Memoirs of Hadrian

"my very favorite is Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian, where Hadrian says, 'Catastrophe and ruin will come; disorder will triumph, but order will too, from time to time.'"

"Some brilliant historical fiction — Robert Graves, "I, Claudius," and Marguerite Yourcenar, "The Memoirs of Hadrian.""

"Which is actually great, and by great, I mean forever."

"I love Memoirs of Hadrian, by Marguerite Yourcenar. In that book the emperor Hadrian talks about being an insomniac, sitting up nights writing while everyone else is asleep."