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The Charioteer
A Virago Modern Classic
Series: Virago Modern Classics
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 6,458 ratings, 756 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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The Charioteer
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
First published in 1953, The Charioteer is a tender, intelligent coming-of-age novel and a bold, unapologetic portrayal of homosexuality that stands with Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room as a landmark work in gay literature.
* Featured on www.virago.co.uk * Early proofs available
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Description
Injured at Dunkirk, Laurie Odell, a young corporal, is recovering at a rural veterans' hospital. There he meets Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. The men find solace in each other's friendship, which slowly develops into a covert, chaste romance. Then Ralph Lanyon appears, a mentor from Laurie's school days and now a naval officer. Through him, Laurie is drawn into a tight-knit circle of gay men with few illusions about life, and for whom liaisons are fleeting. He is forced to choose between the ideals of a perfect friendship and the pleasures of experience.
First published in 1953, The Charioteer is a tender, intelligent coming-of-age novel and a bold, unapologetic portrayal of homosexuality that stands with Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room as a landmark work in gay literature.
Series: Virago Modern Classics
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Charioteer by Mary Renault is praised for its emotional intelligence, beautiful writing, and deep emotional impact, transcending typical literary categories. It is celebrated as a stunningly good book and stands out as a tender coming-of-age love story by one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781844089505
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 November 2013
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Contributors:
- Introduction by Simon Russell Beale
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 27.0mm
Width: 197.0mm
Height: 127.0mm
Weight: 360g
Pages: 432
About the Author
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was born in London and educated at St Hughs, Oxford. She trained as a nurse at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary, where she met her lifelong partner, Julie Mullard. Her first novel, Purposes of Love, was published in 1937. In 1948, after North Face won a MGM prize worth $150,000, she and Mullard emigrated to South Africa. There, Renault was able to write forthrightly about homosexual relationships for the first time - in her masterpiece, THE CHARIOTEER (1953), and then in her first historical novel, The Last of the Wine (1956). Renault's vivid novels set in the ancient world brought her worldwide fame. In 2010 Fire From Heaven was shortlisted for the Lost Booker of 1970.
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