L'oeuvre au noir Suivi de Carnets de notes de L'oeuvre au noir

This historical novel presents the life of an imaginary Renaissance physician, Zeno of Bruges, and reflects Yourcenar's fascination with the occult. Zeno's personality and life is a combination of DaVinci, Paracelsus, Copernicus, and Giordano Bruno. Through Zeno's search for truth and the characters surrounding him, Yourcenar narrates life in the 16th century, perfectly reconstructing that time period in which the Middle Ages and Renaissance met.