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The Essential Gore Vidal: A Gore Vidal Reader
The range and size of Gore Vidal's literary achievement is remarkable. He is a master of the historical novel, in which he has explored American history, ancient history, and the history of religion. He has developed his own style of science fiction combined with satire, and in the books he refers to as his "inventions" he writes cautionary tales about sex, politics, art, and philosophy. He is at once a contrarian, a wise man, and a romantic. He is also wickedly funny, and often outrageous. All of these qualities are evident in his essays, which deal with things about which he feels passionately.
He writes about other writers--Tennessee Williams, Henry James, Montaigne, Edmund Wilson--and about public life, and his own life, which has been complicated and rich. This collection (the only single volume that includes both Vidal's fiction and his essays) contains two complete long works--Myra Breckinridge, perhaps his most famous novel, and The Best Man, a play about the American presidency. There are selections from The City and the Pillar, his early, controversial novel about homosexual love, and excerpts from such later works as Julian, Duluth, and Live from Golgotha. Selections from the American history novels--Burr, Lincoln, 1876, Empire, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C.--have been woven together to provide a continuous narrative. There are twenty-five essays here, on the many subjects that have engaged Vidal during his long career. The editor, Fred Kaplan, who is writing the first major biography of Vidal, has provided an introduction to the work as a whole as well as an introductory explanation of each selection. He has also prepared a biographical chronology and a bibliography.
He writes about other writers--Tennessee Williams, Henry James, Montaigne, Edmund Wilson--and about public life, and his own life, which has been complicated and rich. This collection (the only single volume that includes both Vidal's fiction and his essays) contains two complete long works--Myra Breckinridge, perhaps his most famous novel, and The Best Man, a play about the American presidency. There are selections from The City and the Pillar, his early, controversial novel about homosexual love, and excerpts from such later works as Julian, Duluth, and Live from Golgotha. Selections from the American history novels--Burr, Lincoln, 1876, Empire, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C.--have been woven together to provide a continuous narrative. There are twenty-five essays here, on the many subjects that have engaged Vidal during his long career. The editor, Fred Kaplan, who is writing the first major biography of Vidal, has provided an introduction to the work as a whole as well as an introductory explanation of each selection. He has also prepared a biographical chronology and a bibliography.
988 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Gore Vidal
271 books1,931 followersGore Vidal was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, playwright and political commentator known for his sharp wit, provocative opinions and criticism of American society. Raised in Washington, D.C., he attended several preparatory schools before graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943. His maternal grandfather, Thomas Pryor Gore, a Democratic senator from Oklahoma, profoundly influenced his early interest in politics. During World War II, Vidal served in the United States Army and worked aboard a supply ship in the Aleutian Islands. His experiences inspired his first novel, Williwaw (1946), published shortly after his military service.
Vidal attracted controversy with The City and the Pillar (1948), one of the early American novels to portray male homosexuality openly. Its subject provoked conservative critics and established his reputation as a writer willing to challenge prevailing social conventions. He subsequently explored different genres, writing novels, plays, essays and screenplays. His stage comedy Visit to a Small Planet became a theatrical success, while his work in Hollywood included contributions to the screenplay for Ben-Hur (1959).
His historical novels brought him particular recognition. Julian (1964) examined the Roman emperor's attempt to restore paganism, while Burr (1973) and Lincoln (1984) offered fictional interpretations of American political history. Myra Breckinridge (1968), a provocative satire of Hollywood and gender conventions, further demonstrated his willingness to challenge cultural assumptions. His later historical fiction included 1876, Empire and Hollywood, forming part of his broader exploration of American power and national identity.
Vidal was equally influential as an essayist and public intellectual. His collections addressed American foreign policy, religion, sexuality and the political establishment. United States: Essays 1952-1992 won the National Book Award in 1993. His memoir Palimpsest (1995) offered personal reflections on his family, relationships and literary career. Vidal also became famous for televised confrontations with conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 presidential election coverage. Their bitter exchanges made him a prominent figure in American political debate.
His political involvement extended beyond commentary. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in New York in 1960 and for the United States Senate in California in 1982. He later chaired the People's Party and remained an outspoken critic of American militarism, corporate influence and the expansion of executive power. His views frequently placed him at odds with political leaders and fellow intellectuals, including writer Norman Mailer.
Vidal spent much of his later life in Italy before returning to the United States. He continued writing essays, novels and memoirs into his final years, maintaining his reputation for intellectual independence and irreverence. His work examined the relationship between private ambition and public power, often questioning conventional accounts of American history. He died in 2012, leaving a substantial literary legacy spanning fiction, political criticism and cultural commentary.
Vidal attracted controversy with The City and the Pillar (1948), one of the early American novels to portray male homosexuality openly. Its subject provoked conservative critics and established his reputation as a writer willing to challenge prevailing social conventions. He subsequently explored different genres, writing novels, plays, essays and screenplays. His stage comedy Visit to a Small Planet became a theatrical success, while his work in Hollywood included contributions to the screenplay for Ben-Hur (1959).
His historical novels brought him particular recognition. Julian (1964) examined the Roman emperor's attempt to restore paganism, while Burr (1973) and Lincoln (1984) offered fictional interpretations of American political history. Myra Breckinridge (1968), a provocative satire of Hollywood and gender conventions, further demonstrated his willingness to challenge cultural assumptions. His later historical fiction included 1876, Empire and Hollywood, forming part of his broader exploration of American power and national identity.
Vidal was equally influential as an essayist and public intellectual. His collections addressed American foreign policy, religion, sexuality and the political establishment. United States: Essays 1952-1992 won the National Book Award in 1993. His memoir Palimpsest (1995) offered personal reflections on his family, relationships and literary career. Vidal also became famous for televised confrontations with conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 presidential election coverage. Their bitter exchanges made him a prominent figure in American political debate.
His political involvement extended beyond commentary. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in New York in 1960 and for the United States Senate in California in 1982. He later chaired the People's Party and remained an outspoken critic of American militarism, corporate influence and the expansion of executive power. His views frequently placed him at odds with political leaders and fellow intellectuals, including writer Norman Mailer.
Vidal spent much of his later life in Italy before returning to the United States. He continued writing essays, novels and memoirs into his final years, maintaining his reputation for intellectual independence and irreverence. His work examined the relationship between private ambition and public power, often questioning conventional accounts of American history. He died in 2012, leaving a substantial literary legacy spanning fiction, political criticism and cultural commentary.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 2, 2014
This is a wonderful book! As expected in a collection of this sort, not everything was to my taste (i.e. Myra Breckinridge) but the variety of quality writing ensured there were lots I did love! It is divided into sections: Early Fiction, Theater Writings, Inventions, Religion, Chronicles of American History and Essays. From the outset I was impressed with the introduction by Fred Kaplan. He provided excellent context for the uninitiated without giving the game away.
I enjoyed each piece in the Early Fiction section. They were beautifully written and very engaging.
‘The Best Man’ in Theater Writings was my absolute favourite. This political play is timeless. Loved it!
The Inventions section was my least favourite. I found ‘Myra Breckinridge’ disturbing and gratuitously graphic. I understand why it was so controversial for its time and I was ultimately disappointed with the ending. ‘Duluth’ had an interesting premise, very relevant to our current preoccupation with TV and celebrity.
I enjoyed the Religion section. The excerpt from ‘Julian’ was written from an interesting perspective and a pleasure to read. ‘Creation’ was written in a very similar style as Plato’s dialogues. I loved the subject matter, the conversational style and the language. It was reminiscent of ‘Symposium’. ‘Live from Golgotha’ is based on a very unusual concept. Timothy is to rewrite the bible for a time travelling apostle. It is a mix of contemporary references and biblical times.
The Chronicles of American History section was a bit hard going at times. I didn’t think ‘Burr’ was the most interesting. There was lots of toing and froing, names and dates. It is probably better suited to those who love reading historical ‘fiction’. I did enjoy the ending of that chapter set in Amalfi. That was a good twist. ‘Lincoln’ is very cleverly written. It is fast paced and witty. It follows the inauguration of Lincoln, the Civil War and his assassination. Vidal doesn’t pull any punches regarding his political views. The final section of this chapter addresses Vidal’s/Hay’s obvious respect for Lincoln and his legacies, especially in comparison to Washington and his. ‘1876’ is beautifully written, entertaining and light. I loved the big twist at the end of this section! ‘Empire’ is an insider’s view of politics at a very specific point in time. I found there were too much conversation and far too many characters to follow. ‘Hollywood’ explores the connection between the media (Hearst) and politics (President. W. Wilson). It was okay. Not my favourite, but interesting. The final chapter in this section, ‘Washington, D.C.’ presents the back room dealings from the perspective of Senator Day, who has aspirations of being president. This was pretty good.
The final section, Essays, is excellent. It includes twenty five essays dealing with various issues, ideas, and a host of interesting protagonists. Each one was exquisitely written, insightful and engaging.
Before reading this collection I was a Vidal virgin. Now I feel I have a good grasp of the range and quality of his work. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wanting to become acquainted with this remarkable writer.
I enjoyed each piece in the Early Fiction section. They were beautifully written and very engaging.
‘The Best Man’ in Theater Writings was my absolute favourite. This political play is timeless. Loved it!
The Inventions section was my least favourite. I found ‘Myra Breckinridge’ disturbing and gratuitously graphic. I understand why it was so controversial for its time and I was ultimately disappointed with the ending. ‘Duluth’ had an interesting premise, very relevant to our current preoccupation with TV and celebrity.
I enjoyed the Religion section. The excerpt from ‘Julian’ was written from an interesting perspective and a pleasure to read. ‘Creation’ was written in a very similar style as Plato’s dialogues. I loved the subject matter, the conversational style and the language. It was reminiscent of ‘Symposium’. ‘Live from Golgotha’ is based on a very unusual concept. Timothy is to rewrite the bible for a time travelling apostle. It is a mix of contemporary references and biblical times.
The Chronicles of American History section was a bit hard going at times. I didn’t think ‘Burr’ was the most interesting. There was lots of toing and froing, names and dates. It is probably better suited to those who love reading historical ‘fiction’. I did enjoy the ending of that chapter set in Amalfi. That was a good twist. ‘Lincoln’ is very cleverly written. It is fast paced and witty. It follows the inauguration of Lincoln, the Civil War and his assassination. Vidal doesn’t pull any punches regarding his political views. The final section of this chapter addresses Vidal’s/Hay’s obvious respect for Lincoln and his legacies, especially in comparison to Washington and his. ‘1876’ is beautifully written, entertaining and light. I loved the big twist at the end of this section! ‘Empire’ is an insider’s view of politics at a very specific point in time. I found there were too much conversation and far too many characters to follow. ‘Hollywood’ explores the connection between the media (Hearst) and politics (President. W. Wilson). It was okay. Not my favourite, but interesting. The final chapter in this section, ‘Washington, D.C.’ presents the back room dealings from the perspective of Senator Day, who has aspirations of being president. This was pretty good.
The final section, Essays, is excellent. It includes twenty five essays dealing with various issues, ideas, and a host of interesting protagonists. Each one was exquisitely written, insightful and engaging.
Before reading this collection I was a Vidal virgin. Now I feel I have a good grasp of the range and quality of his work. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wanting to become acquainted with this remarkable writer.
Read
July 10, 2026I liked this format- I haven’t done a deep dive on an author like this since college. Myra Breckenridge was actually my favorite, but pink triangle yellow star and burr were up there too. By the end I had grown weary of the reactionary flare ups, but on the whole, thank you gore Vidal for your contributions, for making William f Buckley look like the closeted gnarl he was on national TV, and for being a more fun antagonist to monotheism than the contemporary atheists
Want to Read
September 15, 2016I've recently watched the excellent documentary "Best of enemies", which basically revolves around the televised debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr as a part of ABC's coverage of the 1968 republican and democratic conventions. A fantastic documentary that made me even more intrigued to learn more about Vidal. He certainly was a character.
January 9, 2016
As an introduction to Gore Vidal I think this is a great place to start and allows you get a sense of the man's style, wordmanship and interests. The book contains some of his fiction, letters and articles and so after reading you should know better what else of his would interest you. I actually read a lot of his stuff before coming to this so there is some duplication but all the same there was new things to be found for sure.
July 26, 2013
If you haven't read Vidal, this is a good place to begin. Myra Breckenridge is here, in all her glory, as well as bits and pieces of nearly everything else.
Read
July 15, 2020Prescient for 7 decades and now that he is no longer with us, his words and wisdom seem to be everywhere. Re-visiting several of his essays, on police brutality, on the American Empire, he knew everyone and wrote about everything.
Gore Knew....
Gore Knew....
November 12, 2024
A great Vidal history/primer. The various book excerpts were really enjoyable.
October 18, 2014
Excerpts from Gore Vidal's historical novels. Two novels in full. A selection of essays. I did not read the entire book, I skimmed the novels and read all the essays. The taste of the novels urges one to read the books but the essays are the gems of this collection, I was barely finished reading them when I was on Amazon and Abebooks ordering other collections of his essays.
February 5, 2014
Vidal was a true light on American society. His departure means one less witty writer, moral thinker, and student of history.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews