A Romance of Two Worlds is a work combining the supernatural, esoterism, and science fiction. Well-received as it was, Corelli's publisher, George Bentley, advised her to avoid such elements for her second novel. Corelli complied, leaving only her protagonist's stress-induced aging as an unnatural tidbit. Corelli handed her publisher the manuscript for Buried Alive on March 08, 1886. Bentley's feedback was to condense a few sections and to get a more appealing title, offering Vendetta! as an alternative they could both agree on.
Unsurprising for a novel written in such a short time, Vendetta! is heavily inspired by another work, namely The Count of Monte Cristo. The premise of a fortunate man thought dead who returns to take revenge under a new identity made possible by a treasure and physical changes is near-identical between the two. One difference is that the Monte Cristo count ages in tandem with the years that pass before his return, while the Vendetta! count ages in one night, but this does resemble the fate of Danglars in the other novel. Another similarity of note is the Outlaw Couple Carmelo Neri and Teresa, who are blatant copies of Luigi Vampa and Teresa. It's evident that Corelli appreciated this duo.
In 1884, the Neapolitan Count Fabio Romani is hastily placed in the family tomb when it is thought he has died from cholera. But he isn't dead and finds himself awakening amidst corpses and, surprisingly, treasure, hidden by brigands whose tunnel Fabio uses to escape through. Fabio rushes home to his wife Nina, his toddler daughter Stella, and his intimate-protegé Guido Ferrari, but discovers Nina and Guido are lovers greatly convenienced by his passing. Enraged, Fabio desires revenge and and the treasure as well as the new aged appearance he's left with from his ordeal go a long way realizing that. He adopts the persona of Cesare Oliva to do this.
An unavoidable point of discussion of Vendetta! is its deeply misogynistic point of view. Corelli was one of those folks who champion progress that benefits them specifically and play the conservative protector on all other occasions, making it a matter of speculation which applies here. Perhaps Fabio reflects the preposterously harsh treatment of male critics Corelli herself received and with its shock value is meant to hold up a mirror to society. But just as well, the misogyny may be Corelli's attempt at this fragile early stage of her career to align herself with her critics as a non-threatening woman. Then there's the dichotomy between the noble Nina and the brigand Teresa which suggests that Corelli argues that faithfulness decides a woman's value. And another thing to consider is that while the modern approach is to look at Fabio's aggression as being because of Nina's womanhood, contemporary reviews on-and-off complained about Fabio's aggression despite Nina's womanhood. Corelli may very well have intended to argue against pedestalization of and mercy to women just because of their gender.
Vendetta! sold well over the years and is one of Corelli's most curious high notes. As far as is Western legacy is concerned, there was an Australian theatrical adaptation staged by W. J. Lincoln in 1900 under the title The Power of Wealth. Vendetta! was also thrice adapted to film: Vendetta in 1914, Circumstantial Evidence in 1929, and loosely Buried Alive in 1990. In India, Vendetta! provided half the plot to Afsana in 1951 and to its remake Dastaan in 1972.
Where Vendetta! truly shines is in its impact in Japan and Thailand. In 1893, Kuroiwa Shūroku translated the novel for publication in Yorozu Chōhō under the name Hakuhatsuki (白髪鬼, White-Haired Demon). It enjoyed decent popularity and notably was read by Edogawa Ranpo. In 1931, he adapted Kuroiwa's version for Fuji. With permission of Kuroiwa's family, the title Hakuhatsuki was maintained. Ranpo's Hakuhatsuki takes place in Japan, contains more overt cruelty, and the protagonist ends up in prison. A very popular work, the eponymous hakuhatsuki has become one of Japan's villain archetypes.
In Thailand, Mae Wan's 1901-1902 adaptation of Vendetta! was the first modern Thai novel. Khwam Phayabat (ความพยาบาท, Vendetta) cuts down the story to about half its original content and replaces Corelli's admonishments to English society with praise for Thai society. It ends with Fabio sailing off to Thailand instead of South America. Khwam Phayabat opened the doors for other translations and adaptations at such a rate that Thailand established the Literary Act in 1914 to get its people to write their own literature. The Literary Act came shortly after Khwam Phayabat's second edition in 1913. These two events together led to the first Thai novel without a Western predecessor: 1915's Khwam Mai Phayabat (ความไม่พยาบาท, No Vendetta) by Khru Liam. Though a new story, Khwam Mai Phayabat is still a response to Khwam Phayabat that argues the need for empathy and forgiveness. Much like Corelli could quickly write Vendetta! because The Count of Monte Cristo modelled for her, so could Khru Liam write Khwam Mai Phayabat in 22 days because of Khwam Phayabat.
Vendetta! provides examples of the following tropes:
- Added Alliterative Appeal:
- In Chapter VIII, Fabio abandons all calm and reason with a cry of "Past love, pity, pardon, patience — pooh!"
- In Chapter VIII, Fabio swears on Cipriano's crucifix "never to relent, never to relax, never to rest" until he has brought his "vow of just vengeance to its utmost fulfillment."
- Anti-Alcohol Aesop: A French doctor who refuses to see a sick boy on the presumption that he has cholera is described as sallow-looking, hinting at alcohol abuse as France at the time was known for its consumption of absinthe. While this is only a subtle anti-alcohol message, it is reaffirmed by an English gentleman who drinks brandy and beer like water and who in his cholera-induced dying moments both curses God and demands to be given more brandy. Fabio has the opportunity to purchase his fine clothes, but passes on it. The unwashed state of the clothes don't bother him, but he won't dress in a drunkard's garb.
- Apocalypse Anarchy: A group of eight young men and eight women of remarkable beauty hold a party in a private room of a reputable cafe in response to the terror of the cholera pandemic. That very night, every single one of them dies of the disease.
- Author Avatar: Stella Romani is born on the May 1 (May Day), which is the same date of birth Marie Corelli insisted to be hers (in truth, she was likely born on April 27). She lives and dies innocently, as per Corelli's ideals, and is the only (living) female being Fabio holds in regards after Nina's infidelity.
- Based on a Great Big Lie: The preface claims that the chief incidents of the story are provided by a real-life occurrence. The preface ends with a spiel about how life is stranger than fiction as an argument that the strange tale has to be true. In reality, the only truth aspect is that Naples did suffer cholera in 1884.
- Bathos: Fabio's fever-induced hallucination at the inn is a trip. On one hand, he knows perfectly well where he is and who is in his company. On the other, he's hallucinating. So he's simultaneously imaging his wife in his embrace and aware it's actually the innkeeper holding him down. He still insists that the innkeeper let him kiss his wife.
- Beast and Beauty: Carmelo Neri is big, rough, hairy, and black like a wolf with emphasis on claws and teeth. Teresa is compared to a "foam-bell on the waves" and a "little cloud in the sky at night, wandering past the moon all flecked with pale gold". The two of them are faithful lovers and Teresa is the only soft spot Carmelo has.
- Beautiful Singing Voice: Both Guido and Nina have cultured, gorgeous singing voices. Guido possesses a full baritone and Nina delivers a delicate and clear soprano. Fabio loves to listen to them both.
- Best Served Cold: When Fabio learns of Guido's and Nina's affair and how they don't at all mourn his passing, he wants revenge. But an encounter earlier with a storekeeper, who in a similar scenario immediately committed murder and got misery out of it rather than delight, stays his hand. Fabio prefers to draw out his revenge for maximum effect and for his family name not to blemished by murder in the public's eye.
- Black Comedy: In the aftermath of his presumptuous burial, Fabio walks around with a levitous outlook on death and cholera. This leads to several encounters that skirt the line between funny and awful. For instance, Chapter VII opens when he passes by a house where the beccamorti with bone-cracking violence stuff a deceased into a coffin that's too small. Fabio can't help but remark that they "had better make sure he is quite dead." One beccamorto laughs and answers that if he weren't, he'd twist his neck for him. He then toys a little with the corpse's head, which is too much for Fabio.
- Blind People Wear Sunglasses: Fabio fears that his eyes will give away his true identity to people who knew him. Therefore, he comes up with the tale that Cesare has weak sight that cannot stand the heat and brilliancy of the Mediterranean sun and therefore he has to wear smoke-colored glasses.
- Buried Alive: Fabio Romani is wrongly thought to have died from cholera and is hastily interred in the family vault to be rid of the contagious corpse. Several hours later, Fabio awakens and breaks through the wood of the coffin. He is relieved to find he's been interred and not buried, not to mention that due to the high death rate of the epidemic the craftsmen only have time to produce shoddy coffins. Anything decent and Fabio would've been stuck to die inside of it. A third boon is that because he was thought to have cholera, he's still clothed well against the cold of the vault by night. The last barrier that remains is the vault's gate, which is locked and as remote as the vault is located it's not likely anyone will be by timely. But Fabio is in quadruple luck, because the Romani Vault had been selected by Carmelo Neri's gang of brigands as a hiding place for their loot and they've left a hidden tunnel.
- Calling Card: A red dagger is the sign-manual of the brigand Carmelo Neri. He's had it painted on the coffin in which his gang's ill-gotten gains are hidden, despite that if anyone were to find it it would only be more evidence against him.
- The Commandments: In Chapter IX, a sarcastic suggestion is given for an eleventh Commandment: "Thou shall not be found out!"
- Creator's Culture Carryover: Although 99.9% set in Italy, specifically Naples and Palermo, Fabio often relates something about his tale to England and only England. There is no mention that Fabio's ever been to England either, and it's overall above obvious that the novel was written by an English author for an English audience. On the worst occasions, Fabio insults his own nationality for the sake of a comparison to the English. Also of note is that time en route to Palermo where his ship passes an English ship and he goes into a page-long spiel about (false) English Roses and (lost) English virtue.
- Creepy Souvenir: When Fabio discovers Nina's and Guido's affair, Nina is wearing a blood-red rose on her heart that's attached to her clear white dress by means of a diamond pin. Fabio associates it with blood and sees his desire to kill her reflected in it. The rose breaks apart when Guido possessively embraces Nina and when the couple leaves Fabio steps forward to gather the petals. He keeps them as a reminder of what he has to do.
- Death Notification: Pietro accidentally notifies Fabio of Cipriano's death. The monk had not let cholera stop him from trying to help people in need and as a result he contracted the disease. He died a few hours after Fabio's perceived death, and Fabio is left feeling empty. He'd looked forward to returning the crucifix of ebony and silver the monk had left in his coffin and thanking him for all his care.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Fabio's father dies when he is seventeen and his mother died even before he could make a memory of her. While Fabio's father is named, Filippo, and his mother is not, many more of his thoughts are devoted to her and how he wishes he'd known her. On several occasions, his certainty about her graces are used to make living women comes across even worse by comparison.
- Demonic Possession: The storekeeper that murdered his wife argues that she killed him first by cheating on him and that what killed her wasn't him but the devil that, psychologically speaking, arose inside of him. He now needs the devil to keep himself mentally well enough to deal with the guilt-ridden memories.
- Either/Or Title: The novel was originally published as Vendetta!, or The Story Of One Forgotten. Reprints are prone to omit the "!" and the "or", turning the title into Vendetta: The Story Of One Forgotten.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Fabio sneaks into his villa's garden to announce that he's not actually dead at exactly the same time Nina and Guido walk by. This is on a path only Fabio normally ever treads and they come to a stop at only three feet from where Fabio hides. The topic of their conversation is their affair and all its relevant details including their mostly positive feelings about Fabio's passing and a confirmation that Stella is Fabio's daughter. Only when Fabio just so happens to have all the information he needs do they deem it too chilly to stay outside.
- Faint in Shock: Nina faints when she hears of her husband's passing, but those who hear of it question if she's sincere. Fabio himself resolves to not go home until night time so that he can sneak inside and draw the attention of a servant or Guido who can then softly inform Nina of his survival to lessen the chances she'll faint upon his return.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: When Fabio escapes his coffin in the family vault, he is greeted by the distant sound of the church bells chiming 12 o'clock. He's not certain which 12 o'clock, but reasons that it's midnight. His search for the exit in the pitch-black of the vault takes another hour and when the bells chime 1 o'clock he passes out from exhaustion.
- French Jerk: When Fabio looks for help for the fruit-seller, he comes across a doctor. This doctor is the only Frenchman in the novel and he refuses to see the boy knowing he's beyond help and contagious. His skin is also described as "sallow", hinting at alcohol abuse as France at the time was known for its consumption of absinthe.
- The Gambling Addict: Nina's father is implied to have a gambling problem as it's the only thing he cares to do to earn some money. He is successful enough to keep himself afloat, but the implication also raises the possibility he became impoverished in the first place due to gambling.
- The Good King: Half of Chapter VII is an embellished description of Umberto I's visits to cholera-stricken cities such as Naples. The Italian king indeed made these visits in real-life, which at the time was a huge boost to the people's confidence that they'd get through the disease. The same sentiment reigns in Chapter VII.
- Gratuitous Italian: As part of the faux-Italian feel of the story, Corelli throws in lyrics of Italian songs and Italian quotes where permissible and once in a while uses an Italian word instead of an English one if context makes it clear what the word means. Sometimes, this is justifiable, such as the use of "beccamorti" instead of "gravediggers" because "beccamorti" has an association to disease that "gravediggers" doesn't have. Other times, there's no reason to use "zinzara" when "mosquito" means the same thing.
- He-Man Woman Hater: While Fabio is rightfully furious about Nina's infidelity, that is poor reason to judge the entirety of womankind for it or to go much harder on Nina's betrayal than that of Guido, who's been his intimate for longer than he's known Nina. Of course, prior to meeting Nina, Fabio refused female company because it is written in his "best" books by "ancient philosophers" that women are miserable creatures, so the misogyny was already there.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner: The storekeeper claims to have been a swordsman who could perform a single stroke kill with ease. He boasts that with a good sword, he could "cut asunder a seven-times-folded piece of silk at one blow without fraying out a thread."
- Idle Rich: Before his supposed death, Fabio enjoyed such wealth that he could spend his time reading, strolling in the garden, yachting, and more such activities that left him in pristine condition. It comes up when he's sailing to Palermo in the guise of a coral-fisher. Captain Andrea Luziani privately calls him out on it, because his hands are too untouched for him to know hard labor.
- Impoverished Patrician: Nina is the daughter of a ruined Florentine noble, which is why he readily accepts the marriage proposal of the wealthy Fabio Romani.
- Interclass Friendship: Guido Ferrari is as poor as Fabio Romani is rich and where the former is a social butterfly, the latter appreciates solitude and books. They hold intimate common ground in their fates as young orphans and their tastes for the arts.
- Laughing Mad:
- Fabio finds himself buried alive and frantically tries to break free until he realizes that if his coffin has been placed in the earth, all he'll accomplish is to be crushed by the festering graveyard earth pouring in. This maddening realization has him laughing like a death rattle until he becomes aware of a stream of air.
- When Fabio hears Nina laughing despite that she should be mourning his passing, he momentarily wonders if the laughter is from a woman gone mad with grief.
- Let's Duet: For as long as Guido and Nina need to keep their affair a secret from Fabio, they sing together. Under the guise of mere entertainment, Nina sings for the two men and Guido usually joins her. Fabio notes how "[Guido's] full barytone chiming in with [Nina's] delicate and clear soprano [is] as [delicious] as the fall of a fountain with the trill of a bird."
- Locked Away in a Monastery: Nina has been raised in a convent renowned for strict discipline. Her father seems to have put her there because he's got barely any money left and can't raise her himself. The added benefit is that she becomes a more valuable bride that he can set up for a wealthy marriage. Indeed, Nina lives at the convent until she's about fifteen to sixteen years of age, which is when she meets Fabio Romani who arranges for them to get married.
- Love at First Sight: Fabio falls hard for Nina when he sees her face amidst a procession for Mary late in May of 1881 and marries her at the end of June. It is all but certain she never loved him, but marriage was one of her few opportunities to get out of the convent and live a good life. Guido also falls for her upon being introduced and to him Nina reciprocates.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Guido and Nina started their affair within three months of her marriage to Fabio and Stella was born ten months into the marriage. Although Fabio is blissfully unaware of this fact at the time, Nina and Guido know there is a possibility that Stella is Guido's. When she's born, Guido treats her with paternal affection and the paleness and odd talk about fidelity and how it's good that Fabio is not a suspicious man speak volumes that he and Nina have been physical. Two years later Stella's father is certain to be Fabio because they have the same characteristically piercing eyes. Because of this, Fabio never doubts that Stella is his when he learns of the affair two years later. In Kuroiwa's translation, an inconsequential line is added that Fabio does for some time question if he truly is the girl's father.
- Matron Chaperone: While talking about their affair, Guido refers to Fabio as Nina's duenna rather than her husband.
- Meaningful Rename: Upon taking a new identity because "Fabio Romani" is dead, Fabio opts for "Cesare Oliva". Cesare was a childhood friend he had personally witnessed drown in the waters of the Lido di Venezia. In his translation, Kuroiwa changes the childhood friend to an uncle to also give the protagonist a cover story for his resemblance to himself.
- Murder by Cremation: Fabio advises the reader that if they need to get rid of dead relations with guarantees, cremation is the way to go. From experience, he can tell that intact bodies leave too much room for funny business.
- Murder Makes You Crazy: The storekeeper, as he becomes lost in thought, shares a lot of information about what murdering his wife for her infidelity did to him. Guilt is consuming him and robbing him of his sleep, which in turn leaves him to ruminate on the memories he has of her and in particular the helplessness and terror when he stabbed her to death. The memory pushes him to reject any sense of caution regarding the cholera and while he's not a death seeker, he's looking forward to finally getting to sleep.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Out on a stroll, Fabio comes to the aid of an 11-to-12-year old fruit-seller who has collapsed from cholera. He rushes off to fetch a doctor, but finds only a monk willing to go near the boy. Meanwhile, the heat and stench of the city take their toll on him and he faints. Because of his contact with the fruit-seller and the epidemic in general, he is readily believed to have died of cholera and interred alive with minimal ceremony.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Barkeeping: Pietro, the innkeeper whose care Fabio is left in in Chapter II, polishes his glasses and bottles while the threat of Fabio having cholera keeps the customers away. He's still polishing glasses when Fabio returns a day later.
- Old Retainer: Assunta is an old family servant of the Romani household. She held Fabio's mother when she died and these days is the nurse who takes care of the 2-year old Stella.
- Ominous Owl: While locked up inside the Romani Vault, Fabio is twice attacked by an owl that has taken up residence there by entering and leaving through the bars of the gate. Once Fabio is attacked while he's walking around, another time when he's collapsed. He initially tells himself that the creature is an innocent companion of the dead, but by the second attack he grabs the bird, rips it free from his flesh, and throws it off of him away into the dark of the vault.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- One of the many negative portrayals of women in the novel occurs in Chapter II. A young and popular fisherman falls ill with cholera and in his dying throes he's brought to his mother's house. A "villainous-looking hag", she refuses to open the door, openly regretting giving birth to someone who'd bring disease into her house. She lets him die on her doorstep regretlessly.
- Stella dies at two years of age. It doesn't bother Nina, but Fabio is grief-stricken.
- Pirate Booty: The brigand Carmelo Neri and his gang are active in Palermo. Because justice is hot on their trail, they've picked the Romani Vault in Naples as a safe hiding place for their loot. Coins, bills, jewels, precious metals, precious fabrics, and more are stuffed within a single large coffin marked with a red dagger symbol. Fabio discovers the treasure by chance and, recognizing it as more valuable than all his own possessions combined, claims it for himself.
- The Plague: The novel is set during the Neapolitan cholera epidemic of 1884, with a focus on August as a month in which the city also dealt with a suffocating heat. Death is omnipresent and the protagonist is buried when he's thought to have perished from the disease when in reality he'd fallen unconscious due to the heat.
- Plaguemaster: The storekeeper isn't afraid of the cholera epidemic and actually is quite happy with it. He gets to buy the clothes of the deceased for cheap and anyone who buys from him is at risk of contracting the disease from the clothes, which then find their way back in the storekeeper's hands. Financial motivation aside, the storekeeper also seems to be driven by a desire to spread harm stemming from his guilt over murdering his wife.
- Prematurely Grey-Haired: Fabio's hair goes from jet-black to snow-white due to the stress of awakening inside a coffin, fighting with an owl, and struggling for an hour in pure darkness surrounded by corpses to find an exit. It is only the color that has changed, as the volume, thickness, and curls are still the same. More changes in appearance affect Fabio, but it's his now stark white hair that everyone comments on and Fabio wears it as a mark of honor.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: All Fabio wanted at first was to go home. When he discovers his wife's and best friend's affair, he doesn't care about going home anymore and just wants them to suffer.
- Shout-Out:
- Guido (mis)quotes Voltaire to convince Fabio to drop his aversion to female company already: "Qui que tu sois voilà ton maitre. Il fût — il est — ou il doit être!" This line refers to Cupid and means "Whoever you may be, behold your master. He was — he is — or he shall be!"
- Fabio compares the the full yellow moon in the dense blue sky to the golden goblet of The King in Thule of the poem "The King in Thule" to invoke the themes of fidelity and impending death.
- For a moment, Fabio wonders if Nina's merriment despite his supposed passing is a sign of her having gone mad and that she now wanders around in the garden like Ophelia from Hamlet.
- Silver Fox: Being mistakenly buried leaves Fabio looking over thirty years older than he actually is, but after some selfcare he does come out as a "well-preserved man of about fifty-five". Characteristic to his new look is his striking white hair, which he grows into a beard.
- Slasher Smile: Captain Luziani descirbes Carmelo's "dark smile" as something that "may mean gratitude or murder."
- Spiteful Suicide: Teresa kills herself when the gendarmes come to arrest Carmelo. On one hand, she knows this is it for him and doesn't want to live without Carmelo. On the other, the person that sold Carmelo out isn't of the law or a victim of Carmelo, but a man, Luigi Biscardi, who wanted her for himself. As much as Carmelo didn't want her to die, some satisfaction is gotten when he gets to inform Luigi of her last stand.
- Spurned into Suicide: The coral-fisher whose clothes Fabio buys committed suicide after the woman he loved told him she had enough of him. He'd returned from a long voyage with many gifts in hopes of her making good on her promise to marry him. Instead, she told him she was ending it, with the implication she had her eyes on another man, and he simply stepped off the quay and let the waves close above him.
- Starts with Their Funeral: Fabio Romani introduces himself to the reader with a declaration that he is dead, but immediately after clarifies that he's talking about being legally dead. All the paperwork and ceremonies a truly dead man would need have been taken care of and no one knows a grave (yeah) mistake was made. This suits Fabio, who has left his life in Naples behind to anonymously dwell around in the forests of South America, but at the age of thirty, roughly ten years after the pivotal events, he does seek to write his story down.
- This Is My Story: As Fabio prepares for his retelling, he declares his eagerness to be heard multiple times. Some years prior, he had met a man he thought he could confide in, yet the man was horrified by the story and refused to believe its extent. Fabio never uttered another word about his past, which all the same doesn't stop him from writing about it.
- Tragic Keepsake:
- Fabio is buried by the monk Cipriano, who in honor of Fabio's care for the fruit-seller places his ebony and silver crucifix in the coffin. Fabio discovers it when he wakes up and resolves to return it to the monk and thank him in person, but as it turns out cholera had done in Cipriano half a day after Fabio's burial. He therefore keeps it as a memento.
- When the storekeeper discovers his wife in bed with a Venetian musician, he holds no ill will towards him. Instead, he subdues him, kills his wife with a knife, and then hands the bloody knife to the musician as something to remember his wife by. The musician rejects the gesture and gets the police involved.
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Fabio escapes from his coffin as midnight is announced by the tolling of the bells. He's not sure at first if its midnight or midday, but reasons it's the former.
- Younger Than They Look: Fabio is twenty years or a little older when he is mistakenly buried. He comes out looking like an elderly man who has been through hard times. With a few days of luxurious selfcare, he recovers to become a handsome man of about fifty-five. Of note is that his premature aging is solely a surface issue. His muscles and physical capacity suffered not from the experience.
