Pater’s only complete full-length piece of fiction was first published in 1885 and concerns events set in AD 161-177 in the Rome of the Antonines. Marius the Epicurean explores the intellectual development of its protagonist, a young Roman of integrity, in his pursuit of a congenial religion or philosophy at a time of change and uncertainty, which Pater likens to his own era. Narrated in third-person, the novel features various interpolated discourses, ranging from adaptations of classical and early Christian writings to Marius’ diary and authorial comment.