a little place to call my own (art and fashion blog)

Hello readers! In this post, I'll continue my review of Memoirs of Hadrian , a historical fictional biography written by Marguerite Yourcenar.  As  I already said (in the first part of my review), I was absolutely enchanted by this historical novel that read like a genuine memoir. Yorcenar used a first person epistolary narration in the Memoirs of Hadian . The Roman emperor writes his story in a form of a long letter to his adopted grandson Marcus (Mark) who is also his future successor. The letter is both intimate and instructional. While Hadrian often drifts into personal digressions and philosophical arguments in the letter, he does address Marcus directly on a number of occasions, adding to credibility of this narrative letter.   Being somewhat familiar with the life of Hadian, I still found the plot very interesting and engaging. While Marguerite Yourcenar did a tremendous amount of historical research for this novel, she also introduced her own ideas and employ...

Hello, dear readers!  I'm back with another book review and recommendation. Memories of Hadrian   by Belgian French author Marguerite Yourcenar is an extraordinary novel about  Roman emperor Hadrian.   Published in 1951, it won its author critical acclaim and was an immediate success. Originally written and published in French, under the title  Mémoires d'Hadrien,  it was translated to English in 1954 by Grace Frick, who was not only  Marguirete's lifelong translator but also her lifelong partner. Belgian born Marguerite Yourcenar became an USA citizen in 1954, the same year an English version of her novel was published. Marguerite  was quite an established writer,  the w inner of the  Prix Femina  and the  Erasmus Prize , and the first woman elected to the French Academy  in 1980. In 1965, she was even nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature. Surely, this novel had something to do with her success.  It is said t...