Catholic Review of: Quo Vadis?

In the later years of high school, I had the option of reading Quo Vadis for a school assignment, and I can honestly say that I regret not having read it then. This book is not only impressive for its size, but also for the depth and detail that the author put into it. Striking imagery and detail fill the pages to weave a story of a love strong enough to change the very meaning of existence of someone.

Set in Rome during the reign of Nero, the book introduces us to Marcus Venecius, a Roman legionaire and noble. Marcus falls in love with the beautiful Ligia, and vice versa, but there is a huge obstacle in the way of their love. Since Ligia is secretly a Christian, she cannot marry the pagan Marcus, and runs away to avoid him. He searches for her for a long period, depressed and anguished because she is not with him, and finally finds out she is hiding among the Christians. Through a series of events, they are brought back together and their love for each other grows, and Marcus comes to know more about Christianity. Their differences in religion remain a barrier. Distraught, Marcus believes that he can never have her as his wife.

The seed of Christianity planted in Marcus during his search for Ligia begins to sprout after this, and he agrees to accept tutoring from Paul of Tarsus in the teachings of Christianity. As the story develops, we follow Marcus from his change of life and conversion, through Christian persecution by Nero, and finally the miraculous and extraordinary ending to the story. Many famous people of that time come into play in the story, from the insane Emperor Nero, to St. Peter and St. Paul.

Overall, the book was an excellent historical story. Exciting and suspenseful, I often had a hard time putting it down, wanting to know what would happen next. However, a small word of warning is in order: This book is intended for mature readers. The descriptions of the tortures of the persecution and other debaucheries of the time are vividly detailed and are quite shocking at times. This amazing novel tells it like it was.