It took Yourcenar many years to complete the novels Hadrien's Memories and The Grand Œuvre, included in this book. Their subject is the investigation of the inner freedom, testing the fate. Her protagonists are intellectuals keen on self-knowledge and the knowledge of the world. The letters and memories of the Roman emperor or the process of alchemical transformations considered by Zenon characterize the inner space of the individual. Three short-stories published posthumously are presented in the Russian translation for the first time.

ISBN 5-89059-041-3