A.J.A. Symons�s life is changed forever when his friend Millard, a dealer in rare books, lends him an old tome and a stack of manuscript letters. The book is Hadrian the Seventh (1904), the work of one �Fr. Rolfe�; it is a brilliant and bizarre fantasy, in which a downtrodden English writer is one day unexpectedly elected Pope. The letters tell of the final days of Rolfe (alias Baron Corvo) in Venice � penniless, homeless, and starving � and set out in lurid detail the depths of his sexual depravity. Compelled to learn more about Rolfe and understand how a man who could write a masterpiece like Hadrian the Seventh could wind up dying in squalor in Italy, Symons sets out on his �Quest for Corvo�, tracing Rolfe�s family, friends, and enemies, and piecing together from their accounts the life of this enigmatic genius. What emerges is a thrilling page-turner, as compelling and mysterious as a detective novel, and as we follow Symons�s quest and discover the often funny, often heartbreaking facts of the life of the eccentric Baron, we make the acquaintance of not one, but two fascinating men: Rolfe and his biographer.
Subtitled �an experiment in biography�, Symons�s book remains one of the greatest biographies ever written and an enduring work of twentieth-century English literature. This first-ever digital edition makes Symons�s finest work available to a new generation of readers and joins several of Corvo�s works, also available from Valancourt Books.
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Subtitled �an experiment in biography�, Symons�s book remains one of the greatest biographies ever written and an enduring work of twentieth-century English literature. This first-ever digital edition makes Symons�s finest work available to a new generation of readers and joins several of Corvo�s works, also available from Valancourt Books.
The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography
A.J.A. Symons�s life is changed forever when his friend Millard, a dealer in rare books, lends him an old tome and a stack of manuscript letters. The book is Hadrian the Seventh (1904), the work of one �Fr. Rolfe�; it is a brilliant and bizarre fantasy, in which a downtrodden English writer is one day unexpectedly elected Pope. The letters tell of the final days of Rolfe (alias Baron Corvo) in Venice � penniless, homeless, and starving � and set out in lurid detail the depths of his sexual depravity. Compelled to learn more about Rolfe and understand how a man who could write a masterpiece like Hadrian the Seventh could wind up dying in squalor in Italy, Symons sets out on his �Quest for Corvo�, tracing Rolfe�s family, friends, and enemies, and piecing together from their accounts the life of this enigmatic genius. What emerges is a thrilling page-turner, as compelling and mysterious as a detective novel, and as we follow Symons�s quest and discover the often funny, often heartbreaking facts of the life of the eccentric Baron, we make the acquaintance of not one, but two fascinating men: Rolfe and his biographer.
Subtitled �an experiment in biography�, Symons�s book remains one of the greatest biographies ever written and an enduring work of twentieth-century English literature. This first-ever digital edition makes Symons�s finest work available to a new generation of readers and joins several of Corvo�s works, also available from Valancourt Books.
Subtitled �an experiment in biography�, Symons�s book remains one of the greatest biographies ever written and an enduring work of twentieth-century English literature. This first-ever digital edition makes Symons�s finest work available to a new generation of readers and joins several of Corvo�s works, also available from Valancourt Books.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940150428935 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Valancourt Books |
| Publication date: | 09/11/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 312 |
| File size: | 781 KB |
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