Waterstones Memoirs of Hadrian
479 ratings
TO EXPLORE MORE
Price: £9.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: Framed as a letter from the Roman Emperor Hadrian to his successor, Marcus Aurelius, Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian is translated from the French by Grace Frick with an introduction by Paul Bailey in Penguin Modern Classics. In her magnificent novel, Marguerite Yourcenor recreates the life and death of one of the great rulers of the ancient world. The Emperor Hadrian, aware his demise is imminent, writes a long valedictory letter to Marcus Aurelius, his future successor. The Emperor meditates on his past, describing his accession, military triumphs, love of poetry and music, and the philosophy that informed his powerful and far-flung rule. A work of superbly detailed research and sustained empathy, Memoirs of Hadrian captures the living spirit of the Emperor and of Ancient Rome. Marguerite de Crayencour (1903-88), who went by the inexact anagrammatic pen name 'Marguarite Yourcenar', was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, the first woman to be elected to the Académie française. Her first novel Alexis was published in 1929; in 1939 she was invited to America by her lover Grace Frick, where she lectured in comparative literature at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. When Mémoires d' Hadrien was first published in 1951, it was an immediate success and met with great critical acclaim. If you enjoyed Memoirs of Hadrian, you might like Robert Graves's I, Claudius, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'A timeless masterpiece. every page is informed by her profound scholarship' Paul Bailey, author of Gabriel's Lament' Yourcenar conjures worlds. She can make us share passion - for beauty, bodies, ideas, even power - and consider it closely at the same time. She is that most extraordinary thing: a sensual thinker' Independent on Sunday.
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9780141184968
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9780141184968
My website utilises affiliate links when you click my 'Get the best deal now' buttons. If you buy something through one of these links, I may earn a little commission, at no extra cost to you.
I have relationships with many of the top online retailers (purchasing, shipping and returns will be handled directly by them) which enables me to offer the best deal online for the Waterstones Memoirs of Hadrian and many other similar products - which will appear below, to enhance your online shopping experience.
For even more great deals on Waterstones Books, click the link.
Author: Kindle Customer
Rating: 5
Review: This book is justifiably renowned. It tells in the first person the life of Emperor Hadrian, the one who organised the building of the famous wall between England and Scotland, among other things. Miss Yourcenar's historical knowledge illuminates the story but not in a dry way. We are privy to Hadrian's thoughts and opinions and he comes over as very much a man of his times but also as a sympathetic charismatic man. One of the other things he was famous for is his great gay love affair with the beautiful young man, Antinous. Hadrian made him immortal by commissioning a multitude of busts and statues of this youth so that hundreds of years later his face is more familiar than that of more famous people of his time. It is made clear that Antinous was not the only gay relationship Hadrian enjoyed but it was the one which made the most impact. In dying young Antinous became immortal as an example of beauty and gay love. This love is described delicately and poignantly. The reader feels as bereft as Hadrian. In the book Hadrian acknowledges that if Antinous had not died when and as he did time might have allowed their love to subside into affectionate friendship...or it might not. The power of the narrative is in this honesty of thought. Lost love cannot be tarnished or grow less...it remains at full power. Hadrian goes on with his life but Antinous never truly leaves him for he can see him in memory and dreams, perfect as he was in life. This is a book you can read again and again. The insight into the Roman world of that time is endlessly fascinating. I recommend this book unreservedly.
Author: John Sheldon
Rating: 4
Review: I can't remember reading this before. i very much enjoyed it. beautifully written. a little over-the-top in places.
