Marguerite Yourcenar's book "Memoirs of Hadrian" is definitely one of those novels that I can appreciate without having enjoyed.

It is very clear how much work Yourcenar book into the book, in which Hadrian, a Roman emperor tells his life story via a letter. It clearly has been meticulously researched and fills in the gaps on Hadrian's life quite well.

I found the book deadly boring though... probably because this time period really doesn't interest me in the slightest and I didn't find the ins and outs of Roman politics at all interesting. For the right audience, I can see how this would be a terrific book.