Memoirs of Hadrian Author:Yourcenar, Marguerite Followed by Reflections on the Composition of Memoirs of Hadrian. — Translated from the French by Grace Frick. — In collaboration with the author. — Written in the form of testamentary letter from the Emperor Hadrian to his successor, the youthful Marcus Aurelius, the work is as extraordinary for its psychological depth as for its accurate reconstr... more »uction of the second century of our era. The author describes the book as a meditation upon history, but this meditation upon history, but this meditation is built upon intensive study of the personal and political life of a great and complex character as seen by himself and by his contemporaries, both friends and enemies. In a prose as firm as that of the great Latin stylists of his time, Hadrian's arduous early years, his triumphs and reversals, his gradual re-ordering of a war-torn world are reconstructed with an imaginative insight which only years in the company of the Emperor could give.
Illustrated with over 40 photographs especially chosen by the author which suggest the variety of materials from which she worked. A highly personal essay on the composition of the Memoirs, newly translated for this volume, appears for the first time in English in book form.« less