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A.J.A. Symons discovered Frederick Rolfe's Hadrian the Seventh in 1925 and became consumed with fascination for its eccentric author, aka 'Baron Corvo'. His 'quest' takes the form of an irresistible detective story, the twists and turns of his investigation into Rolfe's unfortunate life resulting in a groundbreaking form of biography that reveals much about both men. It paints a tragi-comic portrait of a prickly, paranoid, talented Englishman who failed at becoming a Catholic priest and led a profligate lifestyle in Venice; a charmer with a sharp wit, a vituperative tongue and a talent for self-destruction. The process and the subject are as fascinating as each other, and this 'experiment' continues to stand out nearly a century after it was published.
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Narrator Rupert Degas tackles this offbeat "experiment in biography" with conspicuous gusto and the enthusiasm of a man given an assignment he feels born to perform. In 1925, British author Symons was introduced to a previously unknown novel, Frederick Rolfe's HADRIAN THE SEVENTH. This eccentric work led Symons to pursue its even more eccentric author, who styled himself as "Baron Corvo" and remai
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