Preview Alexis
It was with Alexis that, in 1929, Marguerite Yourcenar began her career as a novelist. Few literary debuts in the 20th century are quite as astonishing; for this profound analysis of a man’s homosexuality was written by a young woman of twenty-four. The novel takes the form of a letter from the protagonist, Alexis, to his wife, Monique. His letter declares that he can no longer continue in the marriage, that he must obey the demands of his own sexuality, against which he has struggled in vain, to achieve a freedom without which he cannot live. “Alexis was remarkable in its time and place, yet its immediacy has not been diminished in the fifty years since it first appeared . . . Even at the age of twenty-four, Yourcenar was a master of her art.” —Sara Carlo Rosenbaum San Francisco Chronicle “Its graceful style and subtle insights into character resonate long after its last page is turned.” —Publishers Weekly
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