Hadrian the VII is a classic novel, written in 1904 by Fr. Rolfe. It tells the story of a George Arthur Rose, who through a series of conincendental events is made Pope Hadrian VII. The book focuses on the changes that Hadrian makes through use of Papal power and the problems that ensue from his work.
As the book was written in 1904, I would definitely say this is not an easy read - a lot of the language is unfamiliar, for example the use of Erse for Irish. The vocabulary used in the book is also very diverse, and I would not claim to understand exactly the meaning of very word in the book - epecially if you are not familiar with Catholic terminology. Finally, there are a fair number of phrases in Greek, Latin and Italian within the book, with no translations provided, which further adds to the difficulty with language.
But, this aside, the book is very interesting. It's a fanciful story with a conclusion that isn't entirely rational and definitely unlikely, but that does not mean that the book doesn't raise some interesting questions; in particular about the role of the church within world government. It also has some good moments of comedy, although these are definitely few and far between.
So this book is an easy one to sum up. It is not an easy read, between the subject matter and the language barriers, but the story is an interesting idea and definitely one that made me think. It's also an interesting work from an educational standpoint, having a lot of social history. So, if you can weave your way through the difficult bits, definitely an interesting story.
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