Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes
by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
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Classic text republished as an e-book.Tags
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This book is probably the first one I read following an automatic recommendation found on LT. And I rather enjoyed it, except that the copy I bought from e-Bay—and printed in 1848—used a 2-column type-setting and a very small font. But this is not Bulwer-Lytton's fault.
One has to get accustomed to Bulwer-Lytton's prose, which can be confusing in the first pages. He can get tedious by his pomposity at times, and I avow that some chapters, especially in the first part of the book, are very slow. But in the middle of all this pomposity and slowness, I found very nice sentences which would be worth to read aloud, for their rythm and sonority. When Bulwer-Lytton describes knights defying themselves and throwing gages, I had the show more impression to read lines from Shakespeare's Richard The Second.
A most interesting passage is the description of plague in Florence in the mid 14c. It was of special interest to me because I read Rienzi just after having read Pepys's Diary 1665 where Pepys describes the plague epidemy in London that year. There are quite similar statements, for instance the common belief that good humour and cheerfulness were a protection against the disease. I wonder if Bulwer-Lytton could have been inspired by the first edition of Pepys's Diary which was probably published at the time Rienzi was composed...
The book ends up in an apocalysm that could have been written by Wagner himself—but he made an opera of it, after all. The whole story could have also made a good movie, at least in the peplum era, some 40 years ago.
As a whole, the book is extremely instructive about the state of Italy at the end of the Middle Ages. And after having read it, I still cannot understand why Bulwer-Lytton continues to be so despised and unrecognized, his name being absolutely unknown to the French public, for instance. 'Tis more than an anomaly—'tis a shame. show less
One has to get accustomed to Bulwer-Lytton's prose, which can be confusing in the first pages. He can get tedious by his pomposity at times, and I avow that some chapters, especially in the first part of the book, are very slow. But in the middle of all this pomposity and slowness, I found very nice sentences which would be worth to read aloud, for their rythm and sonority. When Bulwer-Lytton describes knights defying themselves and throwing gages, I had the show more impression to read lines from Shakespeare's Richard The Second.
A most interesting passage is the description of plague in Florence in the mid 14c. It was of special interest to me because I read Rienzi just after having read Pepys's Diary 1665 where Pepys describes the plague epidemy in London that year. There are quite similar statements, for instance the common belief that good humour and cheerfulness were a protection against the disease. I wonder if Bulwer-Lytton could have been inspired by the first edition of Pepys's Diary which was probably published at the time Rienzi was composed...
The book ends up in an apocalysm that could have been written by Wagner himself—but he made an opera of it, after all. The whole story could have also made a good movie, at least in the peplum era, some 40 years ago.
As a whole, the book is extremely instructive about the state of Italy at the end of the Middle Ages. And after having read it, I still cannot understand why Bulwer-Lytton continues to be so despised and unrecognized, his name being absolutely unknown to the French public, for instance. 'Tis more than an anomaly—'tis a shame. show less
I read the online text. A spectacular story of one of the heroes of the Italian Renaissance. B-L is very flowery, wordy and melodramatic--typical Victorian overwrought novel. Interesting, enjoyable novel of 14th century Italian Renaissance taking place mainly in Rome. It is set against the background of the Guelph [Orsini family]/Ghibelline [Colonna family] conflict. Adventure follows the writing conventions of its day, which are turgid to modern people, but the story is memorable. Rienzi's rise/fall/rise/fall is detailed, ending with Rome in flames. Interwoven are two love stories: Rienzi and Nina, the lady who becomes his wife; also Rienzi's sister, Irene, and a young nobleman, Adrian di Castello. The villain gets his comeuppance. I show more can see why B-L was popular in his day and why Wagner chose this as a subject for his first successful opera, still performed today occasionally, albeit excerpted or truncated.
Still keeping B-L's basic style, about half the text could have been excised for modern readers. I hope someone will do this someday, giving this novel a chance at more exposure. The long boring digressions explaining history or quoting from earlier writers could have been done away with, or at least abbreviated. B-L also included an interesting essay on the historical Cola di Rienzi, who was considered in the 19th century as a nationalist figure during the Risorgimento.
Recommended as a Victorian period piece about a fascinating period of history. show less
Still keeping B-L's basic style, about half the text could have been excised for modern readers. I hope someone will do this someday, giving this novel a chance at more exposure. The long boring digressions explaining history or quoting from earlier writers could have been done away with, or at least abbreviated. B-L also included an interesting essay on the historical Cola di Rienzi, who was considered in the 19th century as a nationalist figure during the Risorgimento.
Recommended as a Victorian period piece about a fascinating period of history. show less
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285+ Works 5,460 Members
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Lord of Lytton, was born on May 25, 1803 in London, England. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1822, won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for English verse in 1825, and received a B.A. degree the following year. He was a novelist, poet, playwright, and politician. He coined the phrases the "pursuit of the almighty dollar", show more "the pen is mightier than the sword", and the opening line "It was a dark and stormy night". He wrote in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, mystery, romance, the occult, and science fiction. His works included Falkland, Pelham, Eugene Aram, The Last Days of Pompei, Ernest Maltravers, Zanoni, The Last of the Barons, The Caxtons, and A Strange Story. He also published several volumes of poetry including Ismael and The New Timon. His best known play was The Lady of Lyons. He served as the Secretary of State for the Colonies in from 1858 to 1859 and played a large part in the organization of the new colony of British Columbia. He became Baron Lytton of Knebworth in July 1866 and thereafter took his place in the House of Peers. He died on May 23, 1873, just short of his 70th birthday. The cause of death was not clear but it was thought that an infection he had in his ear had affected his brain. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Everyman's Library (532)
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- Canonical title
- Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes
- Original publication date
- 1835-12-1
- People/Characters
- Cola di Rienzo; Nina; Irene di Gabrini; Adrian Colonna; Walter de Montreal; Stephen Colonna
- Important places
- Rome, Italy; Florence, Tuscany, Italy; Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Epigraph
- Then turn we to her latest Tribune's name,
From her ten thousand tyrants turn to thee,
Redeemer of dark centuries of shame—
The friend of Petrarch—hope of Italy—
Rienzi, last of Romans! While the tree
Even for thy tomb a garland let it be—
The Forum's champion, and the People's chief—
Her new-born Numa thou!
CHILDE HAROLD, cant. iv. stanza 114. - Dedication
- To Alessandro Manzoni, as to the genius of the place, are dedicated these fruits, gathered on the soil of Italian fiction.
- First words
- The celebrated name which forms the title to this work will sufficiently apprise the reader that it is in the earlier half of the fourteenth century that my story begins.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Scarce had he spoken, when a vast volume of smoke obscured the fires afar off, a dull scrash (deadened by the distance) travelled to his ear, and the next moment, the towers on which he gazed had vanished from the scene, and one intense and sullen glare seemed to settle over the atmosphere—making all Rome itself the funeral pyre of THE LAST OF THE ROMAN TRIBUNES!
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- ISBNs
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