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Loading... Empire: A Novel (original 1987; edition 2000)by Gore Vidal (Author)
Work InformationEmpire by Gore Vidal (1987)
   No current Talk conversations about this book. The falling arc of one character's life--Lincoln's personal secretary who ends as Secretary of State-- and the rising arcs of William Randolph Hearst and Theodore Roosevelt are metaphors for the decline of the American Republic, flawed as it may have been and the rise of the American Empire. A central character who is a woman born American but reared in France, and becomes a newspaper publisher is an interesting touch. (  ) ritaer | Jun 17, 2019 |  After reading 1876 which I loved, and Burr which I liked, perhaps this was just too much American history via Vidal. Might try to pick it up again at a later date. (  ) maryreinert | Sep 21, 2018 | Empire is fourth chronologically in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series. This historical fiction novel covers the era just after the Spanish-American war ended (1898). As with Vidal's others in this series, fictional characters intermingle with real historical figures, and mostly politically-related. Caroline Sanford is one such fictional character (her ancestors appear in earlier novels). She takes on William Randolph Hearst by acquiring a competing newspaper, and gets engaged to Adelbert Hay (son of John Hay, who also appeared in earlier novels; his political career started with Lincoln). And, of course, there's more intrigues going on in this installment. This is the first in the series where a strong female character takes center stage, and I enjoyed that aspect. ( ) ValerieAndBooks | Sep 5, 2018 | Like Lincoln a bit pedestrian, but redeemed by the intriguing fictional character of Caroline Sanford. For fans of Henry James, Vidal also does a nice job of spoofing the "voice" of The Master. (  ) CurrerBell | Nov 23, 2016 | Stick it through and you may survive. Vidal's brand of historical fiction where Hearst and Roosevelt confront each other is interesting. Not my favorite of his (I prefer _Lincoln_ and _1876_ of his historical novels), but still inserts us into a very human story. ( ) dbsovereign | Jan 26, 2016 | no reviews | add a review
"Mr. Vidal demonstrates a political imagination and insider's sagacity equaled by no other practicing fiction writer I can think of. And like the earlier novels in his historical cycle, Empire is a wonderfully vivid documentary drama." --"The New York Times Book Review" In this extraordinarily powerful epic Gore Vidal recreates America's Gilded Age--a period of promise and possibility, of empire-building and fierce political rivalries. In a vivid and beathtaking work of fiction, where the fortunes of a sister and brother intertwine with the fates of the generation, their country, and some of the greatest names of their day, including President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, William and Henry James, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and the Whitneys, Gore Vidal sweeps us from the nineteenth century into the twentieth, from the salvaged republic of Lincoln to a nation boldly reaching for the world. "From the Paperback edition." No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54 — Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.57)
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