Julian, Gore Vidal, Little Brown and Company, 1964, 502 pp
Though it took me a full week to read, this is an excellent piece of historical fiction. Gore Vidal was known for many things. One of those was his historical fiction, it being one of the several ways he examined corruption and militarism in government. He does this brilliantly in Julian.
Julian the Apostate was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 361-363 AD. His attempts to re-establish pagan polytheism and counter political subversion by Christian monotheism were short-lived though they continued to resound for centuries. This fictional account shows how he grew from a child who feared for his life into a philosophy student and then became Emperor against all odds. It was then that militarism overcame him as a means to complete his aims and he was assassinated, after which Christianity became synonymous with the failing empire and then became an empire of its own.
The novel is a fascinating account of life in the fourth century from Rome to Gaul to Constantinople to Persia. It is written as Julian's memoirs so all the political and religious upheaval is seen through his eyes. Interspersed are comments and correspondence between Julian's mentor in philosophy, Libanius (who is attempting to write a biography of the man) and Priscus, Julian's former close compatriot who had the memoir hidden away. These asides open up the story to other viewpoints, a good thing because Julian is in some ways an unreliable narrator.
Having studied this period of history in Will Durant's Caesar and Christ, it was wonderful to get inside Julian's mind. I read slowly because philosophy, of which there is plenty from Aristotle to Plato and onward, requires a certain kind of attention. I confess that I skimmed over the many battle scenes but the author does painlessly show Julian's military genius.
If you like ancient history, Julian is not to be missed. The parallels with our time are startling and worrisome.
(Julian is available in paperback by order from Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)
Videl’s fiction has been on my radar for some time but I have yet to read anything. This sounds so interesting, especially how militarism is worked into the plot. With that, I am sometimes a bit leary about this kind of historical fiction that deals with real people. At the very least I try to think of it as pure fiction as I try to keep history and fiction separate.
ReplyDeleteAs I always say, historical fiction usually has an agenda (and this one does, because it is Vidal!) but so does "pure" history. You have to get to know your historian. Vidal gives his sources at the end.
DeleteI intend to read Gore Vidal's American series. I'm trying to catch the ebooks on sale, but those classics rarely make the Kindle deals. Anyways, I wasn't aware he had written about the Roman Empire too. This one interests me. I can see how this book and the history one Caesar and Christianity make good reading companions. Good choice, Judy!
ReplyDeleteVidal's American series is a good choice too! I will get to those books myself one day.
DeleteThis sounds amazing! I've been looking into reading more historical books and this one is going onto my TBR. Wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteThank you Carrie. I hope you find it good when you read it.
DeleteI've never read anything by Vidal, but I've often wondered what his books were like. Maybe I should try this one - it does sound interesting and I know nothing about Julian!
ReplyDeleteOh Helen, I hope you do! It has a very masculine tone which I found refreshing, if a bit much, compared to how much historical fiction is written by women. You will learn tons about Julian.
DeleteI had a phase several years ago when I was obsessed with this era in history and nearly everything that I read during that time was either set in that period if fiction or was about the period if nonfiction. But somehow I never read this one. Maybe it's time I did.
ReplyDeleteI think that might fill in your phase very nicely!
DeleteBattle scenes are not my thing - at least in a book you can skip - harder with a movie. Cheers
ReplyDeleteAt least!! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThis book is going on my reading wishlist! It sounds really good. Thanks for sharing your review with your blog readers.
ReplyDeleteIt is a kind of magic when the writing is so good and one learns so much.
Delete502 pages eh? Must be quite a few battles. I like many things Rome but I think I need to visit more nonfiction about it first to understand it better.
ReplyDeleteThe battles are mostly in the final section, but I admit that my earlier history studies did increase my enjoyment of the story.
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