14 h 12 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man the Church rejects becomes the Pope it cannot ignore?
George Arthur Rose lives in cramped London lodgings, learned, proud and penniless. Turned away from priestly training, he writes and fumes over a vocation no one will recognise. Then Bishop Courtleigh takes notice. In Rome, divided cardinals struggle to choose a Pope, and doors long closed to Rose begin to open.
In Frederick Rolfe’s Hadrian the Seventh, a rejected man gains the power to challenge the institution he loves. Rose’s wounded pride meets his vision of a Church without pomp and money. Part comedy, part daydream, part sermon, the novel asks what happens when spiritual conviction and the hunger for vindication share the same throne.
What you’ll discover
- An outcast at the centre Follow Rose from shabby lodgings toward an authority that makes others reckon with him.
- Power with a purpose Watch a Pope confront kings, ministers and ambassadors rather than serve as a figurehead.
- A Church stripped bare Explore Rose’s vision of priesthood beyond the weight of wealth and ceremony.
- The ache of recognition Feel the pull of a fantasy where a rejected man finally commands attention.
- A proud, strange voice Enter ornate prose that stays close to Rose’s mind, by turns fussy and funny.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like eccentric, richly worded fiction, religious satire, or the odd byways of English literature. It will also reward anyone curious about the Catholic Church. If you want a fast, plain plot, its ornate style may feel heavy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rejected man in a shabby room
- A bishop takes notice of Rose
- Rome is stuck and Rose is summoned
- Rose takes the name Hadrian
- A Pope who meets the world's rulers
- Wounded pride and the fantasy of vindication
- Faith, power and a poorer Church
- A voice that is proud, comic and strange
- The man behind the book and its afterlife
Who’s who
- George Arthur RoseA learned, proud and penniless Englishman, turned away from priestly training, who wants only to be recognised for the vocation he is sure he has.
- Bishop CourtleighA churchman of rank and manner who takes notice of Rose and holds the power to open doors long closed to him.
- Hadrian the SeventhThe name Rose takes as Pope, honouring the only English pope before him, and the figure through whom he tries to remake the Church.
- The cardinalsThe divided princes of the Church in Rome, each with his own faction, who cannot agree on a successor and must look elsewhere.
- Rose's old enemiesThe people from his past who doubted or used him, and who must now face the man they underrated.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 12 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Hadrian the Seventh in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Hadrian the Seventh
by Frederick Rolfe· 1904
A rejected priesthood candidate becomes pope and pursues Church reform.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A rejected man in a shabby room
The novel opens with George Arthur Rose in London, living in cramped and dingy lodgings. He is a man of learning and strong convictions, and he has nothing to show for either. Years before, he went to study for the priesthood, and he was sent away before ordination. The reasons seem to him unjust, and he has never forgiven them.
Rose is poor, and the poverty is not noble. He is pressed by debts, by landlords and by people who see a man with no protector and take advantage of him. He earns scraps by writing and by odd work for others. Rolfe shows the small humiliations in close detail, the unpaid bills, the cold rooms, the callers who want money he does not have.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Hadrian the Seventh
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Hadrian the Seventh about?
It follows George Arthur Rose, an English Catholic rejected for the priesthood, whose fortunes change when he rises to become Pope. The novel mixes satire, faith and wish fulfilment as he tries to reform the Church.
Is Hadrian the Seventh based on a true story?
No, the plot is invented, but it is closely tied to the life of its author. Frederick Rolfe was himself dismissed from a seminary, and Rose is widely read as his self-portrait. It appeared in 1904.
Why does he take the name Hadrian?
The name honours Adrian the Fourth, the only Englishman to have been Pope. By choosing it, Rose links himself to England and signals that he sees his own rise as a kind of English return to Rome.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
