Description:
Marguerite Yourcenar's genre-defining historical novel.
First published to international acclaim in 1951, Memoirs of Hadrian is at once a brilliant character study, a reflection on the meaning of history, and a literary masterwork from one of France's most singular writers. Marguerite Yourcenar takes the perspective of the dying Emperor Hadrian, reimagining his life across the changing Roman Empire. With insight, elegance, and an unprecedented immediacy, Memoirs of Hadrian announced itself as a new kind of historical fiction: one that animates the past with immersive feeling and rings true across the ages.Brief description: Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-87) wrote plays, stories, poems, and novels, including the notable Memoirs of Hadrian. She was the first woman to be elected to the Academie Francaise.
Review Quotes: "If you want to know what 'ancient Roman' really means, in terms of war and religion and love and parties, read Memoirs of Hadrian." - The New Yorker