Hadrian the Seventh (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Historical NovelBy Frederick Rolfe
Length14h 55m
About this audiobook
Frederick Rolfe's Hadrian the Seventh (1904) is a singular fantasy of ecclesiastical power, psychological revenge, and spiritual self-fashioning. Its hero, George Arthur Rose, an impoverished Englishman denied the priesthood, is unexpectedly elevated to the papacy and becomes Hadrian VII. Written in a richly mannered, baroque prose, the novel mingles Catholic ceremonial, political speculation, satire, and Decadent self-dramatization, standing at an eccentric angle to Edwardian fiction and anticipating later explorations of identity, authority, and authorial mythmaking. Rolfe, who styled himself Baron Corvo, was himself a convert to Roman Catholicism, a disappointed aspirant to the priesthood, and a writer marked by poverty, quarrels, exile, and fierce resentment of institutions that rejected him. Hadrian the Seventh is therefore inseparable from his life: it transforms personal frustration into an audacious imaginative triumph, recasting exclusion as providential election and private grievance as universal judgment. This book is recommended to readers interested in literary Catholicism, fin-de-siècle eccentricity, and novels in which style and personality are inseparable. It is not merely a curiosity, but a brilliant, unsettling work of wish-fulfilment, satire, and spiritual ambition.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (1.8K)
Includes LibraryThing, Goodreads, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreGeneral Fiction, Humor
Length14 hrs 55 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 17, 2020
LanguageEnglish
More from Frederick Rolfe
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett11h 23m4.5 (189.9K)$29 · $0.00
Glen AffricKarine Giebel22h 51m4.5 (3.2K)$46 · $0.00
The Book Of NegroesLawrence Hill15h 45m4.5 (107.3K)$33 · $0.00
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
Lost In TranslationAudrey Davis9h 15m4.4 (235)$17 · $0.00
Love That StoryJonathan Van Ness5h 44m4.2 (10.4K)$24 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m4.4 (444.7K)$24 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m4.4 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS & SCREWTAPE PROPOSES A TOAST (Annotated)C. S. Lewis5h 6m4.4 (471K)$2 · $0.00
BufferingHannah Hart5h 55m4.4 (12.4K)$24 · $0.00
The Office BFFsJenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey8h 26m4.3 (45.4K)$26 · $0.00
The Collected Stories of Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker8h 36m4.3 (13.6K)$1 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
#IMomSoHardKristin Hensley, Jen Smedley7h 19m4.3 (7.3K)$24 · $0.00
Mixed PlateJo Koy8h 18m4.3 (7.1K)$26 · $0.00
Over the TopJonathan Van Ness5h 50m4.3 (87.3K)$24 · $0.00
It Never EndsTom Scharpling8h 53m4.4 (2.3K)$20 · $0.00
More Tales of the CityArmistead Maupin8h 23m4.3 (22.6K)$26 · $0.00
Joyful Recollections of TraumaPaul Scheer6h 38m4.3 (8.2K)$7 · $0.00
More Than a WomanCaitlin Moran9h 31m4.3 (16.8K)$29 · $0.00
FamesickLena Dunham11h 46m4.3 (49.7K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
The American CrisisThomas Paine38h 16m4.3 (13.6K)$2 · $0.00
WHEN WILLIAM CAMESaki, H. H. Munro6h 21m3.7 (1.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Collected Biographies of Eminent VictoriansLytton Strachey11h 48m4.0 (5.1K)$2 · $0.00
Hadrian the SeventhFrederick Rolfe14h 47m3.8 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Short Reign of Pippin IV, A FabricationJohn Steinbeck4h 57m3.8 (5.5K)$1 · $0.00
Letters on EnglandVoltaire4h3.6 (2.9K)Free
Hadrian the Seventh (Annotated)Frederick Rolfe15h 2m3.7 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
100 People Who Are Screwing Up AmericaBernard Goldberg6h 16m3.5 (2K)$24 · $0.00
SharpMichelle Dean11h 35m3.6 (1.9K)$23 · $0.00
Give Me a BreakJohn Stossel5h 40m4.2 (2.1K)$24 · $0.00
The Life of Sir Thomas MoreWilliam Roper, Henri Brémond9h 29m4.1 (1.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
FlatlandEdwin Abbott Abbott4h 11m4.0 (216.2K)$5 · $0.00
"In Good King Charles's Golden Days"George Bernard Shaw4h 23m3.7 (246)$2 · $0.00
Goya, an account of his life and worksAlbert Frederick Calvert7h 22m$2 · $0.00
Hadrian the Seventh (Historical Novel)Frederick Rolfe14h 48m3.5 (677)$2 · $0.00
The cynic's breviary: Maxims and anecdotes from Nicolas de ChamfortSébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort1h 33m4.1 (83)$1 · $0.00
The Book of SnobsWilliam Makepeace Thackeray7h3.6 (857)$4.10 · $0.00
Francisco GoyaSarah Carr-Gomm2h 20m4.0 (30)$13 · $0.00
The Madness of the Masses – 3 Classic Absurdist SatiresWilliam Dean Howells, James Fenimore Cooper, Rudyard Kipling25h 21m$2
The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public BenefitsBernard Mandeville24h 20m3.7 (346)$1 · $0.00