''Vita Brevis: A Letter to St Augustine'' ( la, Brief Life; also published in English as ''That Same Flower'') is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by the Norwegian author

Jostein Gaarder Jostein Gaarder (; born 8 August 1952) is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories, and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often ...

and originally published in 1996. Gaarder presents the text as written by

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

´s lover (who is mentioned, but not named, in his ''Confessions'').

Plot

In the introduction, Gaarder claims that he found the old

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

at a

bookshop Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and translated it. According to his plotline, it was written by Floria Aemilia, Augustine's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, who after being abandoned by him, got a thorough Classical education, read his ''Confessions'' (where she is mentioned but not named, unlike their son, Adeodatus) and felt compelled to write this text as an answer.

Editions

* Gaarder, Jostein. ''Vita Brevis'' (Brief Life) (also appeared in English as That Same Flower) (1996)

Plot

Editions

See also