A Roman officer wants a hostage girl from a barbarian court, and cannot understand why she will not simply be taken - she belongs to a sect that meets in the catacombs. Sienkiewicz wrote for a Poland that did not exist on any map, said his work was meant to strengthen the hearts of his readers, and took the Nobel in 1905. Nero burns the city on schedule. Its 179 original illustrations have been carefully restored and coloured for this edition.