This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author. Celebrated for its literary brilliance and sincere depiction of complex human emotions, The Charioteer is a stirring and beautifully rendered portrayal of love. This novel has been called one of the foundation stones of gay literary fiction, ranking alongside James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar. Will Laurie reconcile himself to Ralph’s embrace, or can he offer Andrew the idealized, Platonic intimacy he yearns for?

As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. First published in 1953, The Charioteer is a a tender, intelligent coming-of-age novel and a bold, unapologetic portrayal of homosexuality that stands with Gore. Emotionally intelligent, beautifully written and deeply moving, it transcends categorisations. The unspoken romance between the two men is tested when Ralph, a friend of Laurie’s from school, re-enters his life, introducing him into a milieu of jaded, experienced gay men. After enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans' hospital in England to convalesce. Standing out among the orderlies is Andrew, a bright conscientious objector raised as a Quaker. Originally published in the United States in 1959, The Charioteer is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidals The City and the Pillar and Christopher Isherwoods Berlin Stories as a monumental work in gay literature. A WWII soldier embarks on affairs with two very different men in a landmark novel that “transcends categorizations” ( The Telegraph).Īfter being wounded at Dunkirk in World War II, Laurie Odell is sent back home to a rural British hospital.

The Charioteer by Mary Renault