Memoirs Of Hadrian
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket - cloth/board in good condition
Pages: Good
Written in the form of a long, intimate letter from a dying emperor to his young successor Marcus Aurelius, Memoirs of Hadrian presents one of antiquity's most formidable rulers reflecting on a life of war, governance, passion, and philosophy from the precipice of death. Set against the vast panorama of the Roman Empire at its zenith, the novel chronicles Hadrian's rise to power, his campaigns across the known world, his profound love for the Greek youth Antinous, and his tireless efforts to preserve a civilization he knows is mortal. Yourcenar's prose — rendered into English by Grace Frick in close collaboration with the author — achieves a rare fusion of archaeological precision and poetic depth, making the ancient world feel startlingly immediate. First published in French in 1951, this landmark work of twentieth-century literature stands as a meditation on power, mortality, beauty, and the fragile nature of human legacy. Yourcenar, the first woman elected to the Académie française, constructs a portrait of intellectual and emotional grandeur that transcends the historical novel genre entirely. Readers who open this volume will find themselves compelled to ask the very questions Hadrian poses to himself: what endures, what is lost, and what, ultimately, constitutes a well-lived life?
Author: Marguerite Yourcenar
Format: Hardback
Genre: Historical fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket - cloth/board in good condition
Pages: Good
Written in the form of a long, intimate letter from a dying emperor to his young successor Marcus Aurelius, Memoirs of Hadrian presents one of antiquity's most formidable rulers reflecting on a life of war, governance, passion, and philosophy from the precipice of death. Set against the vast panorama of the Roman Empire at its zenith, the novel chronicles Hadrian's rise to power, his campaigns across the known world, his profound love for the Greek youth Antinous, and his tireless efforts to preserve a civilization he knows is mortal. Yourcenar's prose — rendered into English by Grace Frick in close collaboration with the author — achieves a rare fusion of archaeological precision and poetic depth, making the ancient world feel startlingly immediate. First published in French in 1951, this landmark work of twentieth-century literature stands as a meditation on power, mortality, beauty, and the fragile nature of human legacy. Yourcenar, the first woman elected to the Académie française, constructs a portrait of intellectual and emotional grandeur that transcends the historical novel genre entirely. Readers who open this volume will find themselves compelled to ask the very questions Hadrian poses to himself: what endures, what is lost, and what, ultimately, constitutes a well-lived life?