Summary of Hadrian the Seventh
When the cardinals in Rome cannot agree on a new pope, they elect the obscure Englishman George Arthur Rose, who has only recently been ordained a priest. Taking the name Hadrian VII, he sets out to reform the Church according to his own eccentric vision, starting with knocking down walls in the Vatican, redesigning the cross, and selling off many of the Church’s treasures. His radical programme soon provokes opposition within the Church, as well as threats from figures who knew him before his sudden — and rather improbable — rise.
Reasons to read Hadrian the Seventh
“Hadrian the Seventh” is a satirical, bizarre, and highly entertaining novel about an outsider who unexpectedly becomes pope and the extraordinary ways in which he exercises his new authority. The book is written in an equally extravagant style. Frederick Rolfe, who wrote under the name Baron Corvo, was an English writer who achieved little recognition during his lifetime but later gained a reputation as a cult author. “Hadrian the Seventh” is his best-known work and was included in The Guardian’s 2014 list of the 100 best novels written in English.
Original title: Hadrian the Seventh
Year of publication: 1904
Nr of pages: 424
