This is an impressive collection of papers about the setting (literary, historical, cultural), features, influence and virtuosity of Henryk Sienkiewicz's great novel Quo vadis, first published in serial form in 1895 and 1896, published as a book in 1896, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. The papers are arranged in three parts, following an introduction (Chapter 1) by the editors. Part 1 examines the ‘Literary Context’, though the five chapters appear to cover the novel's setting somewhat more comprehensively in historical and cultural, as well as literary, terms. J. Axer looks at ‘The Paradoxes of Quo vadis: the Polish Classical Tradition in Action’ (Chapter 2). His paper is based on intimate acquaintance with the rhythms, leaders and main themes of Polish classicism. This level of insight should appeal greatly to an anglophone audience, who will surely learn much from its observations on the importance of Latinity to the creation of a Polish national image, especially under the Russian and German occupations, and from its analysis of the ways in which the Polish language was masterfully employed to construct an inspirational but believable picture of Neronian Rome. A. Ziółkowski considers ‘Sienkiewicz and the Topography of Ancient Rome: the Riddle of Ostrianum in Quo vadis’ (Chapter 3). He demonstrates the importance Sienkiewicz places on accurate and clearly imaginable descriptions of topography and architecture based on the best archaeological interpretations of the age. Ostrianum is chosen for special attention because this is where Saint Peter preaches to the Christian faithful at his first appearance in the novel. ‘Costumes in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo vadis and their Literary and Painterly Sources’ (Chapter 4) are analysed by E. Skwara, who emphasises the erudition – antiquarian, artistic and literary – involved in the novelist's mentions of costume. Of particular interest is the way in which references to dress evoke famous contemporary paintings set in the Roman world. Two papers on receptions of Quo vadis in the United States round out Part 1. R. Scodel, in ‘Quo vadis and Ancient Rome in the United States, 1896–1905’ (Chapter 5), demonstrates that, despite the novel's massive popularity in the decade or so after its publication, there were real concerns in the United States about the cultured and humane characterisation of Petronius, whose Satyricon was often set aside by teachers of Classics as a work promoting immorality, and about more sensational features, such as Ursus’ killing of the aurochs, which were judged to be rather low attempts to attract the masses. J. Solomon brings his wealth of knowledge about the reception of Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur (1880) to ‘Comparing the Reception of Quo vadis and Ben-Hur in the United States, 1896–1913’ (Chapter 6). Solomon shows that Wallace's novel was sometimes described as inferior in literary terms, but nonetheless retained its outstanding reputation in the United States, partly because of national pride and of Wallace's standing as a civil war hero, but also because of its appeal to the contemporary evangelical movement, which rated the life of Christ more important in religious terms than the martyrdom of Christians in Rome.

Part 2 covers ‘Quo vadis up to the Second World War’, though to a fair degree this is the period prior to MGM's landmark film Quo Vadis (1951). The first three papers combine nicely to elucidate the background and creativity of Italian director Enrico Guazzoni's monumental film Quo vadis? (1913). D. Mayer, following up similar work on theatrical adaptations of Ben-Hur, considers ‘Quo vadis on the Stage’ (Chapter 7). He shows that stage productions of Quo vadis took place within a few years after publication in the US and in Britain, with features varying according to attitudes of the different producers, audiences, actors and others. These plays were less successful than contemporary productions in France and Italy prior to the release of Guazzoni's 1913 film. S. Dagna builds on knowledge of these previous stage productions in a paper entitled ‘Dangerous Liaisons: Quo vadis? (1913, dir. Enrico Guazzoni) and the Previous Theatrical Adaptations of Sienkiewicz's Novel’ (Chapter 8). Dagna shows how Guazzoni's global hit successfully appropriated various appealing elements of opera and drama in its spectacle and went further in adhering to the novel and immersing its viewers in a compelling vision of the past. Wyke, in ‘Word and Image: Competitive Adaptation in the Feature Film Quo vadis? (1913)’ (Chapter 9), demonstrates how Guazzoni employed influences from art, contemporary film and other novels. She argues that Guazzoni was able to appropriate the story as an Italian product, with decipherable relevance to Italian religious and political conditions. The next paper maintains the focus on Italy in the early part of the twentieth century as R. De Berti and E. Gagetti delve into ‘Illustrating Quo vadis in Italy (1900–1925): between Cultivated Tradition and Popular Culture’ (Chapter 10). They uncover some of the myriad forms of representation – such as printed editions, postcards, cinema posters and films – by which the story could be consumed, and discuss its receptions in different countries, even by the illiterate. Finally, E. Górecka offers a paper on ‘Horror amid Sweetness: Kitsch and the Intertextual Strategies of Quo vadis Postcards’ (Chapter 11). These postcards exploited famous episodes from the novel but were not concerned to maintain fidelity to the original emotional tenor of the action. As a result, a conversion to kitsch took place, marked by flamboyant colouring and strong sentimentality. Illustrations for this chapter are all in colour and have been chosen well.

The first three of the five papers in Part 3, ‘Quo vadis after the Second World War’, directly concern the classic Hollywood film Quo Vadis (1951), which was filmed in Rome starring Robert Taylor as Marcus Vinicius, Deborah Kerr as Lygia and Peter Ustinov as a wonderfully deranged Nero. J. Stubbs's argument, in ‘“A more permanent world”: Quo Vadis (1951), Runaway Production, and the Internationalization of Hollywood’ (Chapter 12), is notable for the way in which it describes the film primarily as a commercial rather than a literary or artistic product in the eyes of the studio executives, who saved money by basing the production in Italy and transformed the novel's original religious and political settings for the benefit of a contemporary American audience who lived in a non-sectarian Christian republic. M.M. Winkler, in ‘MGM's Quo Vadis: from Historical Fiction to Screen Spectacle’ (Chapter 13), draws attention to deviations from the novel, especially in the film's portrayal of a petulant Nero, who more powerfully than ever before entered the popular imagination as Rome's arsonist. Woźniak builds on the famous scene of Nero composing a supposedly spontaneous song in ‘“O omnivorous powers, hail!”: Film Dialogue in Quo Vadis (1951)’ (Chapter 14). In her view the film dialogue maintains something of the literary style and character development of the first English translation of the novel, especially concerning Petronius, though the hero Vinicius must speak with an American accent. The fourth paper in Part 3 also owes its origins to Quo Vadis (1951) as M. Dall'Asta and A. Faccioli investigate receptions of the strongman Ursus in the wake of the film. Their paper, ‘Ursus as a Serial Figure’ (Chapter 15), follows the fortunes of the lead character through a string of sword-and-sandal knockoffs of dubious quality but strong audience appeal in the 1950s and 1960s. Ursus fights injustice, rescues maidens and overcomes savage beasts, as in the 1951 film, but beyond these basic elements he is shown to be a highly malleable and mutable figure in the sword-and-sandal series, which was popular throughout Europe and the anglophone world. Finally, E. Ostrowska investigates a twenty-first-century Polish film version of the famous novel in ‘The (In)discreet Charm of the Romans: Quo vadis (dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 2001)’ (Chapter 16), where she demonstrates the ongoing pride felt by Polish people for Sienkiewicz's novel and its continuing ability to capture present tensions and power struggles as Poland continues to find itself a Catholic country sandwiched between great powers, though very differently in comparison to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An extensive bibliography and a comprehensive index follow.

The collection has many virtues, especially for anglophone readers. As the editors point out (p. 21), the novel and its receptions – or multimedial transformations in the language of the title – have not received appropriate scholarly attention. The only predecessor in English is the monograph by R. Scodel and A. Bettenworth, Whither Quo Vadis? Sienkiewicz's Novel in Film and Television (2009), which concentrates on film and TV adaptations. The authors are experts in a range of disciplines, cultural traditions and periods, in a way that is greatly desirable for high-quality reception scholarship. It is one of the strongest features of the book that the contributors represent well the Polish, Italian, British and American contexts about which they write, especially the Polish, whose complicated historical, cultural and intellectual traditions are conveyed with intimate knowledge that seems time and again to open new vistas. We are reminded continually that the direction of the cultural inspiration goes from east to west rather than the other way around, as might seem natural to western European or anglophone readers. Equally enlightening is the clear demonstration why the plight of Christianity in the novel is intimately linked with Rome as a corrupt empire and Nero as a corrupt, tyrannical emperor. Nero was as important to Sienkiewicz's Poland, hedged in by empires, as was the country's Catholic religious heritage. Note that the novel was originally published as Quo Vadis: A Tale of the Time of Nero (1896). This means that Nero has been heavily understood through Sienkiewicz's novel and its multimedial transformations for well over a century. The author might have read Tacitus and Livy regularly at bedtime (p. 8), but this did not prevent him from placing his own stamp on Nero the Antichrist. Equally, Petronius is often a cultured, urbane figure in receptions because of the novel, in which he represents the values rather than just the vices of the Roman world. Finally, the ‘multimedial transformations’ covered in the collection are many and varied – easily more varied than ever before. Perhaps, however, the overall impression tends nonetheless to be dominated by film, indeed two films (1913, 1951), which provide springboards for most of the studies in Parts 2 and 3. Certainly, this indicates the success of film as a popular medium in the twentieth century and the transformative success of these two films. It might also indicate areas for future research. Quo vadis was classed as high literature in Poland, but is regularly assigned to popular culture outside. Some of the reasons for this beyond the power of film still seem appealing as research goals.