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HADRIAN THE SEVENTH (PENGUIN MODERN…
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HADRIAN THE SEVENTH (PENGUIN MODERN CLASSICS) (original 1904; edition 1963)

by ROLFE

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8081327,009 (3.7)64
'If there be one place in all this orb of earth where a secret is a Secret, that place is a Roman Conclave' Part novel, part daydream, part diatribe, this strange masterpiece tells the story of George Arthur Rose, a poor, frustrated writer who lives in a shabby bedsit, saving his cigarette ends and eating soup - until one day he is made Pope. As the first English pontiff in five centuries, he is a mass of contradictions: infallible and petulant, humble and despotic. Yet Hadrian the Seventh is really a knowing self-portrait of its flamboyant author Baron Corvo, a would-be priest with aristocratic pretensions, and one of the greatest eccentrics of English literature.… (more)
Member:thewordygecko
Title:HADRIAN THE SEVENTH (PENGUIN MODERN CLASSICS)
Authors:ROLFE
Info:PENGUIN (1963), Unknown Binding, 360 pages
Collections:Your library
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Work Information

Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (Author) (1904)

  1. 10
    The Quest for Corvo : An Experiment in Biography by A. J. A. Symons (Cecrow)
  2. 01
    Laura Warholic: Or, The Sexual Intellectual by Alexander Theroux (slickdpdx)
    slickdpdx: Both are stories of embittered artists redeemed, told by authors with a love for language and the esoteric.
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» See also 64 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 13 (next | show all)
Frederick Rolfe was born in London, the son of a piano-tuner, and left school at the age of 14. Rolfe converted to Roman Catholicism and this conversion became a strongly felt desire to join the priesthood himself. Rolfe went to college in Rome but was eventually thrown out because his inability to concentrate on his priestly studies and his erratic behaviour meaning that his desire to join the priesthood was constantly frustrated and never realised. Instead Rolfe became a free-lance writer relying on benefactors for support but he had a tendency to fall out with those who tried to help and support him. He eventually died in poverty in Venice. 'Hadrian the Seventh' is Rolfe's best known novel and many regard the titular character as the author's alter-ego.

'George Arthur Rose,' having originally been rejected for the priesthood and living in poverty as a free-lance writer, finds himself the object of a highly improbable change of mind on the part of the church hierarchy, who then elect him to the papacy. Rose takes the name Hadrian VII and embarks upon a programme of ecclesiastical and geopolitical reform. Dogged by petty jealousies and scurrilous accusations Hadrian's papacy is relatively short lived.

Rolfe was himself an avowed homosexual and Hadrian like his creator soon surrounds himself with young men and abhors the presence of women and children. Hadrian thus becomes an exercise in wish-fulfilment.

It seems highly unlikely that even back in the early 20th century that the Pope would have had the influence amongst politicians that Rolfe seems to imagine that Hadrian has but in todays world this seems ridiculous. This is a rather quirky novel that has almost been totally forgotten. This wasn't a particularly easy read, the prose is grandiose, there are elements of this book that I rather enjoyed, in particular his dealings with the Socialists who were laughable, but there were also some elements that I found rather tedious. It perhaps deserves to be more widely read but in truth I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to any of my friends. ( )
  PilgrimJess | Mar 31, 2023 |
I'd been seeking this book out a long time. One of the few I carried at the forefront of my mind every time I went into a used book store. I'd read his history of the Borgia family, more an exercise in apologia and romanticism than anything else, but thoroughly enchanting. And finally, while visiting Philadelphia last year for the 4th of July I was brought to an absolute heaven - a sprawling used book store that was impeccably organized - and found 'Hadrian the Seventh' lying horizontally on a high shelf.

Rolfe has his detractors, deservedly so perhaps, as he was not exactly a good person by our standards, but he had such passionate beliefs they couldn't fail to translate to his writing. His medieval and supposedly Grecian-correct approach to spelling enhances the feeling that it is Rolfe's world we're living in, and would you please keep out of the view.

'Hadrian the Seventh' is essentially Rolfe's daydream of what he would do with the power and influence of the papacy. A fair amount of revenge is dished out and opinions vented. Many beautiful young men are appointed to offices close to his Holiness. Though a great deal of his vision is grossly pre-World War, many of his proposed reforms have been carried out, or at least attempted. The corruption of the church hierarchy, the ostentatious wealth of what professes to be an institution for the betterment of mankind, the inability to look beyond the Vatican's walls, are all excellent points. And why shouldn't they sell the Vatican's treasures in the manner he proposed?

Rolfe wrote this in the period after the Papacy had been divested of its territories and before the Vatican was given official status within the international community and, more importantly, Italy. It is a fascinating look at an organization in desperate need of change -- very on the nose for the Church's current ongoing crisis. Rolfe anticipated the question that is in a growing number of minds - is so corrupt an organization worth saving at all? ( )
1 vote ManWithAnAgenda | Feb 18, 2019 |
George Arthur Rose is a staunch Catholic and a wannabe-priest, but for twenty years all his efforts to have his vocation made official have been torpedoed either by bad luck, or by bishops disinclined to put up with his difficult character and his erratic behaviour. As a result, Rose, eking out an existence as a freelance writer, has become bitter and easy (and very eager!) to take offence; he takes pride in rubbing his misfortunes in the face of those responsible precisely by ostentatiously not rubbing them in their face. He’s got several magnanimous monologues prepared, for when his tormentors finally see the light and apologize to him. He’s also an inveterate cat person.

So far, the story is really that of the author himself: Frederick Rolfe, the self-styled Baron Corvo, who abbreviated his first name Fr. so as to give the impression of being a priest. But then, one day, Rose gets elected pope. He takes it in stride, and sets out to become the best, most memorable, and most innovative pope ever. Also, he mews occasionally.

Hadrian the Seventh is a fun romp of a book. It’s Roman-Catholic fanfic, a delightful what-if tale that takes its silly premise and runs with it, emphatically not caring about what anyone may think. Rolfe’s pope, scrupulously exact and sternly megalomaniacal, is what the entire book hangs on, lavishing well-deserved attention on him, letting him shine in all his contradictory glory; as such, he joins my pantheon of memorable characters that transcend their book.

And it isn't just the main character -- it’s the entirety of Hadrian the Seventh that so fascinatingly walks that fine line between sincerity and satire. It is written in an elegantly baroque style that is so full of its own aloofness it almost parodies itself; its central character, so impossibly smug, is treated with the utmost gravity; and its attitudes towards women, socialists, non-Catholics and assorted nationalities are ridiculous, yet presented as such self-evidencies and taken so far that it’s hard to take them entirely seriously.

I'm not quite sure just how tongue-in-cheek this book is: is it mostly self-aware over-the-top wishful thinking with an honest desire at its core? Or does it aim to create an exaggerated but mostly honest attempt at what-if? Or was the author unaware of how self-aggrandizing the book is? Or perhaps he was and he intended it so. From what I've read, all of these are possible. (Incidentally, I've also purchased Symons' The Quest for Corvo, a biography of Rolfe (which appears to be a fêted classic in its own right), and will certainly read it.)

Whatever the case may be, Hadrian the Seventh was enormous fun to read, endlessly entertaining and more whimsical than any other book I read this year. ( )
2 vote Petroglyph | Dec 22, 2014 |
Hadrian the Seventh is a megalomaniacal fantasy in which a struggling writer (frequently taken as Rolfe’s alter-ego) is inexplicably made Pope. The book succeeds because both the fictional George Arthur Rose and the actual Frederick Rolfe are better than their respective doubles. Rose as Hadrian constructs a persona “immense, intangible, potent, detestable—and most desirable.” He masters the Roman curia with his remarkable rhetorical prowess, and very nearly secures the peace that would have avoided the Great War. And because we are made to feel how much Hadrian is a creation of Rose, we see that Rolfe was capable of artistic feats that Rose could only dream of. Rolfe’s prose is poignant, grandiose, hilarious and sad. I’m glad I read this. Rose’s guileless, exculpatory nine-page confession before he is appointed to the Chair of Peter is a small masterpiece.

p.s. The introduction by Alexander Theroux in the NYRB edition gives away the ending. It should be an Afterword. ( )
2 vote HectorSwell | Sep 4, 2014 |
Idiosyncratic virtuosic wish-fulfillment. ( )
3 vote slickdpdx | Jun 10, 2013 |
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Rolfe, FrederickAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Croegaert, GeorgesCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mathias, RobertCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Theroux, AlexanderIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Weinstock, HerbertIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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'If there be one place in all this orb of earth where a secret is a Secret, that place is a Roman Conclave' Part novel, part daydream, part diatribe, this strange masterpiece tells the story of George Arthur Rose, a poor, frustrated writer who lives in a shabby bedsit, saving his cigarette ends and eating soup - until one day he is made Pope. As the first English pontiff in five centuries, he is a mass of contradictions: infallible and petulant, humble and despotic. Yet Hadrian the Seventh is really a knowing self-portrait of its flamboyant author Baron Corvo, a would-be priest with aristocratic pretensions, and one of the greatest eccentrics of English literature.

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