# The Charioteer

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/mary-renault/the-charioteer/9781405569941

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![The Charioteer](https://quivercdn.com/covers/little-brown-audio/mary-renault/the-charioteer_978-14-0556-994-1.png?v=2026-04-26%2017%3A01%3A21)

- Book: [The Charioteer](https://www.bookquiver.com/mary-renault/the-charioteer) ([The Charioteer.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/mary-renault/the-charioteer.md))
- Authors: [Mary Renault](https://www.bookquiver.com/mary-renault)
- Publisher: little_brown_audio
- Medium: audio
- ISBN: 978-14-0556-994-1
- Published: 2026-07-09
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Audiobook

## Description

'The Charioteer remains compelling both as a snapshot of a particular - and particularly fascinating - cultural moment, and as a deeply romantic story of love fulfilled against the odds. It has all those qualities that make Mary Renault so memorable as a novelist: craft, subtlety, intelligence, and a terrific natural sympathy with the intricacies of honour and desire' SARAH WATERS 'An explosive and courageous book' SIMON RUSSELL BEALE First published in 1953, The Charioteer is a tender, intelligent coming-of-age novel and a bold, unapologetic portrayal of homosexuality that stands with Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room as a landmark work in gay literature. Injured at Dunkirk, Laurie Odell, a young corporal, is recovering at a rural veterans' hospital. There he meets Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly, and the men find solace in their covert friendship. Then Ralph Lanyon appears, a mentor from Laurie's schooldays. Through him, Laurie is drawn into a tight-knit circle of gay men for whom liaisons are fleeting and he is forced to choose between the ideals of a perfect friendship and the pleasures of experience. 'Emotionally intelligent, beautifully written and deeply moving, it transcends categorisations' Telegraph