1876: A Novel

by Gore Vidal

Paperback, 2000

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Publication

Vintage (2000), Paperback, 384 pages

Description

The third volume of Gore Vidal's series of historical novels aimed at demythologizing the American past, 1876 explores the political scandals of the Grant administration and the intrigues of that year's presidential election. Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler, Aaron Burr's unacknowledged son, returns to America after his self-imposed exile, hoping to arrange a marriage for his daughter Emma, but the two soon find themselves at the centers of American social and political power at a time when the fading ideals of the young republic were being replaced by the excitement of empire.

User reviews

LibraryThing member dekan

i loved this book. not the events that were taking place but that would be because it's crap, but it is also familiar of the bush/gore election. the thing to love about vidal is the fact he won't put anything in quotation marks that can't be physically backed up. it's amazing how history repeats

itself. if this has got you wanting to read it then, you will learn so much from this book. it's basically set in 1876 with the campaign of tilden vs hayes in the presidential election. garfield plays a enough of a part i want to read about him to see what kind of a dick he really was, after this book i can't believe that he wasn't. grant and hayes are appalling, i learned alot and it was excellently done.

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LibraryThing member Smiley

One of the country's first "stolen" elections provides the canvas for Vidal's continuing revisionist historical fictions of American history. Not his best.

LibraryThing member ostrom

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.

LibraryThing member Borg-mx5

More stellar historical fiction from Gore Vidal. This follow up to Burr, takes us to the pivotal year of 1876. The fictional Carlie Schuyer return to America in time for the Centennial and the election between Hayes and Tilden. Full of real life characters and place, reading this is like being

there.

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LibraryThing member roblong

Very enjoyable. Vidal is in his element in 1876 - in contrast to Lincoln, where his admiration for Abe made the book slightly dry for my liking, almost everybody involved in the events of this novel is corrupt, fatuous or otherwise awful and he's free to be as waspish as he likes.

I haven't been

swept up by the Narratives of Empire novels as much as as Julian or Creation (at least not so far), but this is good fun. I look forward to the next instalment.

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LibraryThing member dbsovereign

Remains my favorite of all Vidal's historical fictions (and I've read most of them).

LibraryThing member snash

Historical fiction about the presidential election of 1876, full of corruption, threatening chaos and the destruction of the country. It was engagingly written with a vividly presented cast of characters.

LibraryThing member maryreinert

My first book by Gore Vidal and I thought it very insightful, humorous, and informative. Charles Schuyler and his widowed daughter, Emma, has returned to the United States after spending thirty years in France. Things have changed! Schuyler has worked as a journalist in France for American papers;

now he is returning to find his daughter a new husband. They both receive welcomes from the elite of New York City and are invited to all the best parties. Emma soon finds herself pursued by the boring, proper, and financially secure John Apgar who she agrees to marry because she does like him - nothing about love ever enters the picture. Charles meanwhile writes free lance for a variety of papers including the New York Times and the NY Harold. A cast of all of New York's best plays a part.

President Grant(Republican) is in office and while he was a Civil War hero, his administration is raft with corruption and he is no longer popular much to his chagrin. Samuel Tilden is predicted to be the Democratic candidate for the election of 1876 but the Republican nominee is up for grabs. Politicians, socialites, journalists, senators, and military veterans all have their ideas.

Gore does an excellent job of telling the story of the very corrupt election of 1876 in a thoroughly enjoyable way. Although, I must admit many of the political characters become confusing toward the end of the book. This is the first election where the popular vote which was won by Tilden was overturned by the electorial vote.

A great book to read in light of today's political scene - corruption was everywhere as everyone grabbed for their bit of power or money. Many of Charles Schuyler's thoughts could apply today.
Interesting book. Makes me want to read more Vidal.

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LibraryThing member karatelpek

I finished the book 2 days after the still undecided 2020 US election. Parts of 1876 mirrored the current situation (too close for comfort). Interesting read about an important election often brushed over in American history. A good sign of a good history book is if I ended up googling lots of

facts and figures. I did that a lot in this book.

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