ABSTRACT
Pompeii, in common with many places on the Grand Tour of the nineteenth century, attracted the attention of many literary figures, including Madame de Staël; in her novel Corinne, published in 1807, she conjures an image of Pompeii that has become almost archetypal:
In Rome you simply find relics of antiquity, and in these you just trace the political history of past ages; but at Pompeii the private life of the ancients offers itself to your reflection. The volcano which covered this city with cinders has preserved it from the ravages of time. If the buildings had been exposed to air, they would have decayed, but this buried remembrance is perfectly preserved. Pictures and bronzes have all their first beauty, and vessels of domestic use are in entire preservation. The amphoras stand ready for the coming feast, and the corn which was being ground is there. The remains of a lady, still ornamented with the decorations she wore on the day the volcano interrupted the feast, are seen, with her dried arms filling no longer the bracelets of precious stones which encircle them – you realise how this figure was struck down in the midst of life.
