Anyone who writes about Aaron Burr — like me, for example, in American Emperor – has to wrestle with the shadow of Gore Vidal. Vidal rendered Burr as a marvelous three-dimensional character in his rollicking historical novel with the admirably simple title, Burr.
I read Vidal’s Burr when it came out in 1973 and ate it up. It was funny, it was intriguing, and its history was really quite good. When I set out on my own efforts to write about Aaron Burr, I decided not to re-read the Vidal book; I was afraid that Vidal’s imaginative depiction of Burr would hijack my own imagination, and I would be left to produce a pale imitation of Vidal’s. If you’ve already read mine, go ahead and read his. (But not before mine!)
Vidal wrote five other novels of American history, and I heartily recommend at least two of them:
Lincoln (1984) is a terrific evocation of that remarkable and towering figure (so different from Burr!) and the strains of the White House durng the Civil War.
1876 (1976) attempted to revive the reputation of Ulysses Grant as a president, a worthy goal and (from my perspective) a largely successful one.
Hollywood(1990) attempted to revive the reputation of President Warren Harding, and I have to admit that I fell off the Vidal train here. Harding a brilliant politician? That was a bridge too far for me.
I never got to Washington, D.C. (1967) and The Golden Age(2000), both of which are set in the 1940s, or thereabouts. A bit modern for my taste.
Vidal’s view of American history could be distinctly astringent. Heroes often were no longer heroes in his versions, while anti-heroes were the characters Vidal liked best. By many accounts, Vidal was never a particularly nice person. But his books are always interesting and always literate.
The historical novels were only part of his writing. There were polemics, plays, non-fiction laments over America’s course in the world. The obituary in the New York Times discloses much about him that I didn’t know, including that he was an uncredited screenwriter of the movie Ben-Hur. Vidal was a true man of letters. I regret his passing.
Note on commerce: Putting this short tribute together reminded me of the sorry truth that dying is an excellent tactic for juicing up your book sales. Vidal’s current Amazon ratings are:
The Shadow of Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal and friend
Anyone who writes about Aaron Burr — like me, for example, in American Emperor – has to wrestle with the shadow of Gore Vidal. Vidal rendered Burr as a marvelous three-dimensional character in his rollicking historical novel with the admirably simple title, Burr.
I read Vidal’s Burr when it came out in 1973 and ate it up. It was funny, it was intriguing, and its history was really quite good. When I set out on my own efforts to write about Aaron Burr, I decided not to re-read the Vidal book; I was afraid that Vidal’s imaginative depiction of Burr would hijack my own imagination, and I would be left to produce a pale imitation of Vidal’s. If you’ve already read mine, go ahead and read his. (But not before mine!)
Vidal wrote five other novels of American history, and I heartily recommend at least two of them:
Vidal’s view of American history could be distinctly astringent. Heroes often were no longer heroes in his versions, while anti-heroes were the characters Vidal liked best. By many accounts, Vidal was never a particularly nice person. But his books are always interesting and always literate.
The historical novels were only part of his writing. There were polemics, plays, non-fiction laments over America’s course in the world. The obituary in the New York Times discloses much about him that I didn’t know, including that he was an uncredited screenwriter of the movie Ben-Hur. Vidal was a true man of letters. I regret his passing.
Note on commerce: Putting this short tribute together reminded me of the sorry truth that dying is an excellent tactic for juicing up your book sales. Vidal’s current Amazon ratings are:
I’m not ready to try that tactic quite yet.