![]() ![]() ![]() I was fascinated by Julian, later designated ‘the Apostate’, who was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and who tried to undo his uncle Constantine’s tolerance for -and indeed encouragement of- Christianity. I should imagine that for many readers, this section on Julian was an obscure and boring distraction – after all, who has an essay in the middle of a novel, especially about a long-dead Roman emperor? But if you follow this blog, you’ll know that for the last 18 months I have been listening to Mike Duncan’s ‘ History of Rome‘ podcast- a mighty 189-episode performance. I’ve read quite a few of his books after being stunned by History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters and Flaubert’s Parrot (both read before I started blogging), and all up I have read eight of his books.īut the real reason that I read this book was because, nestled between Parts I and Part III is an essay on Julian the Apostate. After all, Julian Barnes is one of UK’s notable writers each of his books tends to be quite different from the others and he displays wit and erudition in his works. There are many reasons why a reader might pick up Elizabeth Finch. ![]()
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