Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1803–1873
The book, and the century it came out of.
Rome, 1347: a notary’s son raises the mob, drives out the barons, restores the Republic and is crowned tribune — then discovers that holding power and deserving it are unrelated skills. Bulwer-Lytton’s reconstruction gave Wagner his first success and still reads as a study of how idealism governs. Paintings of medieval Rome, triumphal procession and ruined forum, with Gilded Library ornament of eagle, laurel and a broken column. Illustrated with 31 full-page plates — paintings by Robert, Janscha and Klengel among them.
Amidst the indulgence of enthusiasm and eloquence, Petrarch,Italy, and Europe, were astonished by a revolution, whichrealized for a moment his most splendid visions.—Gibbon,chap.
Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, complete and unabridged. Spelling and punctuation follow present-day American usage; the sentences, the paragraphs and the voice are the author’s, word for word.
It was written in another era and may carry attitudes a reader today will find dated. They are kept for the sake of the work and do not reflect the views of this house.
- Series
- The Gilded Library
- Format
- Ebook
- Extent
- about 560 pages
- Reading time
- about 11 hours
- Illustrations
- Full-page plates, credited
- Text
- Complete, unabridged
- Language
- en
- This edition
- 2026
- ISBN
- 9785501010598
31 paintings are bound into this edition
Six of them are shown here, taken from the volume itself. Each is reproduced full page and named with its painter and year.
A page from this edition
Not a mock-up: this page is taken from the finished volume. The ornament above the chapter belongs to its shelf and to no other, the opening letter is set as a drop capital, and the plate below carries the name of the painter and the year.
Both photographed from the finished volume.
Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes, issued in this edition by Aeneas Press in 2026 on the The Gilded Library shelf. Newly set, with the ornament of its series above each chapter and a drop capital on the opening page. Illustrated with full-page plates, each named with its painter.
Published as an ebook and not issued in print by this house; it carries one ISBN, 9785501010598, and is supplied worldwide. This edition — its setting, its ornament, its cover art, and the selection and attribution of its plates — © 2026 Aeneas Press.
Questions readers ask
- Is this the whole of Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes?
- Yes — complete and unabridged. Nothing is cut, condensed or paraphrased. This is the book, not a summary of it.
- What exactly did you change?
- The spelling and the punctuation follow present-day American usage. Edward Bulwer-Lytton's sentences are untouched — same words, same order, same rhythm.
- Are the pictures really in the book?
- Yes. The edition carries full-page plates bound into the text, each one named with its painter and the year it was made. Six of them are shown on this page.
- How long is it?
- About 560 pages, which is roughly about 11 hours of reading.
- What do I actually get?
- An illustrated ebook with its own ISBN, sold worldwide. One file, yours to keep, readable on any device.
