Product Description

Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to the post-World War II years. With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observers.

The centennial of the United States was celebrated with great fanfare--fireworks, exhibitions, pious calls to patriotism, and perhaps the most underhanded political machination in the country's history: the theft of the presidency from Samuel Tilden in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes. This was the Gilded Age, when robber barons held the purse strings of the nation, and the party in power was determined to stay in power. Gore Vidal's 1876 gives us the news of the day through the eyes of Charlie Schuyler, who has returned from exile to regain a lost fortune and arrange a marriage into New York society for his widowed daughter. And although Tammany Hall has faltered and Boss Tweed has fled, the effects of corruption reach deep, even into Schuyler's own family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #141342 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-15
• Released on: 2000-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780375708725
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Amazon.com Review
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

Review
"Suspenseful and extravagantly decorated. . . . If you think politics are dirty now, you should have witnessed the goings-on a hundred years ago. . . . Impossible to resist." --Cosmopolitan

"Vidal writes so well that you find yourself holding your breath over something that is a foregone conclusion. . . . Vidal's talent makes the bloated characters of Washington live in a way history books don't."  --The Boston Globe -- Review

Review
"Suspenseful and extravagantly decorated. . . . If you think politics are dirty now, you should have witnessed the goings-on a hundred years ago. . . . Impossible to resist." --Cosmopolitan

"Vidal writes so well that you find yourself holding your breath over something that is a foregone conclusion. . . . Vidal's talent makes the bloated characters of Washington live in a way history books don't."  --The Boston Globe

Customer Reviews

Wow
As a general rule, I am almost ashamed to confess, I am not really drawn to historical fiction. I find most novels either too cheesy, too boring, or both. 1876, however, is neither. Rather, it is a terrific, timeless, timely novel. The novel is narrated by Charlie Schuyler (who apparently narrated Vidal's earlier novel Burr, one which I have not yet read), as he returns to the United States, after spending many years in Europe, in late 1875 with his 30-something, widowed daughter Emma. Charlie is in his sixties and is returning to the United States to write, earn some money, settle his daughter and hopefully, earn a diplomatic post in France. He attaches himself to Samuel Tilden, the New York governor who will surely, Charlie thinks, win the next election. As we all know, there is winning elections and then there is getting inaugurated, but more on that later. The first portion of the novel takes place in New York City and reads very much like an Edith Wharton novel: it is all balls and social events, etc., but told with Charlie's relentless cynicism and wonderful sense of humor. Charlie then travels to Washington D.C. and again regales the reader with more of that cynicism. That later portions of the novel are largely political, with the recounting of the shocking, to read them now, events surrounding the presidential election of 1876. If Vidal had published this novel say last year, I would say that much of what he has Charlie say is motivated by the politics of the present day. Perhaps it was motivated by the politics of the mid-1970s. The fact that the commentary relating to the 1870s written in the 1970s is still relevant in 2004 is a testament to just what a fine novel 1876 is. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my historical fiction misgivings. If only all authors of historical fiction were as talented as Vidal. Enjoy.

How The GOP Stole The Election of 2000...I Mean 1876
1876 is yet another installment in author Gore Vidal's blatantly left-slanting, non-reverent, warts and all re-telling of the parts of United States history we're never taught about in school, and far too few of us know. Bringing back the old New Yorker Charles Schlemmerhorn Schuyler, a central character from his earlier novel Burr, Vidal takes us on a journey to an America still teeming with internal turmoil as a result of the Civil War. Reconstruction is winding down but still suffocates the proud southern states, who at last, after nearly a generation, stand to play a significant role in the outcome of a national election. The corruption of the Grant administration is about to end, the depression that has hit the country in the wake of bank failures is somewhat alleviated, and the overall mood is hopeful. And then comes the photo finish 1876 Presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, and New York's Democratic governor, the southern-supported Samuel Tilden. What transpired in the wake of the vote-casting is not dissimilar to that which occurred in our own era six years back, and after much back room wrangling and governmental interference, Tilden, winner at the very least of the popular vote, was declared loser, and the morally-decent but politically-controlled Mr. Hayes was given the Presidency. Forgotten today, this close election nearly set off what could almost be called a second American Civil War, as rioters throughout the south and in the big cities took to the streets and Americans by the hundred-thousand became cynically disenchanted with the political process. Vidal, it must be admitted, writes his novels---by definition works of fiction--with a definite message behind them. He has been accused of a certain nihilism or at the very least a disrespect for American institutions of government, and in 1876 as nowhere else, that is made very clear. This is a good overview of a troubling, much-concealed moment in American history, and its authenticity as far as recreating the national mood and the goings-on at the time, and in showing how there truly were and are powers behind the scenes in our government mark it as a worthy book for an intelligent readership.

Corruption and Decadence in US politics
1876 is a stylish and thought-provoking book that functions well as both political commentary and character-driven novel.

An aging expatriate writer returns to the US with his widowed French daughter to find his country changed nearly beyond recognition. He throws his strength and support behind the Democratic candidate and uses his position as journalist to explore and exploit the corruption in the Grant administration.

Vidal gives us no clear heroes or villains in this book-- either in the political or private stage. The time depicted is particularly relevant given recent electoral disputes. Vidal is a skilled and smooth writer. I enjoyed the quality of the prose, but never found the styling getting in the way of the subject.

1876 is my first Vidal, but I will be picking up others. Recommended for fans of history/historical fiction.