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Product Description
One day George Arthur Rose, hack writer and minor priest, discovers that he has been picked to be Pope. He is hardly surprised and not in the least daunted. "The previous English pontiff was Hadrian the Fourth," he declares. "The present English pontiff is Hadrian the Seventh. It pleases Us; and so, by Our own impulse, We command."Hadrian is conceived in the image of his creator, Fr. Rolfe, whose aristocratic pretensions (he called himself Baron Corvo), religious obsession, and anarchic and self-aggrandizing sensibility have made him known as one of the great English eccentrics. Fr. Rolfe endured a lifetime of indignities and disappointments. However, in the hilarious and touching pages of this, his finest novel, he triumphs.
About the Author
Fr. Rolfe (1860-1913) also known as Frederick Rolfe and Baron Corvo, converted to Catholicism when he was twenty-six and attempted to enter the priesthood. After he was ejected from the seminary, he pledged himself to twenty years of celibacy and proceeded to write several semi-autobiographical novels that were simultaneously pious and irreverent. He lived alternately extravagantly and in squalor, depending on his means at the time, and died bitter and poor in Venice.
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First Sentence
IN MIND HE was tired, worn out, by years of hope deferred, of loneliness, of unrewarded toil. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IN MIND HE was tired, worn out, by years of hope deferred, of loneliness, of unrewarded toil. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is Indescribably wonderful,
By
This review is from: Hadrian The Seventh (NYRB Classics) (Paperback)
I dont think any book has quite touched me on a literary or personal level quite as much as Hadrian the Seventh and I shall deal with both levels seperately.From a literary view point this book is a unique oddity. It is like a beautifully written version of what children say when annoyed namely 'When I'm Prime Minister I shall do this this and this. I would advise anyone to read a short biography on the internet of the author before reading the book as the parralells between Rolfes life and Hadrian's as it makes the book more enjoyable. True Rolfe does have some strange peeves namely Scots, Irish and socialists but reading them just amkes it all the more fascinating in my opinion. The language is wonderfully archaic even for the time. On a personal level I found a lot of the sentiments in this book beautiful and the last chapter is perhaps the most lovely ending to a book imaginable. Also my copy ahs numerous pages with corners down as certain scenes such as Hadrians attack on a Jesuit are worth reading again for their command of language. Please Please buy this book, it deserves so much more praise than it has.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
odd - and interesting,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hadrian The Seventh (NYRB Classics) (Paperback)
Despite the accuracy of what 'Odd' says, it doesn't reflect enough the fact that the book is very interesting - the leading character is quirky, and drawn quite well; the voting at the Conclave, for example, is very intriguing, and full of compelling details about the 'secret' workings of the RC Church; and the plot as a whole is a satisfying (and extreme!) form of come-uppance for the underdog. (Most of the book is NOT like the passage quoted by 'Odd'!) The book has survived a long time because of these attributes, and I have given several copies as gifts to people with an interest in things Papal!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious, moving and utterly beautiful,
By
This review is from: Hadrian the Seventh!: A Romance (Paperback)
Yes Rolfe/Corvo was indulging himself in a bout of wish fulfilment in this glorious book, but the character of George Arthur Rose, Hadrian the Seventh is one of the most genuinely crafted in all of literature. It is a wonderfully human often funny book which plays with language in a way I found hard to resist.Not an easy read granted, but intensely rewarding. Thoroughly recommended.
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