Quo Vadis (novel)

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero

First American edition title page
Author	Henryk Sienkiewicz
Original title	Quo vadis. Powieść z czasów Nerona
Translator	Jeremiah Curtin W. S. Kuniczak
Country	Poland
Language	Polish
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	Polish dailies (in serial) and Little, Brown (Eng. trans. book form)
Publication date	1895
Media type	Print (Newspaper, Hardback and Paperback)

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish. "Quo vadis Domine" is Latin for "Where are you going, Lord?" 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, c. AD 64.

Sienkiewicz studied the Roman Empire extensively prior to writing the novel, with the aim of getting historical details correct. Consequently, 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 two Italian silent films—Quo Vadis (1913 film) and Quo Vadis (1924 film)—a Hollywood production—Quo Vadis (1951 film)—and an adaptation by Jerzy Kawalerowicz: Quo Vadis (2001 film).

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.