects in the world began, developed, and continue until now.

Contents 

Introduction 

I From Treasure Hunting to Archaeological Dig. History of the Excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii 

II Travelers to the Vesuvian Cities 

III Pagan Pompeii in Fiction 

IV Jews and Christians in Pompeii Novels 

V Modern and Contemporary Visits to Pompeii in Fiction: A Perilous Affair 

VI Time Traveling to Ancient Pompeii 

VII Real and Fictional Manuscripts from Pompeii and Herculaneum 

VIII Pompeii on Stage and Screen 

IX Herculaneum Under Vesuvius 

X Intimations of Pompeii: By Way of Envoy 

More details here.