The Volcano Lover

The Volcano Lover is a historical novel by Susan Sontag, published in 1992. Set largely in Naples, it focuses upon Sir William Hamilton, his marriages to Catherine and to Emma, and the scandal relating to Emma's affair with Lord Nelson, her abandonment, and her descent into poverty. The title comes from William Hamilton's interest in volcanoes, and his investigations of Mount Vesuvius. The novel concludes with a coda featuring deathbed meditations from the perspectives of Hamilton and of four women characters. Sontag declared in an interview with The Paris Review that "the last word should be given to someone who speaks for victims."