Polish tale of love in ancient Rome tops poll

National Reading Day take will take place 3 September.

Quo Vadis, a 19th century work by Henryk Sienkiewicz, is "a beautiful, wonderful novel about love, about a declining empire, but above all about the power of faith, which can sometimes move mountains," Duda said.

National Reading Day, in which famous actors and book lovers across Poland publicly read out a selected work of literature, was launched in 2012.

The President’s Office organised an online vote choose the work Poles want to hear read out this year. Duda said over 10,000 votes were cast.

Sienkiewicz’s Quo Vadis, set in ancient Rome under the rule of the emperor Nero, traces the love that develops between Ligia, a young Christian woman, and Marcus Vinicius, a Roman patrician.

The novel carries a strong Christian message and traditionally occupies a prominent place in the canon of Polish literature.

First published as a book 1896, it became an international best-seller and has been translated into more than 50 languages. The novel helped Sienkiewicz win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1905.

The book has inspired several films. (pk)

Source: PAP