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Hadrian the Seventh (NYRB Classics)
 
 

Hadrian the Seventh (NYRB Classics) (Paperback)

by Fr. Rolfe (Author) "IN MIND HE was tired, worn out, by years of hope deferred, of loneliness, of unrewarded toil ..." (more)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 424 pages
  • Publisher: New York Review Books; New Ed edition (1 Mar 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0940322625
  • ISBN-13: 978-0940322622
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.7 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 223,812 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Synopsis
The author, Fr Rolfe (1860-1913) aka Frederick Rolfe aka Baron Corvo, frustrated in his attempts to enter priesthood, wrote several semi-autobiographical novels. In this one, George Arthur Rose, minor priest and writer, is picked to be Pope, Hadrian the Seventh. Rolfe is known as one of the great English eccentrics.

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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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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is Indescribably wonderful, 16 Jul 2005
By Mrs. S. Berry "uppercommander" (Cambrdige UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars odd - and interesting, 26 April 2005
By A Customer
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!
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4 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Odd, 2 Sep 2003
By A Customer
Frederick Rolfe styled himself Fr. Rolfe to write this book, to make it look as if he was a Priest. Rolfe himself failed to enter the RC priesthood, rather like Mr Rose/Hadrian (the hero)... and from there on, you can see from his life that Hadrian VII is really Rolfe's wish fulfilment... not only to become a priest, but a Pope! Like Hadrian/Rose, Rolfe was an oddball in real life.

Mr Rose is a reclusive, catty & bookish Englishman, who excels in verbosity and likes showing off his skills in Ancient Greek. Through a chain of coincidences, this autistic "hermit" ends up becoming a priest, and then Pope. He renames himself Hadrian as the last English Pope before him, Nicholas Breakspear, had. Once in power Hadrian takes two conflicting courses, first reforming the Vatican to become less worldly and selling off some of its treasures for charity, harmonising RC factions etc and secondly getting right into world politics... this novel was written before WWI so some of his solutions are a little quaint. He gets France and Russia "sorted out", and hands over most of the world to his native England (see end). Hadrian has a strong anti-socialist bent, but this book came about 8 years before the Bolshevik Revolution occurred.

The other characters are less appealing... least convincing is Jerry Sant, who is supposedly some kind of Scottish socialist, but who speaks neither like a Scot nor much like a socialist (devious or otherwise). Cardinal Ragna, who might be presumed to supply some decent opposition, is also a cardboard cutout.
Rolfe has an odd style of writing... for example he refuses to talk of people being "Scottish" or "Irish", but prefers talking of them as Pictish, Erse or Gaelic, or Keltic (with the K). Despite being a pompous quoter of Classical Greek (and more oddly not mentioning much Latin to go with it), he shows a great prejudice towards living languages of his country's neighbours. -

"England is the dominant race: her language is the language of all her colonies. Why a triplet of little conquered countries [Scotland, Ireland and Wales] should refuse to learn English - should be permitted to insist on their barbarous and unliterary languages, we could never understand. They are conquered countries annexed to their conqueror"

Rolfe evidently needed educating in this area. Gaelic monks taught the Anglo-Saxons how to read and write, and the Irish Free State began a mere six years after the book was written, but I digress. Here is a specimen of the book's style, which goes on and on, page after page -

"The Supreme Arbitrator provided the human race with scope and opportunity for energy. The provisions of the Epistle to princes were drawn up in the Form of Treaty dividing the world, til Midnight (G.T.) of December 31st (N.S.) of the year 2000 of the Fructiferous Incarnation of the Son of God into the Ninefold Kingdom, the American Republic, the Japanese Empire and the Roman Empire."

(This is his cabbalistic way of saying Hadrian handed over Africa and most of Asia to England "the Ninefold Kingdom", naturally, and had given Siberia to Japan. The Roman Empire he speaks of is Continental Europe controlled by the Kaiser.)

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, moving and utterly beautiful
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... Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2007 by Mr. N. Haynes

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