The afterword to the novel, “Reflections on the Composition of Memoirs of Hadrian” should be read by anyone who has ever pondered the re-imagining of a new or ancient world. She abandoned the project but Hadrian would not let her go. ''Memoirs of Hadrian,'' her greatest novel, is cast in the form of a memorial written by the dying Emperor to his ultimate heir, Marcus Aurelius, to guide him in his destiny of ruling the world. Yourcenar first conceived the book when she was in her 20s. This is one of the few novels which successfully time-travels the life of a man who lived in the second century AD, into our world The book is written in the form of a letter which the dying Hadrian writes to his successor Marcus Aurelius. Can we really understand those of the distant past? Do they think and feel and desire and need the way we do? Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian, is one of the few novels which successfully time-travels the life of a man who lived in the second century AD, into our world. Writing historical fiction is fraught with difficulties. Thank you Hadrian, I always say as I stand beneath its oculus and marvel at the sweep of that gigantic dome. We know Hadrian builder of the wall at the Roman Empire’s northern limit, creator of cities across the ancient world, and rebuilder of the Pantheon destroyed by fire. Then walk to Villa Adriana, Hadrian’s Villa, 300 acres of grass and scrub, and an occasional glimpse of a marble pool, a line of statues, a paved footpath. Take the metro from the centre of Rome to the Ponte Mammolo station, its final stop.
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