{"product_id":"the-charioteer","title":"The Charioteer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirst published in 1953, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Charioteer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is Mary Renault’s quietly daring novel of love, conscience and self-discovery, set in England during the Second World War. Its central character, Laurie Odell, is a young soldier recovering from the evacuation of Dunkirk when he meets Andrew Raynes, a Quaker conscientious objector working at the military hospital. Their growing attachment is complicated by Laurie’s reappearance in the life of Ralph Lanyon, an older figure from his schooldays whose influence has never quite left him. Between these two relationships, Laurie must negotiate not only his desires but the competing ideals of loyalty, honour and personal truth.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaking its title and central imagery from Plato’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhaedrus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Renault’s novel considers the struggle between spiritual aspiration and physical longing, while examining the pressures placed on men whose private lives must remain hidden. Written with unusual tenderness and moral intelligence, it offers a humane portrait of gay love at a time when such relationships were rarely represented without condemnation or sensationalism. Alongside \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe City and the Pillar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGiovanni’s Room\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, it holds an important place in the history of twentieth-century gay literature, and remains one of Renault’s most affecting contemporary novels.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The rightness of a thing isn't determined by the amount of courage it takes.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Mary Renault, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Charioteer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Charioteer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Compelling both as a snapshot of a particular cultural moment, and as a deeply romantic story of love fulfilled against the odds.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Sarah Waters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardner's EU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64214508699978,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/thelamppostparis.com\/products\/the-charioteer","provider":"The Lamp-Post Library \u0026 Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}