An edition of Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951)

Memoirs of Hadrian

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  • 3.0 (4 ratings) ·
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  • 5 Currently reading
  • 7 Have read

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Last edited by Miguel
December 21, 2021 | History
An edition of Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951)

Memoirs of Hadrian

  • 3.0 (4 ratings) ·
  • 131 Want to read
  • 5 Currently reading
  • 7 Have read

Mémoires d'Hadrien est un roman historique de l'écrivaine française Marguerite Yourcenar, publié en 1951. Ces pseudo-mémoires de l'empereur romain Hadrien ont immédiatement rencontré un extraordinaire succès international et assuré à son auteur une grande célébrité. Il s’agit d’une œuvre dont le projet remonte à l’adolescence de l’autrice. Yourcenar considérant le projet comme trop ambitieux pour être une œuvre de jeunesse, le décrivait de la trempe de ceux « qu’on ne doit pas oser avant d’avoir dépassé quarante ans ».

Le livre est présenté comme une longue lettre d’un vieil empereur adressée à son petit-fils adoptif et éventuel successeur âgé de 17 ans, Marc Aurèle. L’empereur Hadrien médite et se remémore ses triomphes militaires, son amour de la poésie et de la musique, sa philosophie ainsi que sa passion pour son jeune amant bithynien, Antinoüs.


Memoirs of Hadrian (French: Mémoires d'Hadrien) is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. First published in France in French in 1951 as Mémoires d'Hadrien, the book was an immediate success, meeting with enormous critical acclaim. Although the historical Hadrian wrote an autobiography, it has been lost.

The book takes the form of a letter to Hadrian's adoptive grandson and eventual successor "Mark" (Marcus Aurelius). The emperor meditates on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover Antinous, all in a manner similar to Gustave Flaubert's "melancholy of the antique world."

Yourcenar noted in her postscript Carnet de note to the original edition, quoting Flaubert, that she had chosen Hadrian as the subject of the novel in part because he had lived at a time when the Roman gods were no longer believed in, but Christianity was not yet established. This intrigued her for what she saw as parallels to her own post-war European world.

Publish Date
Publisher
Penguin
Language
English
Pages
256

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Previews available in: Spanish Italian English

Edition Availability
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Memoirs of Hadrian
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1990, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Memoirs of Hadrian: and reflections on the composition of Memoirs of Hadrian
1983, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Memorias de Adriano
June 1, 1983, Sudamericana
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1982, Edhasa
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Memorias de Adriano
1981, Hermes, Editorial Hermes
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Memoirs of Hadrian
1978, Penguin
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Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian: and reflections on the composition of Memoirs of Hadrian
1977, Pocket
Paperback in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

First published in French as "Memoires d'Hadrian" in 1951.
This translation first published, London, Secker and Warburg, 1955.
Translated from the French by Grace Frick in collaboration with the author.
With an introduction by Paul Bailey.

Published in
Harmondsworth, UK
Translation Of
Mémoires d'Hadrien
Translated From
French

Contributors

Translator
Grace Frick
Introduction
Paul Bailey

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
256

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL14944048M
ISBN 10
014001358X
Library Thing
27479
Goodreads
2159978

Source records

Better World Books record

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
December 21, 2021 Edited by Miguel Edited without comment.
December 21, 2021 Edited by Miguel Added new cover
December 21, 2021 Edited by Miguel Update covers
December 21, 2021 Edited by Miguel Added new cover
September 16, 2008 Created by ImportBot Imported from Talis record