'A surprising and illuminating book.' The Times Literary Supplement
Preface; 1. 'Like one of the prophets of old': passions and cameos; 2. 'See this great sight': spectacle and miracle; 3. 'That my wonders may be multiplied': Blackton and elaboration; 4. 'How are the mighty fallen': Feuillade and tragedy; 5. 'All the country wept aloud': Andréani and melodrama; 6. 'The top of it reached to heaven' – Griffith, analogy and scale; 7. 'She came close to his bed' – vamps and other leading ladies; 8. 'But Pharaoh hardened his heart': Exodus and Egypt; 9. 'The end of these wonders?': The triumph of spectacle; Afterword.