Memoirs of Hadrian in Queereaders

Jul 03, 2007 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-20, 5q

This is an unlikely candidate to be on my all-time list of the 5 best books I've ever read. But it is. An "autobiographical" account of a long-dead Roman emperor (not even one of the glamorous, or truly filthy ones), written by a 20th century Frenchwoman - who'd have thunk it?

And yet, I beg, I implore you - if you haven't already - buy, steal, or scrounge a copy of this book. It will draw you in. Can't promise it will change your life. All I know is that I find myself re-reading it every two or ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Andrew Peters added it

Shelves: ancient-world-historical

I admit I mainly wanted to read Memoirs of Hadrian for the story of the emperor's famous love affair with Antinous. That figures into I'd say less than 1/4 of Yourcenar's imagined memoirs, while her narrator provides a thorough autobiography from his childhood to his last years, in his sixties.

Not surprisingly, some parts are more interesting than others. Whose life is a gripping tale from start to finish? But as an historical text, Memoirs of Hadrian is a pleasantly informational, sometimes sur I admit I mainly wanted to read Memoirs of Hadrian for the story of the emperor's famous love affair with Antinous. That figures into I'd say less than 1/4 of Yourcenar's imagined memoirs, while her narrator provides a thorough autobiography from his childhood to his last years, in his sixties.

Not surprisingly, some parts are more interesting than others. Whose life is a gripping tale from start to finish? But as an historical text, Memoirs of Hadrian is a pleasantly informational, sometimes surprising account of politics and society in early 2nd century AD ancient Rome. Moreover, it leaves one wondering of the depths of Yourcenar's genius. How did an author, twenty centuries later, render the life of, arguably, Rome's most accomplished politician with such authority and such humanity?

Yourcenar imagines Hadrian as an immensely intellectually curious, philosophical, and aspirational world leader. He is also an accomplished military veteran who is more at home travelling the world than ruling an empire from its capital. The cleverness of the portrayal is that he is at once accessible and admirable with his many interests yet entirely unknowable as a man by virtue of his impossibly wide-ranging knowledge and achievements.

That is not to say, he is without any faults. A certain coldness in his character comes through, perhaps a fear of revealing too much of himself to his intimates. Still, Yourcenar's Hadrian is quite an intimidating man, not because he demands it, but because of the brilliance of his mind (which is, again, a tribute to the author).

Yourcenar portrays his affair with Antinous with satisfying complexity. Hadrian is revealed as both susceptible to desire (and perhaps its more dangerous descendant: obsession) and susceptible to the social pressures of the time, which are not entirely different from our contemporary age. He fears appearing the fool for giving his heart to another man, and he intellectualizes their relationship as a passing phase wherein he, the older man, will by need move on to fresh pursuits, companions that are more his equal, while Antinous, the younger, will similarly benefit from his freedom.

Only after Antinous’ suicide do we see Hadrian as a man with the capacity to love. Yet he is horribly aware that it is easier to love a man after his death than to love him as a living companion. A surprising fact within this story is that Antinous became the most frequently depicted subject of the arts in classical times, above Caesar, Augustus, and Hadrian himself. He was deified by Hadrian, which, Hadrian opines, would have been the young man’s wish: never to grow old and be forgotten. One gathers that the narrator of the memoirs shared the same ambition.
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Mar 25, 2009 Tara Lynn rated it really liked it

Shelves: booklist-for-2009, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die

My friend Chris introduced me to this book for the first time along with several selections by Mary Renault, and Steven Pressfield. It's a strange novel. I was shocked to discover how much I enjoyed it. A definite read for anyone interested in Greco/Roman history. ...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Ilya rated it liked it

lyrical, rich, and yet also not very sustaining.

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Nov 29, 2008 Chaundra rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel, mediterranean, historical-fiction

Written as a letter from the ailing emperor Hadrian to his protege Marcus Aurelius, it is a lyrical exploration of the mind of one of history's great men. Phenomenal language and truly beautifully imagined. A surprisingly great read. ...more

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