Marguerite Yourcenar - Collected Works, incl. Memoirs of Hadrian (17 books)

* Marguerite Yourcenar - Collected Works, incl. Memoirs of Hadrian (17 books)

MARGUERITE YOURCENAR (1903–1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who was celebrated for her historical imagination, philosophical depth, and stylistic precision. Her literary reputation rests on a body of work that moves fluidly among novels, short fiction, essays, memoir, and historical reflection. In 1980 she achieved a historic distinction by becoming the first woman elected to the Académie française, a recognition of her major contribution to French literature.

Yourcenar’s international fame is largely based on her historical novels, which combine meticulous research with profound psychological insight. Her most celebrated work, MEMOIRS OF HADRIAN (1951), takes the form of a reflective letter written by the Roman emperor Hadrian to his adopted successor, in which he meditates on his past, describing both his triumphs and failures, his love for Antinous, and his philosophy. The novel was an immediate success and met with critical acclaim, and has become a modern classic. Another major historical novel, THE ABYSS (1968), is set in sixteenth-century Europe and follows the intellectual and spiritual journey of the physician-philosopher Zeno. These works exemplify Yourcenar’s ability to fuse philosophical inquiry with richly imagined historical settings.

Her earlier fiction helped establish the themes and techniques that would characterize her later writing. The novel ALEXIS (1929) presents a confessional monologue by a musician explaining his departure from marriage, exploring questions of identity and freedom. Other significant fictions include A COIN IN NINE HANDS (1934), a mosaic narrative set in fascist Italy, and FIRES (1936), a series of lyrical reworkings of classical myths that blend prose fiction, dramatic monologue, and poetic meditation. Yourcenar also wrote short fiction, most notably the collection ORIENTAL TALES (1938), whose stories reinterpret legends and historical episodes from the Balkans, the Middle East, and East Asia.

Alongside fiction, Yourcenar authored several plays and an extensive body of essays and nonfiction marked by erudition and reflective depth. Her critical and philosophical essays appear in collections such as THAT MIGHTY SCULPTOR, TIME (1983) and THE DARK BRAIN OF PIRANESI AND OTHER ESSAYS (1984), which explore literature, art, history, and moral thought. MISHIMA: A VISION OF THE VOID (1981) is an analysis of the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. She turned to autobiographical writing with DEAR DEPARTED (1974) and HOW MANY YEARS (1977). Today Yourcenar is generally regarded as a major but singular figure: less prolific and less frequently adapted than some contemporaries, yet continually admired for the depth, classical balance, and moral seriousness of her writing.


The following books – all courtesy of @Mohamed5438 – are in PDF format unless otherwise noted:

== NOVELS ==

* The Abyss [tr. Frick] (FSG, 1976)
* Alexis [tr. Kaiser] (FSG, 1984)
* A Coin in Nine Hands [tr. Katz] (Black Swan, 1984)
* Coup de Grâce [tr. Flick] (Black Swan, 1984)
* Memoirs of Hadrian [tr. Flick] (Modern Library, 1995) – ePUB / PDF

== SHORT FICTION ==

* A Blue Tale and Other Stories [tr. Manguel] (Chicago, 1995)
* Fires [tr. Katz] (Black Swan, 1985)
* Oriental Tales [tr. Manguel] (FSG, 1985)
* Two Lives and a Dream [tr. Kaiser] (Black Swan, 1989)

== PLAYS ==

* Plays [tr. Katz] (Performing Arts Journal, 1984)

== NONFICTION ==

* The Dark Brain of Piranesi and Other Essays [tr. Howard] (FSG, 1984)
* Dreams and Destinies [tr. Friedman] (St. Martin's, 1999)
* Mishima: A Vision of the Void [tr. Manguel] (FSG, 1986)
* That Mighty Sculptor, Time [tr. Kaiser] (FSG, 1992)

== MEMOIRS ==

* Dear Departed: A Memoir [tr. Ascher] (FSG, 1991)
* How Many Years: A Memoir [tr. Ascher] (FSG, 1995)

== CONVERSATIONS ==

* The Art of Fiction No. 103 (Paris Review, Spring 1988)
* With Open Eyes: Conversations with Matthieu Galey [tr. Goldhammer] (Beacon, 1984)


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