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After enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans’ hospital in England to convalesce. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their friendship blooms into a discreet, chaste romance. Then one day, Ralph Lanyon, a mentor from Laurie’s schoolboy days, suddenly reappears in Laurie’s life, and draws him into a tight-knit social circle of world-weary gay men. Laurie is forced to choose between the sweet ideals of innocence and the distinct pleasures of experience.
Originally published in the United States in 1959, The Charioteer is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar and Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories as a monumental work in gay literature.
Originally published in the United States in 1959, The Charioteer is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar and Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories as a monumental work in gay literature.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this exquisite novel, Mary Renault, best-known for her novels set in ancient Greece, turns her attention to the tendentious subject of homosexual love during the Second World War. Laurie, a wounded soldier recovering in hospital, becomes enamoured of the young and clearly innocent Andrew, a conscientious objector who is working as an orderly. Into the midst of this idyll comes Ralph, an old friend from Laurie's school days, with whom Laurie was in love, or in awe. Along with Ralph come a variety of his friends, some melodramatic, some manipulative. The subject of the novel is Laurie's indecision between Andrew and his otherworldly, ethereal charm, and Ralph's more down-to-earth reality.
The title refers to the metaphor that which the soul is a charioteer in charge of two horses, one beautiful and well-behaved, the other wild and wilful. The charioteer has to keep peace between them and ensure that they don't drag the chariot off-course.
Mary Renault is respected for being so adept at creating believable male characters. Although some of the denizens of this novel are types, the naïve pretty youth, the camp and dramatic queen, the manipulative, predatory homosexual, they never become stereotypes thanks to Renault's gift for characterization.
At the time this novel was written, during the 1950's, the subject of homosexuality was still contentious, and using it as the theme of a novel was a brave decision. There is nothing exploitive or prurient about the story, nor is there any kind of plea for tolerance; this is simply a story with well-drawn, consistent characters going about their daily lives. At the same time, there is a strong sense of the time and place in which the novel is set: the war goes on in the background, people try to get on with their lives in the shadow of constant threat, people are kind or selfish according to character. Mary Renault is a superb creator of real people, and anyone who enjoys an engrossing story will find much to enjoy within the pages of this engrossing novel.
The title refers to the metaphor that which the soul is a charioteer in charge of two horses, one beautiful and well-behaved, the other wild and wilful. The charioteer has to keep peace between them and ensure that they don't drag the chariot off-course.
Mary Renault is respected for being so adept at creating believable male characters. Although some of the denizens of this novel are types, the naïve pretty youth, the camp and dramatic queen, the manipulative, predatory homosexual, they never become stereotypes thanks to Renault's gift for characterization.
At the time this novel was written, during the 1950's, the subject of homosexuality was still contentious, and using it as the theme of a novel was a brave decision. There is nothing exploitive or prurient about the story, nor is there any kind of plea for tolerance; this is simply a story with well-drawn, consistent characters going about their daily lives. At the same time, there is a strong sense of the time and place in which the novel is set: the war goes on in the background, people try to get on with their lives in the shadow of constant threat, people are kind or selfish according to character. Mary Renault is a superb creator of real people, and anyone who enjoys an engrossing story will find much to enjoy within the pages of this engrossing novel.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was given this book by a friend after a conversation in a cafe, where she suddenly asked me if I had read The Charioteer, so I opened it and began to read without even looking at the back cover to see anything about it, knowing I would find our conversation in it or something relevant to it. The second chapter caught my attention for itself, Mary Renault writes 'well' and I think this story is her best and most polished. I found it deeply moving and readable and delicately poised. Its charisma stayed with me after I had finished it. I don't really want to say anything about the subject or the 'plot' because I was so charmed to come to it without anything, and the precis on the dust jacket afterwards struck me as being misleading and rather irrelevant. To me it was one of those simple 'human stories' that transpose into many keys, beautifully written and seen, delightful and thought provoking. Of itself.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a great fan of the author, i discovered this title purely by accident in a charity shop and was mesmerised. Renault demonstrates exceptional insight into human nature and this talent, combined with a remarkable ability of transferring her observations to the written word, gives the reader a moving and very believable story of the lives of gay people during the second world war, well before the word was first penned. The characters are wonderfully complex and yet so very easy to relate to. The party sequence in which she continues to build the scene throughout the chapter, constantly introducing new and varied characters would be banal and confusing from anyone with less ability. If any novel is deserving of the title 'gay classic', this one gets my vote.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An interesting WWII gay man's story
A story of gay love during World War II [no explicit sex if that is what you are after!] Sad in many ways this tale of a wounded soldier who has fond memories of a senior at school... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Downsman
An unusual and memorable novel
I first read this at nineteen. It was recommended by a gay friend, who, when I enthused about it, said: Yes, but there's a lot wrong with it, like the way Ralph despises drag and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Provincial Lady
Beautiful and tender
After following Laurie Odell at various stages through his youth, including a significant meeting with Ralph Lanyon, at nineteen some three years his senior, his Head of House at... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Benjamin
Beautiful
One of my absolute favourite novels of all time. Mary Renault doesn't waste a single word, and she has the immense skill of saying just as much by what she doesn't say as what she... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kate
Original Version, Later Revised (and Improved)
THE CHARIOTEER, the sixth and last of Mary Renault's modern-day novels (most of it takes place in 1940) was first published by Longmans, Green & Co Ltd in 1953, with this... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Nicholas A. Deutsch
Beautiful, delicate and spiritual...
I've always loved Mary Renault's Ancient Greece novels, particularly her Alexander trilogy. She's such a wonderful writer - her portrayal of the relationship between Alexander and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. Ball
heartbreakingly lovely
This is on my wishlist because my paperback is falling to bits. This is, perhaps, my favourite love story - at the very least it's one I return to, and one that still touches and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by otterley
Honour and Brotherhood
Comparing the secretive comradeship of homosexuals to the brotherhood in arms of servicemen in the Second World War was a very daring thing to do in the 1950s, but Mary Renault... Read more
Published 22 months ago by VCBF (Val)
Powerful Story
This is a great book. The first two chapters give us the background, and introduces Laurie's mother and the main secondary character, Ralph, while the main story begins with... Read more
Published on 14 May 2009 by D. J. Williams
Wonderful
This is really the most amazing book. I have barely been able to put it down since I first read it as there are passages and chapters that I go back to over and over again, I love... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2009 by Helena
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