Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Memoirs of Hadrian with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, a stunning fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Written in the form of a letter from the dying Hadrian to his young successor Marcus Aurelius, it is both a chronicle of the emperor’s rise to power and his efforts to bring peace to his empire, and a meditation on the legacy he is leaving behind. The novel was selected as one of the Bokklubben World Library’s 100 Best Books in the History of Literature, and has featured on the list for nearly 15 years. It remains the best-known work by Marguerite Yourcenar, who won the prestigious Prix Femina for the novel and was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 1983. She was also the first woman elected to the Académie Française.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Nov 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9782806281074

Book preview

FRENCH-AMERICAN WRITER

Born in Brussels in 1903.

Died in Mount Desert Island (Maine, USA) in 1987.

Notable works:

Oriental Tales (1938), short stories

Memoirs of Hadrian (1951), novel

The Abyss (1968), novel

Marguerite de Crayencour, better known as Marguerite Yourcenar, was born in Brussels in 1903. In 1980, she became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française (a prestigious French institution for matters pertaining to language). She travelled extensively in her early years, before moving to Mount Desert Island (Maine) in the United States during the Second World War. During her time there, she taught French literature and history of art, and she remained there until her death in 1987.

Yourcenar was passionate about humanism and classical culture, which led her to embark on a literary career that spanned novels (Memoirs of Hadrian; The Abyss), essays, poetry collections, short stories (Oriental Tales), plays and translations. Although 20th-century literature was dominated by avant-garde trends and movements, Yourcenar’s writing is set apart by her classic style and close attention to narrative.

A ROMAN EMPEROR’S LETTER TO HIS SUCCESSOR

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Yourcenar, M. (2000) Memoirs of Hadrian. Trans. Frick, G. London: Penguin.

1st edition: 1951

Themes: biography, memory, Roman life, politics, the Roman Empire, love, war

Memoirs of Hadrian was written over a period of more than 25 years. Yourcenar began work on the novel between 1924 and 1929, but abandoned and rewrote it several times before eventually