In her magnificent novel, Marguerite Yourcenor recreates the life and death of one of the great rulers of the ancient world. The Emperor Hadrian, aware his demise is imminent, writes a long valedictory letter to Marcus Aurelius, his future successor. The Emperor meditates on his past, describing his[...]

On November 25, 1970, Japan's most renowned postwar novelist, Yukio Mishima, stunned the world by committing ritual suicide. Here, Marguerite Yourcenar, a brilliant reader of Mishima and a scholar with an eye for the cultural roles of fiction, unravels the author's life and politics: his affection f[...]

Both an exploration of character and a reflection on the meaning of history, "Memoirs of Hadrian has received international acclaim since its first publication in France in 1951. In it, Marguerite Yourcenar reimagines the Emperor Hadrian's arduous boyhood, his triumphs and reversals, and finally, as[...]

Marguerite Yourcenar har en usædvanlig evne til at udtrykke meget med et minimum af ord. Hendes Orientalske noveller er korte, men dybsindige. Man føler mere end nogensinde ordenes magt - og kærlighedens eller kunstens magt, skønhedens og venskabets.

En refleksion over livets muligheder [...]