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Loading... 1876by Gore VidalSeries: Narratives of Empire (3), American Chronicles (book 3), American Chronicles - publish order (3)
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  scootm | Jul 12, 2008 |  I remember liking this one more that Vidal's Burr when I read them in the same month. Vidal's Lincoln is still my favorite of his. (  ) ostrom | Nov 23, 2007 | Gore Vidal's historical fiction is some of the finest prose of the 20th century. It defies understanding how he can turn events that can be explored in five minutes on Wikipedia into a narrative that sustains one's interest for hours, delving deep into the closets of American history. 1876 does not disappoint in this regard. While his achievement here does not rival Lincoln (perhaps the great American novel of the 20th century), it is nonetheless engrossing, furthering Vidal's narrative of the American experiment out of democracy into something altogether different. (  )1  tessone | Oct 7, 2006 | Charlie's impresssions of New York social life are amusing but so far there doesn't seem to be any real story. Also I'm losing track of who's who. I felt the whole thing only really came together at the election and its aftermath, when it really got rather exciting even though I was pretty sure Rutherford Hayes was going to win, since I recognised his name and not Samuel Tilden's. Not one of Vidal's better efforts, but still OK. I suspect it was thrown together in a hurry to cash in on the US bicentennial. (  ) Robertgreaves | May 30, 2006 | One of the country's first "stolen" elections provides the canvas for Vidal's continuing revisionist historical fictions of American history. Not his best. Smiley | Mar 12, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0375708723, Paperback)The more things change, the more they stay the same: "The last few days would have brought down any parliamentary government. As it is, the Grant Administration is a shambles, and there is even talk that the President may resign."Charles Schuyler, the narrator of Burr, returns to the United States after an absence of nearly 40 years, with his widowed daughter, Emma, in tow. While they try to find a suitably rich husband for Emma among the New York social set, Charles concentrates on the scandals in Washington--including accusations of corruption and obstruction of justice against Ulysses S. Grant--and the presidential race between Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden (Tilden apparently, in fact, won the election, only to have it taken away because of electoral fraud). Cameo appearances by Chester A. Arthur, Mark Twain, Charles Nordhoff, and others enliven the proceedings. --Ron Hogan (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:24 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Wikipedia in English (2)
Charlie Schuyler returns, again caught up in events and larger-than-life characters he can barely comprehend. This may be the high point of the series.
Four out of five stars because Vidal's political agenda tends to get in the way of his storytelling at times. (