14 h 12 minAudiobook6 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.
Who will love it
For readers who love a vivid, odd, richly detailed hero, church history and ceremony, sharp satire of newspapers and politics, and stories where an outsider gets his chance.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A tired writer waits in a London attic
- Two churchmen offer him the priesthood
- The Conclave cannot choose a pope
- A shabby priest is asked to say yes
- He rules by walking and by orders
- The clergy are servants and not masters
- He speaks to nations and to emperors
- Old enemies sharpen their pens
- What the book is about and how it speaks
Who’s who
- George Arthur RoseA proud, poor, gifted writer and tonsured clerk who has waited twenty years to become a priest and wants to serve.
- Hadrian the SeventhThe name George takes as pope. He rules with speed, plain speech and a wish to strip the Church of show.
- Francis Talacryn, Bishop of CaerleonGeorge's cautious friend, who brings him the news and stays close to him in Rome.
- Cardinal CourtleighThe old Archbishop who finds George and later urges the Conclave to choose him.
- Cardinal RagnaThe Secretary of State, a fierce, ambitious man who wants the papacy and resents the new pope.
- Percy Van KristenA rich, shy American friend from George's youth who becomes a devoted cardinal.
- Jerry SantA socialist organiser who once knew George and now hopes to squeeze money from the pope.
- Mrs. CroweA widow whose old passion for George has turned into obsession and a wish to hurt him.
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- Audiobook
- 14 h 12 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 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.
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Hadrian the Seventh
by Frederick Rolfe · 1904
A penniless writer with a yellow cat is handed the keys of Peter, and he starts rewriting the rules.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What happens when the world's most overlooked man is handed its biggest job? Hadrian the Seventh, written by Frederick Rolfe, begins in a cold attic with a tired writer and his yellow cat.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A tired writer waits in a London attic
The novel opens on George Arthur Rose, a poor writer in a small attic room with his yellow cat, Flavio. He is worn out by years of unpaid work, and his arm aches from a vaccination. The room is crowded with books, pictures and pens.
George reads the newspapers and sees trouble in Russia and a strange silence from Rome. He faces himself in a mirror and scolds the face for looking meek. Then he reads a popular novel to learn how its author sells so many copies.
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What is Hadrian the Seventh about?
It follows George Arthur Rose, a poor English writer who wanted to be a priest, and who is unexpectedly chosen as pope. He sets out to simplify the Church and help the people he meets.
Is Hadrian the Seventh based on a true story?
No, it is a novel. George's struggle to become a priest and his years of poverty shape the story.
Who is the real pope in the novel?
Hadrian the Seventh is George's name as pope, the first English pope since Hadrian the Fourth. The cardinals around him include Ragna and Courtleigh, while the socialists who hunt him try to force him to serve their cause.
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