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by: Gore Vidal
List Price: $16.00Amazon.com's Price: $10.88 You Save: $5.12 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780375727061
ISBN: 037572706X
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: August 12, 2003
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Sales Rank: 31389
Studio: Vintage
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Product Description:
The remarkable bestseller about the fourth-century Roman emperor who famously tried to halt the spread of Christianity, Julian is widely regarded as one of Gore Vidal’s finest historical novels.
Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - To read and to re-read
*Julian* was just as good the second reading, as it was the first reading a couple of years ago. This time I led a small discussion group and all seemed enthusiastic about the story--the story I like to call the "deconstruction of Julian the Apostate"(showing my own hermeneutical framework and presuppositions!). I delight in the perennial "good read" experience, and Gore Vidal's work is exceptional! Having read most all of Vidal's novels, I have come to his earlier ones only of late. I am a big ... Read More
Rating: - Meticulous, Dramatic Account of Julian the Apostate & Paganism's Last Stand.
"Julian" of Gore Vidal's novel is the emperor Julian the Apostate, who ruled Rome for three short years, 360-363 AD, and is best-remembered for his failed attempt to restore paganism to an Empire awash in Christianity since his uncle Constantine's reign. Strictly speaking, this is more a fictional biography than a novel. It is composed of fictional memoirs, journals, and commentary. Its single-minded storyline -the life, deeds, and character of Julian- has a strong narrative quality, however, and ... Read More
Rating:  - What might have been
I approached "Julian" as a fan of Gore Vidal's essays and letters and as someone who often wonders how Western culture might have developed differently had it not been for the rise of monotheism in the form of Christianity. Vidal takes us back to one of the pivotal moments in late Roman history when the transition from religious pluralism and tolerance to state-sponsored monotheism was not yet complete. Vidal managed to make compelling and dramatic what might, in other hands, have been a dry and unsatisfying ... Read More
Rating: - 6 Stars
Last year I read Vidal's Burr: A Novel and didn't think it could be topped, but this earlier novel of Vidal's is even more extraordinary.
Vidal creates a memoir by the Emperor Julian and presents it with the commentary of two friends. This novelization gives the reader a good understanding of the social and political dynamics of this often neglected period of history.
I take it on faith that the scholarship is as accurate as the critics contend which makes this book not just fiction, ... Read More
Rating: - Flawlessly executed historical novel
This book is a novelization of the history of Roman emporer Julian Augustus. Raised a Christian, he turned his fascination with Hellenism into policy when he became emporer. This novel is presented as Julian's own memoir with commentary by his teacher and frequent companion Priscus and compiled by influential teacher Libanius. The final chapters are Julian's private notes with explanations by Priscus.
The biggest fear I had going in was that a historical novel would end up being like fan fiction where ... Read More
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