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319:, which forces him to travel and take command of the troops. During an important siege, he despairs over the unraveling of his plans for peace, his ailing heart condition, and later over the rampant destruction in Judea. He states, "Natura deficit, fortuna mutatur, deus omnia cernit. Nature fails us, fortune changes, a god beholds all things from on high…"
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after his successes over Dacia and
Sarmatia. After a major defeat, Trajan hastily names Hadrian as his successor in a will shortly before his death. Following the death of Trajan, he hesitantly has his rivals executed and makes peace with Parthia. He travels frequently throughout the provinces of the
183:
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
192:
Yourcenar first thought of the idea for the book between 1924 and 1929. She then worked on various drafts intermittently between 1934 and 1937. The notion of writing the book from the point of view of a dying
Hadrian occurred to her after reading a sentence in a draft from 1937 stating: "I begin to
223:. The other chapters form a loose chronological narrative which he often breaks with various insights and recollections. The story begins with Hadrian, who is around sixty years of age, describing his incurable illness. He therefore wishes to recount important events in his life before his death.
326:, he ponders his succession and his thoughts turn to a memory of Marcus Aurelius as a virtuous and kind-hearted boy. Hadrian, now in advanced age and very poor health, begins to fear death and contemplates suicide through various means. He finally accepts his fate with resignation, or
250:
campaign. Hadrian, who is around thirty years old at the end of the war, describes his successes in the army and his relationship with Trajan who is initially cold towards him. He slowly gains Trajan's favor and secures his position for the throne with the help of
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266:
wars strongly affects him due to the appalling bloodshed and atrocities committed. He also begins to question the value of Trajan's policy of military expansion. Trajan, in old age, begins an unsuccessful military campaign in
196:
She did not resume work on the book in earnest until
December 1948, as she lived between New York and Hartford, Connecticut. She states that while she based her account of Hadrian on the two most principal sources,
314:
Hadrian begins reflecting upon his advancing age and his change in temperament, recalling one incident where he accidentally blinds his secretary out of rage. Further troubling him is the outbreak of rebellion in
307:. He ultimately believes that Antinous sacrificed himself in order to alter the outcome of troubling portents that both had witnessed earlier. In his grief, he devises the
330:, while reflecting on his newfound divine status throughout the Empire. Near death, he contemplates what the future may hold for the world, Rome, and for his soul.
598:
299:. He also feels genuinely loved by Antinous compared to the fleeting passions of his youth and the loveless relationship with his wife Sabina. While visiting
476:. University of La Rioja, Logroño: International Congress "Imagines". Antiquity in the performing and visual arts October 22-24, 2007. pp. 387–394
443:
Kapsaskis, Dionysios (2018). "Yourcenar, Sartre and the Limits of
Authenticity: Re-reading "MĂ©moires d'Hadrien" from an Existentialist Perspective".
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Hadrian's administration is a time of peace and happiness which he regards as his "Age of Gold." He attributes this happiness to his love for
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what she saw as parallels to her own post-war
European world. Although the historical Hadrian wrote an autobiography, it has been lost.
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while undertaking numerous economic and military reforms, promoting in his words: “humanitas, libertas, felicitas.” During a visit to
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141:. First published in France in 1951, the book was a critical and commercial success. It was translated into English by
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The novel is told in the first person by
Hadrian and is framed as a letter to Marcus Aurelius in the first chapter,
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172:). The emperor meditates on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover
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284:, which represents part of his vision of curbing the military expansion of his predecessor and promoting peace.
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415:"Imaginary histories: ancient Egypt in the writings of Marguerite Yourcenar and Philippe Derchain"
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The book takes the form of a letter to
Hadrian's adoptive grandson and eventual successor "Mark" (
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and makes future plans to dedicate a new city to him in an effort to eternalize his memory.
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The
Routledge Companion to the Reception of Ancient Greek and Roman Gender and Sexuality
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211:, her goal was to reinterpret the past but also strive for historical authenticity.
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165:). American editions of this translation are now published under the latter title.
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to study, travels to Rome for the first time, and witnesses the accession of
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Reflections on the
Composition of Memoirs of Hadrian in Memoirs of Hadrian
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Reflections on the Composition of Memoirs of Hadrian in Memoirs of Hadrian
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Houston, John (1961). "The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar".
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Museums and literature: Marguerite Yourcenar's "Memoires d' Hadrien
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and his lifelong passion for the arts, culture, and philosophy of
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Yourcenar. Memoirs of Hadrian. English Edition. 2005. p. 319-320.
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238:; themes which he revisits throughout the book. He visits
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322:During his final years in Rome and at his villa in
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262:During his military service, the outcome of the
559:"Portrait of Power Embodied in a Roman Emperor"
226:His earliest memories are his boyhood years in
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16:1951 historical novel by Marguerite Yourcenar
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429:: Helmut Buske Verlag: 207–240. pub 992103.
255:, the emperor's wife, and also by marrying
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230:. He also talks of his early interest in
413:Parkinson, Richard Bruce (1 July 2019).
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180:'s "melancholy of the antique world."
515:. English Edition. 2005. p. 326, 329.
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502:, English Edition, 2005. p. 319-320.
155:and the following year in the UK as
537:Acocella, Joan (14 February 2005).
280:, he describes the construction of
557:Epstein, Joseph (9 October 2010).
470:Guardiola, Rosario Rovira (2008).
193:discern the profile of my death."
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524:Yourcenar. Memoirs. 2005. p. 243.
419:Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur
33:Cover of the first french edition
134:about the life and death of the
97:Print (hardback & paperback)
767:Cultural depictions of Hadrian
742:Novels by Marguerite Yourcenar
1:
802:Novels set in the 2nd century
695:Mishima: A Vision of the Void
176:, all in a manner similar to
346:Moore, K. (22 August 2022).
792:Novels with bisexual themes
762:Male bisexuality in fiction
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777:Novels set in ancient Rome
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747:French historical novels
445:Dalhousie French Studies
352:. Taylor & Francis.
153:Farrar, Straus and Young
259:, Trajan's grandniece.
221:Animula Vagula Blandula
105:347 pp (2005 paperback)
772:Nerva–Antonine dynasty
757:Novels with gay themes
539:"Becoming the Emperor"
432:Free PDF download here
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71:Librairie Plon, France
624:A Coin in Nine Hands
608:Marguerite Yourcenar
188:Writing of the novel
163:Secker & Warburg
132:Marguerite Yourcenar
43:Marguerite Yourcenar
737:1951 Belgian novels
563:Wall Street Journal
384:Yale French Studies
62:philosophical novel
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22:Memoirs of Hadrian
797:1951 French novels
787:French LGBT novels
644:Memoirs of Hadrian
295:youth he meets in
158:Memoirs of Hadrian
119:MĂ©moires d'Hadrien
113:Memoirs of Hadrian
60:Historical novel,
782:1950s LGBT novels
752:Epistolary novels
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151:in 1954 by
143:Grace Frick
731:Categories
486:Also see:
334:References
654:The Abyss
451:: 49–61.
328:patientia
297:Nicomedia
293:Bithynian
264:Sarmatian
232:astrology
116:(French:
68:Publisher
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289:Antinous
215:Synopsis
174:Antinous
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707:Related
568:15 June
548:15 June
427:Hamburg
400:2929331
278:Britain
269:Parthia
253:Plotina
228:Italica
139:Hadrian
128:Belgian
122:) is a
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647:(1951)
637:(1939)
627:(1934)
615:Novels
480:5 July
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257:Sabina
248:Dacian
244:Trajan
240:Athens
236:Greece
89:France
52:French
39:Author
675:Fires
453:JSTOR
396:JSTOR
324:Tibur
317:Judea
301:Egypt
102:Pages
57:Genre
570:2016
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