1876: A Novel [Paperback]

The details of the election are narrated by Charlie Schuyler, an American journalist who has been living in France as a diplomat for over three decades and has just returned to the United States with his widowed daughter Emma, a French princess. Facing unemployment, he accepts jobs covering timely events like the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia for various periodicals including the New York Times, edited by his friend William Cullen Bryant, the country's most celebrated poet, and the New York Herald, a newspaper of lesser distinction, published by an impulsive young man named Jamie Bennett. Meanwhile, Emma's status as part of the stock of European aristocracy permits her (and her father) entry into the upper echelons of New York society as she considers options for a new husband.

The country has changed considerably during Schuyler's absence; what was once a nation of farmers is now a nation of factories and railroads with money as the prime mover, driving and corrupting the current federal government under Grant's administration. Schuyler passionately supports as candidate for president his friend Tilden -- the governor of New York, a wealthy, popular lawyer, and a sickly, dyspeptic man -- because of Tilden's ideas of reform and resistance of the will of rich men who would pass laws to protect their own fortunes while allowing them to steal from others.

There is plenty of calm before the storm with regard to the election. James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House of Representatives, appears to be the front runner for the Republican nominee up until the last minute at the Republican Convention when Hayes, the little-known governor of Ohio and Civil War general, comes out of nowhere to sweep the ballots. As November and December pass into 1877, the assessment of the results of the presidential election is prolonged as several states are disputed even though Tilden's victory is evident. The country is brought to the brink of a new civil war (in Schuyler's estimation), or at least a military coup d'etat, when Grant dispatches federal troops to various locations in the South to prevent riots and rebellion by protesting Democrats.

"1876" is as much a polemic as a novel; Vidal is never ambiguous about his opinions on what he believes to be debacles in the American political arena, and his tone, delivered here through the voice of Schuyler, is clear as a bell and sharp as a tack. Schuyler is an ideal narrator for a historical novel -- cynical, smug, a little vain and conceited, but disdainful of greed and very serious about the nation's political ethos. In this sense, it is odd that he does not like the work of Mark Twain, whom he happens to meet in one memorable exchange; but when your literary taste is more for Flaubert, Twain can be a tough nut to crack.

The protagonists in the story are Charlie Schuyler, from "Burr", and his incomparable daughter as they wend their way into the New York and Washington "City" of the Gilded Age. While blatant corruption is corroding the foundations of the Republic, Charlie is wined and dined by the politically indifferent rich as a celebrated political writer (on Europe) while he seeks to find a suitable mate for his recently widowed and now penniless daughter. As a courtiers at the court of Napoleon III, they fit in brilliantly as Charlie attempts to find any writing work he can; the subtleties of the behavior of the ruling classes come across as both comic and sinister, but also realistic. It is a brutal indictment of decadence at the Centennial of America that gets worse and worse as the machinations of stealing a presidential election are revealed. Though it is from an observers eyes, which is consistent with the style of most of Vidal's series, political events take much more of the center stage and as such, there is a great deal of history to learn (of which I for one was largely ignorent).

As a novel, this is also great fun. It is written in the form of a candid diary by Charlie, who is making notes for future books he is imagining as he observes unfolding events in real time. The characters he comes in contact with are fabulously well drawn. First, there is Samuel Tilden, one of the few truly decent men to appear in any of Vidal's work (and a loser, I note). Then there is the apparently corrupt President Grant and his cronies who are indisputably corrupt along with all of the top politicians in DC. And of course, there are the journalists (including a brilliant, hilarious, and yet sad cameo portrait of Mark Twain), some of whom are idealists and most of whom are simple opportunists. Finally, there is the birth of the fictional Sanford clan that re-appears in Vidal's later novels. An unexpected twist in the plot also reveals the weaknesses of Charlie as an observer, which adds a whole new dimension to the novel that shocks the reader into reassessing everything (s)he has read. It is a brilliant device.

Warmly recommended. THis is a true masterpiece of historical fiction.

"1876" brings back character Charles Schuyler, who had previously appeared in "Burr". After a self-exile of forty years, Schuyler is back to his native country and begins to write his impressions for New York newspapers. 1876 is election year in USA. It is also the final year of the Grant 8-year administration, which is notorious for its corruption and scandals related to large amounts of money.

Schuyler describes the race for the seat in the Oval office and his struggles to earn money in a country totally defferent from the one he left behind almost half a century before.

After the ridiculous voting and election problems during the Bush-Gore dispute, the reader can see that, after 125+ years, some things (specially related to power and money) are difficult to get changed, no matter where.

"1876" is about a nebulous (at least for me) period of the US history and, as always, Vidal, with his sarcasm, good prose and refined research, delivers another accurately historic fiction. The problem is, Vidal doesn't have complete respect for things he doesn't fully understand or know, so some passages of the book feature a bad taste that I don't like.

This book is not so dense and enjoyable as some of Vidal's other works, like "Lincoln" or "Creation" or Burr, but still one is able to learn about the period, society, people, etc featured in the story.

As part of the trilogy "Burr", "1876", "Washington D.C.", a necessary read for Vidal fans.

Grade 8.6/10