1876 (Narratives of a Golden Age) [Paperback]

Gore Vidal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1997 | Series: Narratives of a Golden Age

With the centennial year of the United States as the target of this historical novel, Gore Vidal again mounts a glorious expedition into that grimy and intricate activity called politics. And this is politics as it ought to be: gossip, corruption, money, dinner parties, more corruption, and all the tacky panoply of power. Into the rarefied atmosphere of a world where money has begun to talk very loudly ? usually through the mouths of people called Astor ? step Charles Schuyler and his daughter Emma. Charlie is the unacknowledged bastard son of Aaron Burr; Emma is rather beautiful; and both think it is prudent to return from penury in Europe and secure a fortuitous marriage for Emma. But America is no longer a young republic; it's a fledgling international superpower with its attendant seedy administration, dubious election campaigns, snobbery, 'popped corn', 'speaking tubes' and 'perpendicular railways' (lifts). It's a world that will welcome into its social and political bosom these two attractive exotics with the right names. And it's a world whose every political peccadillo, social slip-up and irresistible intrigue is recorded in this, the journal of Charlie Schuyler.

Editorial Reviews

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Rewarding and highly accomplished' NEW STATESMAN 'Skilful, sharp and assured' SUNDAY TIMES 'Magnificent' Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Abacus Books (May 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349105294
• ISBN-13: 978-0349105291
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,378,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gore Vidal has received the National Book Award, written numerous novels, short stories, plays and essays. He has been a political activist and as Democratic candidate for Congress from upstate New York, he received the most votes of any Democrat in a half-century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, September 1, 2004

By 

Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1876: A Novel (Paperback)

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For US history buffs only, April 19, 2005

By 

S. Tschinkel "SimonT NYC" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1876: A Novel (Paperback)

I started in on this book after finishing "Burr" and reading the reviews on this site (choosing to skip "Lincoln", for the time being.)After enjoying "Burr" so much, I had high expectations for this, expecting the same humor, insight on US notables of the time and their era and solid character development.

My review however is not so enthusiastic. Granted, I knew next to nothing about the election of 1876 and the characters who played the major roles in the election, and now I know a great deal. But if it is sheer enlighenment on an important,but not vital to know, part of US history, consult the history or encyclopedia.

I found the characters to be fairly one dimensional and, in the end, not that interesting (unlike the characters in Burr.)

Plus, Gore's sly humor, so evident in "Burr", seems scarce in this book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How The GOP Stole The Election of 2000...I Mean 1876, September 29, 2006

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1876: A Novel (Paperback)

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.