Marius the Epicurean (Penguin Classics)

By Walter Pater

Book Overview

About the Book Historical Fiction books set their characters and plot at some time in the past, providing adequate background on the customes and mores of that time to make it seem believable to the reader, whilst not necessarily remaining true to actual historical events in that setting. This genre became quite popular in Europe and North America during the 19th century. Examples include: A Plot and a Peerage, Uncle Moses, Vathek; An Arabian Tale, The Naulahka: A Story of West and East, The Bindweed: A Romantic Novel Concerning the Late Queen of Servia, and Hawk's Nest, or the last of the Cahoonshees. About us Trieste Publishing's aim is to provide readers with the highest quality reproductions of fiction and non-fiction literature that has stood the test of time. Our titles are produced from scans of the original books and as a result may sometimes have imperfections. To ensure a high-quality product we have: thoroughly reviewed every page of all the books in the catalog repaired some of the text in some cases, and rejected titles that are not of the highest quality. You can look up "Trieste Publishing" in categories that interest you to find other titles in our large collection. Come home to the books that made a difference!

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140432361
• ISBN13: 9780140432367
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.0" x 1.0" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Stupor mundi

Why does no one read Pater these days? He writes with the fervid delicate beauty of a butterfly defying the storms of winter. As literature becomes ever more commercialised, this sensual celebration seems even more important. A pleasure every bit as sensual and refreshing as a Turkish bath.

Beautiful

Pater was one of the most insightful and exacting critics of England, and his fiction exceeded even his own standards for beauty. Marius the Epicurean is the story of a young man's spiritual and aesthetic awakening in ancient Rome. He journeys from Stoicism to Cyrenaicism to Epicureanism, and finally to Christianity. The book is subtle and profound, and is written in Pater's characteristically lovely prose. I do not recommend this book to anyone who wants a traditional linear plot in which the protagonist is motivated by external events; rather, I recommend it to all who wish "to burn with a hard, gemlike flame," to all who make careful aesthetic contemplation their highest goal.