Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Julian

By: Gore Vidal
Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, George Newbern, David de Vries, Jeff Cummings
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $32.89

Buy for $32.89

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The remarkable bestseller about the fourth-century Roman emperor who famously tried to halt the spread of Christianity, Julian is widely regarded as one of Gore Vidal’s finest historical novels.

Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.

©1962, 1964 copyright renewed 1990, 1992 by Gore Vidal. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Julian

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    196
  • 4 Stars
    67
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    183
  • 4 Stars
    35
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    49
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Fascinating story, beautifully written, especially since the subject hasn’t been explored in historical fiction. Not a fan of this author otherwise, nor his worldview, but the book itself is excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love learning history

interesting story recounting the history of an unsung hero. I learned many things about the unfortunate rise of christianity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking

An excellent telling of the story of a man who fought against the inexorable march of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

I enjoyed thoroughly this wonderful book about the emperor Julian. Gore Vidal transports us that time and place and make us eyewitnesses of an extraordinary figure of ancient history. The narration was superb!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Sweeping History

Quite a scholarly book in the historical detail. I listened to it over a few weeks and lost track of some of the characters. Told by several different narrators, which enhanced the production.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Vidal always provides a depth to historical fictio

Gore Vidal's historical fiction provides more insight than most other. His political courage is missed today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Historical Fiction Done Well

I enjoyed listening to Julian's story. The narration was really spot-on. The narrators were diverse enough to not even have to think who was speaking as I already knew based on their voices. The story is also really interesting even if not all parts are historically accurate.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gore Vidal has won me over

Well written history of people and a time I had little knowledge of. Easy to listen to. Well narrated. A very different perspective of religion and..philosophy developed through well developed historical people of the time. Makes you think.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant narration!

The narrator does justice to Vidal's masterpiece. Not one dull moment. The narration grips you instantly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Off to find more Vidal! The fame of his wit is surprisingly well-founded. This is an excellent, intellectually dense novel and its performers were up to the task. Bravo!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!