Marguerite Yourcenar was a French novelist and essayist whose work is characterized by profound philosophical insight and stylistic precision. She focused particularly on historical themes, exploring human nature and the complex relationships between individuals and society. Her writing is penetrating and meditative, often centering on the inner lives of characters and their moral dilemmas. Yourcenar was the first woman elected to the French Academy, highlighting her significant place in the literary world.
Hadrian, approaching death, writes a long valedictory letter to the young Marcus Aurelius, next-but-one in the line of succession. Hadrian describes his accession and explains the philosophy that informed his rule over the powerful and far-flung Empire.
This collection includes: How Wand-fo was Saved, Marko's Smile, The Milk of Death, The Last Love of Princess Genji, The Man Who Loved the Nereids, Our Lady of the Swallows, Aphrodissia; the Widow, Kali Beheaded, The End of Marko Kraljevic, The Sadness of Cornelius Berg, and a Postscript by the Author. "From China to Japan, the Balkans to India, Oriental Tales addresses love, conquest, betrayal, murder, religion, and passion in an eloquent and exquisite telling."--Kirkus Reviews.
Set in the Baltic provinces in the aftermath of World War I, Coup de Grace tells the story of an intimacy that grows between three young people hemmed in by civil war: Erick, a Prussian fighting with the White Russians against the Bolsheviks; Conrad, his best friend from childhood; and Sophie, whose unrequited love for Conrad becomes an unbearable burden.
Desde el bellísimo relato de incesto como acto voluntario en Ana, soror hasta el Nathanael de Un hombre oscuro, contrafigura del Zenón de Opus nigrum, o el Lazare de Una hermosa mañana, encontramos en este volumen el genio vivo de Marguerite Yourcenar, la gran escritora a la que Jean D,Ormesson dedicó, en su discurso de respuesta en la Academia Francesa, las siguientes palabras: Si hubiera que caracterizar con una sola palabra el conjunto de su obra, no lo dudaría un momento: Yourcenar o el saber, naturalmente. Yourcenar o la serenidad, sin duda. Pero sobre todo, Yourcenar o la altura, Yourcenar o la elevación
Los relatos que componen Cuentos orientales se inspiran en la literatura y el folclore de los Balcanes, en la adorada Grecia, en China y Japón, lugares a los que Marguerite Yourcenar se acerca con íntima espiritualidad. La historiadora, poeta y novelista francesa recupera una música especialísima procedente de un mundo distinto, de costumbres lejanas, que se acercan al lector con espléndidas representaciones simbólicas, como el viejo pintor Wang Fo, que se evade en el mar de jade azul que su pincel acaba de trazar.
Marguerite Yourcenar prosegue, dopo Care memorie, l'affascinante opera storica intitolata Il labirinto del mondo. "Si tratta - dice la scrittrice francese - di restituire la parola a milioni di esseri che di generazione in generazione si moltiplicano, all'immensa folla anonima di cui siamo fatti". Servendosi di diari, lettere, album, l'autrice tratteggia, trasfigurate dalla fantasia, tutte le generazioni della sua antica famiglia dietro le quali si intravede l'evoluzione di una società, dei suoi costumi e abitudini. Un percorso a ritroso nel tempo che attraverso il destino dei singoli restituisce il senso più generale e profondo del mondo e della storia.
Auf bewegende Weise schildert die Yourcenar in dem dritten Band ihrer Familiengeschichte das Dreiecksverhältnis zwischen ihrem Vater, dem Spieler und Verführer Michel de Crayencour, der schönen, unkonventionellen Jeanne und deren homosexuellem Mann. Es ist gleichzeitig ein großer Liebesroman vor dem Panorama Europas zu Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts.
