Title: The Slave Girl of Pompeii: or, By a Way They Knew Not. A Tale of the First Century.
Alternate Titles: The Slave Girl of Pompeii
Author: Emily Sarah Holt (aka E.S. Holt)
Published: 1890(?), London: John F. Shaw and Co.
Language: English
Genre: Children’s, historical, Christian fiction
Part of Emily Sarah Holt’s “Tales of English Life” series for children, all of which include strong Protestant Christian themes and historical settings. No year of publication is included, but this work can be placed around 1890. Surprisingly, Vesuvius erupts early on in the story, serving as a plot device to separate the characters. The story focuses on the protagonist slowly converting from Hellenism to Christianity after befriending her Christian slave, and there is a strong theme of following faith even when it may turn others against you. A fine example of Christian Pompeii fiction.
Where To Read
- Physical copies are typically around £60 online, and pop up with some frequency on eBay and Abebooks.
- My digital scan is available on archive.org. I used two identical copies to produce this, as my first copy had a page torn out! Includes illustrations and a publisher’s catalogue of books at the back.