The Glory of the Empire

A Novel, a History

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book The Glory of the Empire by Jean D'Ormesson, New York Review Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jean D'Ormesson ISBN: 9781590179666
Publisher: New York Review Books Publication: May 3, 2016
Imprint: NYRB Classics Language: English
Author: Jean D'Ormesson
ISBN: 9781590179666
Publisher: New York Review Books
Publication: May 3, 2016
Imprint: NYRB Classics
Language: English

The Glory of the Empire is the rich and absorbing history of an extraordinary empire, at one point a rival to Rome. Rulers such as Basil the Great of Onessa, who founded the Empire but whose treacherous ways made him a byword for infamy, and the romantic Alexis the bastard, who dallied in the fleshpots of Egypt, studied Taoism and Buddhism, returned to save the Empire from civil war, and then retired “to learn to die,” come alive in The Glory of the Empire, along with generals, politicians, prophets, scoundrels, and others. Jean d’Ormesson also goes into the daily life of the Empire, its popular customs, and its contribution to the arts and the sciences, which, as he demonstrates, exercised an influence on the world as a whole, from the East to the West, and whose repercussions are still felt today. But it is all fiction, a thought experiment worthy of Jorge Luis Borges, and in the end The Glory of the Empire emerges as a great shimmering mirage, filling us with wonder even as it makes us wonder at the fugitive nature of power and the meaning of history itself.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Glory of the Empire is the rich and absorbing history of an extraordinary empire, at one point a rival to Rome. Rulers such as Basil the Great of Onessa, who founded the Empire but whose treacherous ways made him a byword for infamy, and the romantic Alexis the bastard, who dallied in the fleshpots of Egypt, studied Taoism and Buddhism, returned to save the Empire from civil war, and then retired “to learn to die,” come alive in The Glory of the Empire, along with generals, politicians, prophets, scoundrels, and others. Jean d’Ormesson also goes into the daily life of the Empire, its popular customs, and its contribution to the arts and the sciences, which, as he demonstrates, exercised an influence on the world as a whole, from the East to the West, and whose repercussions are still felt today. But it is all fiction, a thought experiment worthy of Jorge Luis Borges, and in the end The Glory of the Empire emerges as a great shimmering mirage, filling us with wonder even as it makes us wonder at the fugitive nature of power and the meaning of history itself.

More books from New York Review Books

Cover of the book Mawrdew Czgowchwz by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Almost Completely Baxter by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Drafts, Fragments, and Poems by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Samskara by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Poison Penmanship by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Basic Black With Pearls by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book The Mirador by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Masscult and Midcult by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book The Wind on the Moon by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book You and Me: The Neuroscience of Identity by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Eustace and Hilda by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Thus Were Their Faces by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book Love's Work by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book What Am I Doing Here? by Jean D'Ormesson
Cover of the book The Thirty Years War by Jean D'Ormesson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy