I have no idea why it took me so long to finish this. It's not quite as good as Creation, but on the other hand it's about maybe one of the most interesting people in human history--a roman emperor who studied philosophy and might have made the world Pagan again. Vidal's prose is strong, insightful, well researched, and always clear. This book is maybe mostly interesting for its critique of the history/emergence of Christianity (still pretty relevant, maybe more than ever, as it deals with the beginning of the naturalized institutions we deal with now), but it's fantastic historical fiction as well. I think I especially enjoyed Julian's younger life and the time he spent studying philosophy in Athens, and it makes me wish Vidal had written more novels dealing with ancient history, rather than just America.

Bello, toccante, dettagliato, aderente alla realtà storica che conosciamo: questo e molto altro è il Giuliano di Vidal. È la storia di un uomo ossessionato da un sogno, ossessionato da un destino, il proprio, e dall'impossibilità di compierlo. Perché, in fondo, siamo solo essere umani, siamo mortali e siamo destinati a divenire cenere.

“No one can ever love us quite so much as we love ourselves.”
Attributed to Julian by Gore Vidal.


Julian is a well crafted historical fictional soliloquy written by Gore Vidal in 1964. It is some five hundred pages in length but moves along quickly. Covering the thirty-two year life of the last of the great Roman emperors, the story includes palace intrigue, a great deal of history, fascinating war campaigns and then ultimate betrayal. Vidal’s tone is somewhat subdued in the book perhaps because there are enough historically dramatic events such that Vidal didn’t feel the need to oversell. There is also another narrator in the presence of Priscus, an actual historian of the 5th century, who does some minor narrating to correct Julian’s errant facts and begin the story when Julian is young and wrap it up after he dies.

Julian’s reign as Roman Emperor (AD 361 - AD 363) was significant in many ways but was largely so because he came so near the end of the one thousand year reign of the Roman Empire. Julian was known to posterity as Julian the Apostate, a boy raised as a Christian who renounced Christianity early in life. He was considered the last pagan Emperor, even though that sobriquet is not entirely accurate.

Julian was also a noted philosopher and eventual military leader who wrote several books in his young life. ‘Against the Galileans’, perhaps his most famous writing, is a long essay dissecting the origins and inconsistencies of Christianity, even to a large degree defending the logical nature of Judaism although he was not a believer of Judaism himself. In this essay he asserted that Jesus Christ as the son of God is as much a myth as the Greek gods. The writings of Julian and the nearly contemporary writings of Theodoret in the 5th century AD are where Vidal drew much of his inspiration.

***** This may be a spoiler for some *****

The novel itself starts out when Julian and his older brother Gallus are young boys. Their mother had died giving birth to Julian. We learn that Gallus is a bully through a number of episodes but amidst the resentment there is still a brotherly bond there. A few years later, while acting as the emperor’s consul, their father, is assassinated by the Roman Emperor Constantius II. Constantius II also happens to be Gallus and Julian’s older cousin. From this moment in the novel the boys are now orphans. They are looked after by their cousin and given the best education, the boys are split up and their private instruction and living arrangements shuffle between palaces in Byzantium and Greece.

While being educated the boys are also routinely spied upon by the eunuchs of which Constantius is fond of relying on. Vidal masterfully creates the aura of palace intrigue through several eunuchs. The Roman Empire is so large and there often many Caesars needed to rule, fight rebellions, pacify the populace and bring in tax revenue for the Emperor. Thus this need for loyal Caesars is why Constantius wants to educate and have the boys prosper despite having killed their father. To ensure that they remain loyal, he needs his spies.

So Julian learns to rely almost solely on himself and keeps a low profile and does not espouse much in his writings or criticize the Emperor within earshot. This would only give his cousin the justification to assassinate him. Julian studies religion and philosophy and by his teenage years has already given up on the idea of Christianity. Gallus is more outspoken in his opinions but is more focused on becoming a military leader.

Constantius eventually elevates Gallus to Caesar in the East when he is twenty-five. He is needed in the East to quash rebellions in Serbia and elsewhere in Byzantium and persecute rebellious Jews. Ruling is dangerously difficult for Gallus and he survives at least one assassination attempt from within the military. Deeming him politically expedient, Gallus is lured by Constantius with false offers of co-emperor, then he is arrested and executed.

Julian does not seem surprised at the news of his brother’s execution, almost expecting it. The following year, AD 355, Julian is also given the Caesar title as the military and ruler of Gaul. There are many fascinating chapters and a lot of detail in the book about his life in Paris as Caesar and the military campaigns against the Germanic tribes including the victorious Battle of Strasbourg in AD 357. This military rule and battles with the Germanic tribes continued for three more years and Julian became very popular with the troops and the people who started to call him Augustus. He then just decided to take on the title.

His cousin Constantius was still ruling in the east and being the rightful Augustus decided enough was enough. He launched a campaign to defeat his usurping cousin Julian. As Julian's army was eventually hemmed in by the larger armies of the Emperor Constantius, Julian received some good fortune when Constantius fell ill and died. There was little outward resistance to Julian then claiming the title as sole Emperor.

At this point in the story, wanting to consolidate power in the east, Julian in AD 361 overconfidently launched a multi-year campaign against the Persians. Julian’s army was successful militarily in the early battles, leading his army of tens of thousands into Mesopotamia, but eventually the extremely hot weather arrives and the Persians began burning crops to starve out Julian’s army and it worked. As a result there are threats of mutiny amongst Julian’s troops. While looking for astrological signs in the stars for months, Julian finally heeds the warnings and turns his army back from deep within Persia.

So in AD 363 he leads his army back along the long and winding Euphrates. He loses men to disease and starvation and skirmishes with Persian militias from nearby strongholds. In one of the battles he is struck in the abdomen and liver with a spear from which he succumbs a few days later. We learn that the spear is of Roman origin so it is clear that he was killed by one of his own men. Late in the book, we learn what happened from one of the narrators who visited Julian’s aide-de-camp in that last campaign.

The aide, a former slave, is now retired and living a life of luxury along the coast of the Mediterranean. He admits to spearing Julian during the battle but never divulges how he came by his wealth leaving the reader to wonder who ordered the assassination. Since enough time had passed since Julian’s death and because Julian was an apostate there is little appetite to prosecute his assassin anyway and that’s where the story ends.

***** End of Spoiler *****

So this novel was exceptionally well written. I can’t say that the language and voices used were as convincing as a period piece like say ‘I Claudius’ but ‘Julian’ was generally more educational and interesting than Claudius’ story to be sure. Vidal has written many novels and is indisputably one of the 20th century’s greatest essayists and I observed that his writing style tends to be more informative and analytical than overly dramatic, at least in this novel. There is very little discussion of women in this book, apart from unflattering descriptions of Helena, the wife who Julian was arranged to marry by his cousin.

After I read the essay, ‘Against the Galileans’ by Julian, I can also say that Vidal probably attributed too much emphasis to Julian’s belief in classical mythology in making military decisions. I got the clear sense from Julian’s own words that he was much more of a traditionalist and did not appreciate what he viewed as the new mythologies, such as Christianity in particular, which were so rapidly transforming the culture in the Roman empire. Something to the effect of, we already have a Greek and Roman mythological culture why do we need a new one. This view was in spite of the fact that his uncle, Constantine the Great, may have done more than anyone in history to spread Christianity.

4.5 stars. There is some flatness in the writing of this story and so it might be of less interest to those who don’t especially like historical books.

Gore Vidal covers one of my favorite Emperors- Flavius Claudius Julianus (known to Christians as Julian the Apostate), who reigned from 360 to 363 C.E. Julian was the last non-Christian Emperor and tried to bring back the Hellenistic religion. A scholar, a soldier, a religious man, and a philosopher all wrapped up in the Purple of the Emperor. A truly fascinating individual and one, had he lived longer, might have changed the course of religion in the world.

Vidal's novel tells the story of Julian via the transmission of his private journals, going from Priscus to Libanus (both confidants of Julian) and the reading of these journals is the "story". The rest of the novel is then presented as the manuscript of Julian in its original form including instructions to the eventual editor and publisher. The marginal notes of Priscus are incorporated into Julian's narrative where he feels fit to comment on or expand certain parts of the narrative. These comments are then often followed by the comments of Libanius on both the narrative and the comments of Priscus. Frequently they offer a different and sometimes contradictory hindsight interpretation of events and people than Julian expresses in his manuscript.

It is this back and forth, jumping between Julian's memoirs and the relative interpretation by either Priscus or Libanus that sometimes seems to inhibit the flow of the story. I realize this was the way it was set up, so that the journal could be published, but it does make the flow of the story a wee bit jarring.

Nonetheless, this is an excellent novel. Full of interesting concepts and a view of Christianity that will likely bother most Christians, who tend to be rather ignorant of the true origins of their religion. The points Julian makes about the contradictions and the sheer amount of rituals, forms, concepts that the Christians stole in order to incorporate common traditions (three wise men, a supreme being, good/evil, resurrection, angels, demons, Dec 25th, etc..etc.) so that Christianity would grow by appealing to a common shared mythological base. Even his points about Jesus being a Jew and spreading a religion that was supposed to be a reformed version of Judaism, instead was coopted by his followers and morphed into something else- Christianity. Which, BTW, has little in common with modern Christianity. All the inconsistencies and differing origins were neatly "dealt with" by the Council of Nicaea (the Nicene Creed) in 325 AD. There were other councils in later ages that made further "edits" but, by then, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the successors of the Roman Empire.

The novel tells Julian's story from an early age, when he and his brother Gallus are indirectly involved in Imperial politics, when their father, the half-brother of Emperor Constantine, is put to death by the new Emperor, Julian's cousin, Constantinus II. Yet, Gallus and Julian are allowed to live. Gallus is groomed, potentially, to be Caesar, while Julian was to be a Christian Priest.

In time, Gallus will be killed for his cruelty, thus leaving Julian to become Caesar. Upon the death of Constantinus, Julian becomes Augustus and tried to reinstate the Hellenistic religions. His attack on the Persian Empire is one that will eventually end up in his demise (or assassination?).

A brilliant book about a brilliant man. It would have been a 5 star, but for the chain of the story flow being broken by the intermittent side quotes by Priscus and Libanus. This will have been my second Gore Vidal book and, so far, they have all been well worth my time. Anyone with an interest in Julian, or just those who enjoy a well-written Historical fiction novel will enjoy this one.

Страхотен исторически роман! В него по изключително увлекателен начин се разказва за интересния и вълнуващ живот на император Юлиан и неговото запомнящо се управление. Той е последният владетел на Римската империя, който се е борил срещу навлизането на християнството, опитвайки се да възстанови античните вяра и култура. Гор Видал е описал правдоподобно и разбираемо историческите събития от средата на 4-ти век, а и въздействащо пресъздал противоречивата атмосфера на епохата.





„Какво чудесно нещо са книгите, как преминават през светове и векове, побеждавайки невежеството и накрая дори и безпощадното време!“


„Няма по-потискащо място от царски двор. Навсякъде, където има трон, човек може да наблюдава в най-големи подробности всички човешки суети и пороци, лакирани с добри обноски и тънко позлатени с лицемерие.“


„Нищо не се заличава така бързо в паметта на хората, както добрите ни дела.“

A gripping but sad story about a would-be philosopher who reluctantly became emperor. Contrary to his predecessors, Constantine and Constantius II, he was tolerant and reasonable. A fervent Hellenist, he despised Christianity which had been made into the compulsory unique state religion by Constantine. While supporting religious freedom, Julian did his best to reinstate the old Roman values and religious traditions (many of which were themselves imported). Unfortunately, his tolerance was interpreted as weakness by some and he was, according to the book, assassinated by a personal -- Christian -- assistant during the Persian campaign. He only reigned for 2 years and one can only speculate on how history would have been different if he had had a chance to firmly entrench his many reforms.

The story is written as a sequence of fragments of Julian's (imaginary) diary, with frequent additions and often humorous comments by his former Hellenistic teachers. Throughout the tale, one learns that at that time, the Christians were perceived as a fanatic sect that did not hesitate to murder its own members if they had a different opinion, e.g. about the trinity. Also, it is argued that, in order to gain market share, they stole concepts of any popular rival religion, e.g. the cult of Mithras.

Strongly recommended if you're interested in Roman history.

Sadly, I remember a class I had in high school that focused on Greek and Roman history. The teacher was highly respected but for some reason just didn’t grab my interest. At some point in high school, though, I read both The Iliad and The Odyssey and loved them, so I didn’t leave high school completely ignorant on these subjects. Earlier this year I read Augustus by John Williams and was simply blown away. I was then motivated to pick up Julian by Gore Vidal, which had been on my shelves for years.

Gore Vidal has thoroughly researched his subject. In the introduction to the edition I read, Mr. Vidal explains that the most unique aspect of Julian’s life is the wealth of rich material on which a writer can draw. Mr. Vidal states that he changes no facts but instead adds details in the spaces between what is known.

Julian’s career as Emperor was short. The novel spends significant time on Julian’s youth and his pursuits prior to becoming Emperor before focusing on his time as Emperor. Mr. Vidal makes it clear that death, execution for the political risk he represented, was always a possibility throughout Julian’s childhood and only increased as he matured. However, you don’t get much insight into how often Julian must have thought about the possibility of becoming Emperor and to what degree he did or did not desire it.

Julian is a magnificent military and organizational leader, but he effectively guarantees his short tenure as Emperor by making it his objective to resurrect the “old” religion in the shadow of Christianity’s success. He creates many enemies of those who would otherwise have been supporters. It is this effort to change the beliefs of the Roman society that is the contrast between his brilliance and his lack of common sense, his denial of reality. Being born into greatness as well as placing too much faith in the wrong advisors are major ingredients in some of the poor decisions Julian made.

Gore Vidal created a thoroughly enjoyable historical novel in Julian. Historical fiction is typically not a genre to which I am attracted, but I enjoy it more when I feel I can trust the history portion of the fiction.

Julian is stunning and awesome. Perhaps I am just being a snob when I am sometimes surprised that I have never even heard of a book and then it turns out to be amazing and I want everyone to read it. I shouldn't be, though, since often when the masses like something it is less than spectacular.

Not usually a fan of historical fiction, I was drawn to this because I had decided to finally read Gore Vidal and I liked the idea of the plot: a Roman emperor attempting to squelch the wacky upstart religion of Christianity before it thoroughly took hold. I now plan to read more Gore. He plunges you into this world much like Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose, perhaps even better. Despite the fact that I and many others born in the 20th century are unfamiliar with much of Greek and Roman history, the book is not at all off-putting, and you learn all about the goings on in the politics of the empire without ever being confused or feeling like you are having to learn history in order to read your book. You also learn who's the crazy cult magician, who means well, and who is just the empire drunk. It's good stuff.

Stirring, funny, philosophical, and a compelling drama as well, this novel is not to be missed.

Julian the Apostate was emperor of Rome from 361-363 CE and the nephew of Constantine. Raised in a strict Christian environment (although of the Arian tradition), he formally announced his conversion to paganism in 361 and became a public enemy of Christianity.

That provides the background for Vidal's excellent historical novel (historical in the best sense in that Vidal tried to use as many actual events and recorded conversations as possible). Vidal is, of course, rather flagrant in rejecting Christianity himself, so it is easy to see why Julian's gradual rejection of what he viewed as a faith filled with contradictions both in belief and behavior would be appealing to Vidal.

The book is told from Julian's point of view as a form of autobiography with little side social commentaries of two of his friends. The debate between the supporters of Athanasius (who finally won out) and the Arians is well explained. In the fourth century (see also When Jesus Became God, http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) the debate over the divinity of Jesus was of huge consequence. The Arians (basing their case on John 14:25) believed in the doctrine of homoiousios: Jesus was a similar substance to God the father but created by him. The followers of Athanasius adopted that "pernicious doctrine" later codified in the Nicene Creed of homoousius (meaning that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same).

It was essential for Julian to pretend to be one of the Galileans, as Christians were called then, because it was the declared religion of Rome after Constantine. As a potential successor to the throne, he was subject to all sorts of plots and political machinations, and these dangers form much of the tension of the book, as Julian tries to remain alive posing as a student of philosophy with no interest in politics. Julian's childhood was that of a prince with all that entails, including constant supervision, little access to people besides his siblings, and strict regulation of behavior. Julian's cousin, the reigning emperor Constantius, fearing for his throne, systematically murdered those who might be a threat -- especially his relatives -- so Julian had to tread very carefully. Fortunately, Julian was needed to be the titular head of Gaul, so he was removed from Athens, married to Constantius's sister, Helena, and sent to barbarian Europe. Julian, whom the emperor suspected had no military prowess, surprised everyone with his skill in battle as well as administratively, even though his hands were often tied by Constantius's Florentius, who had a great deal of administrative control. Constantius's attempts to subdue the Persians was to prove his undoing, and when he demanded that virtually all of Julian's troops be sent to him - despite Julian's promise to the troops from Gaul that they would not have to serve outside the province - those troops rebelled and demanded that Julian be appointed Julian Augustus, i.e., Emperor of the West. Helena, by this time, even though she was sister to Constantius, sided with Julian, because she knew that her brother had murdered her two children because he feared them as threats to his throne. Before a civil war could result Constantius died.

Julian's (Vidal's?) comments on power and the corrupting role of imperialism are as pertinent today as they might have been two centuries ago: " Wherever there is a throne, one may observe in rich detail every folly and wickedness of which man is capable, enameled with manners and gilded with hypocrisy." "I have often felt when studying history that not enough is made of those intermediaries who so often do the actual governing. . . As a result, factions within the court could form and reform, irrelevant to the nominal power. . . .On the throne of the world, any delusion can become fact." The corruption and greed become palpable in Vidal's words.

Vidal uses a triple narrative technique that intersperses Julian's "autobiography" with comments by two contemporaries, a philosopher and a rhetorician, whose views do not always coincide with Julian's, permitting Vidal to offer disparate views of events. Julian is ultimately portrayed as a pagan philosopher-leader struggling against the hypocrisy of the new Galilean religion and trying to recapture the glory of the lost Hellenistic past.

Julian used his military and imperial rights to revive paganism and subdue the upstart Christian cult, but was killed - Vidal suggests by one of his own men, perhaps at the direction of the bishops - during the war against the Persians.

Vidal has vividly captured the intense political maneuvering and danger of being in line to succeed to the throne. This is historical fiction at its nail-biting best.

minor editing 11/19/11

"... and now nothing remains but to let the darkness come, and hope for a new sun and another day, born of time's mystery and man's love of light." I just wanted to say that Gore Vidal is currently my favorite American author and I regret nothing, this book was wonderful.

As a rule, I'm rather sceptical when it comes to historical novels and tend to avoid them. However, I was curious how Vidal would manage to write about Julian, having already heard and read quite a lot about that particular emperor and late antiquity in general.
Vidal impressed me. The description of religious quarrels and political ambitions is spot-on. I do wonder if readers who aren't familiar with the historical background would find the book easy to understand, but to me the carefully dropped hints of plots other than the main one indicated that Vidal knows his stuff very well indeed. The characters really come to life. Moreover, Vidal is really funny in parts, and tragic in others. The question whether the whole thing is reality or fiction is always hovering on the edge of the story and is adressed by several of the main characters. I thought this was important because otherwise it might have been just another historical novel taking itself seriously.

”We are toys, and a divine child takes us up and puts us down, and breaks us when he chooses.”

n  n
Julian II

Julian was a child raised in the midst of turmoil. After the death of Constantine the Great in 337AD, there was a huge power vacuum in the Roman Empire, and Julian’s cousin Constantius II methodically eliminated all those who could potentially threaten his reign or those of his brothers. One of those executed was Julian’s father.

Julian and his brother Gallus were spared.

Their youth may have spared them, but in Julian’s later writings, he wrote that he believed that only at the urging of Empress Eusebia, by the thinnest of margins, were they saved. The very thing that nearly ended their lives, that dangle between their legs, also made them valuable to the family. Constantius II and his brothers were having difficulties spawning male children to assume the throne. If the Empire was to remain in family hands, then Gallus and Julian would be the only means with which to do so.

The boys are sequestered away under the tutelage of Bishop Eusebius in Nicomedia. It is never a bad thing to be out of sight and out of mind; after all, Constantius had already proven that he was not squeamish about getting family blood on his hands. As has been proven time and again, absolute power corrupts absolutely. ”First the tyrant plays harmless games: ...plays practical jokes; and no matter what he says and does, everyone laughs and flatters him, finds witty his most inane remarks. Then the small jokes begin to pall. One day he finds it amusing to rape another man’s wife, as the husband watches, or the husband as the wife looks on, or to torture them both, or to kill them. When the killing begins, the emperor is no longer a man but a beast, and we have had too many beasts already on the throne of the world.”

The boys live in constant, real fear that one day someone will arrive with a summons for them to see the Emperor. This directive can indicate two very different intentions. They could be receiving a promotion, or the more probable one is they are being set up to be executed. Any wild rumor can be the end of them. It would certainly give anyone a different perspective on life living under the constant threat of death. The older they become the more dangerous they become to Constantius.

n  n
Coin of Constantius Gallus, brother of Julian.

Gallus is sent for and made Caesar of the East in 351, which was a position representing a trial run to show his loyalty to Constantius and prove his ability to be the heir to the empire. Unfortunately, Julian’s brother proved unreliable. Gallus had shown signs of instability as a boy; power did not quell these tendencies, but merely enhanced their vulnerabilities. His head was separated from his body in 354.

And then there was one.

In 355, Julian is named Caesar. Being named Caesar is equivalent to being chased by angry, snarling German’s with ”Their dyed hair worn long, and hangs about the face like a lion’s mane,” down a long, dark alleyway where every door is locked, and all you can do is keep running to the end. Eventually, the worst you can imagine is probably going to happen.

Every shadow that falls across your doorway is a potential assassin. Herculean sphincter and bladder control would be imperative for anyone wanting to wear the purple.

Julian would have rather been a philosopher or even a philosopher priest if he must. Before being conscripted into the family business, he spent a short glorious time in Athens learning from the very best philosophers. Books were his solace for the rest of his life. ”As long as I could read, I was never entirely wretched.”

n  n
Coin of Constantius II.

One of the conditions that Constantius made for Julian to be named Caesar was that Julian had to marry his sister, Helena. When someone is setting you up on a date and they keep talking about your potential date’s sparkling personality, you know they are not one of the blessedly lovely people. Helena *shudder* hopefully had at least a great personality, because unfortunately *shudder* she looked TOO much like her father. ”Helena was a good woman but our moments of intimacy were rare, unsatisfactory, and somewhat pathetic, for I did want to please her. But it was never pleasant, making love to a bust of Constantine.”

Julian is remembered as the Apostate. He was such an advocate of Greek philosophy that he wanted to return the Empire to the Neoplatonic paganism. Constantine the Great, Julian’s uncle, was the first Roman Emperor to proclaim himself a Christian, but also the first to sign a decree that allowed tolerance for Christianity.

It is really remarkable how fast Christianity took over such a large part of the world. “No other religion ever considered it necessary to destroy others because they did not share their same beliefs.” I guess, if you are intent on eliminating the competition, growth happens exponentially. With convert or die being the only options, most people will waver in their firmest beliefs. Who is to say, after all, who you worship in the cathedral in your head?

Julian’s rise to power came relatively quickly after this mass conversion to Christianity, or Galileanism as Julian liked to refer to them because he didn’t feel they were very “Christian” in the way they conducted themselves. The point being, there were still a lot of people who might be professed Christians, but were actually Pagans in their hearts, so when Julian adopted Hellenism and brought back the old Gods along with the sacrificing of animals, there were numerous people who were happy that he brought back the old ways.

The Galileans were furious and began plotting his assassination. They are not alone; Julian’s enemies are as innumerable as a field of wheat.

I’ve read that part of the attraction of Christianity is the single God concept. Trying to keep a whole multitude of Gods straight and who is responsible for what was confusing and difficult. To worship one God under the Pagan system was to offend another, and sacrificing animals was frankly expensive for most people. It was a huge deal for Constantine to convert, and it was also a huge deal for Julian to bring back Hellenism. It sort of reminds me of the whiplash between Catholicism and Protestantism that happened in England in the 16th century.

Religion, unfortunately, has proven a very effective way to divide us.

Julian did not try to get rid of Christianity. He just wanted religious tolerance so that everyone could worship the way they wanted. He did remove a lot of Galileans from positions of power, which created a lot of adversity for him, but it was necessary because he needed people loyal to him. This would not be an abnormal thing, but when people feel they are being persecuted for religious reasons rather than political reasons, even though in this case the two were wrapped together, they take it much, much more personal.

n  n
Coin of Alexander the Great.

Julian was a surprisingly good military commander and soon conquered Gaul and put down several uprisings. Julian saw himself as a student of Alexander the Great and wished to experience the same level of success in war as his hero. He was in the midst of conquering Persia when he died. He was a commander who threw himself in the fray, which is honorable, but ultimately detrimental to the cause if he is taken or killed. Controversy swirls around his death, and Gore Vidal has some very distinct opinions of what he felt happened.

Vidal starts this book with a series of letters between two philosophers, Priscus and Libanius, who both knew Julian well. They are attempting to edit and prepare Julian’s journals for publication, which of course is still a hot potato in 380AD. I actually found myself chuckling several times as these philosophers betrayed their own sense of pride, petty jealousies, and false memories. Most of the story is told from “the discovered journals” of Julian. This blending of the journals with the uncertain memories of the philosophers is a remarkable achievement of historical fiction writing. Like his book Lincoln, Vidal brings the central characters to life in Julian and makes the reader feel the fear and uncertainty of Julian’s childhood. He places the reader on a camp stool in that tent in Persia as Julian gives his final commands. From beginning to end you are there.

I do wonder if Julian had lived longer if religious tolerance would have taken root and been more of a standard right of all people? Why do we care so much how someone worships or for that matter whom someone sleeps with and how can some of us believe that a man’s skin color can have anything to do with his character? It seems we always work so hard to discover how we are different instead of putting that same work into discovering what we have in common. Julian had the right ideas, but he would have had to set aside his lust for conquest and exchanged it for the much more difficult task of maintaining peace.

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