An edition of Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951)

Memoirs of Hadrian

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  • 3.33 ·
  • 3 Ratings
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  • 6 Have read

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Last edited by Miguel
December 19, 2021 | History
An edition of Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951)

Memoirs of Hadrian

  • 3.33 ·
  • 3 Ratings
  • 113 Want to read
  • 5 Currently reading
  • 6 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
Language
English
Pages
313

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Previews available in: Spanish Italian English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Memorias de Adriano
Memorias de Adriano
2014, Penguin Random House
Paperback in Spanish
Cover of: Memorias de Adriano
Memorias de Adriano
2011, Debolsillo
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Cover of: Memorie di Adriano
Memorie di Adriano: seguite dai Taccuini di appunti
1998, Einaudi
Paperback in Italian
Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian
July 4, 1995, Modern Library
Hardcover in English - New ed.
Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian
1990, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Paperback in English
Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian: and reflections on the composition of Memoirs of Hadrian
1983, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Paperback in English - 17th printing
Cover of: Memorias de Adriano
Memorias de Adriano
June 1, 1983, Sudamericana
Paperback in Spanish
Cover of: Memorias de Adriano
Memorias de Adriano
1982, Edhasa
Hardcover in Spanish
Cover of: Memorias de Adriano
Memorias de Adriano
1981, Hermes, Editorial Hermes
Paperback in Spanish
Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Cover of: Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian
1955, Farrar, Straus and Young
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


Published in

New York (New York), USA

Edition Notes

Translated from the French by Grace Frick in collaboration with the author.

Genre
Fiction.
Translation Of
Mémoires d'Hadrien
Translated From
French

Classifications

Library of Congress
PZ3.Y897 Me

Contributors

Translator
Grace Frick

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Pagination
313 p.
Number of pages
313

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL6152795M
Internet Archive
memoirsofhadrianyourrich
LCCN
54005686
OCLC/WorldCat
777348
Library Thing
27479

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
December 19, 2021 Edited by Miguel Edited without comment.
December 19, 2021 Edited by Miguel Edited without comment.
December 18, 2021 Edited by Miguel Edited without comment.
October 25, 2021 Edited by Jenner Merge works
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record.