Abstract
Abstract Chapter 4, ‘Vesuvius on the Strand’, continues to explore the idea of seriality and catastrophe through the ‘cross-class obsession’ with Mount Vesuvius. There were numerous displays and shows of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Naples all over London in this period, and this chapter considers the versions of the ‘real’ past—deep or recent—that they produced and how these might have contributed to a construction of a sense of the present. Bulwer’s phenomenally popular hit of 1834, The Last Days of Pompeii, which was received more as a multi-media show than as a novel, is used here as a test-case for re-thinking conventional literary generic hierarchies through a more nuanced appreciation of the possible uses and pleasures of texts in this period of widening readership and cultural participation.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
