Narratives of Empire Books in Order

Senator James Burden Day, ambitious aide Clay Overbury, and media magnate Blaise Sanford navigate Washington from the New Deal through the McCarthy era. Their competing ambitions reveal the relationships between political advancement, wealth, publicity, and personal compromise.

An elderly Aaron Burr tells his story to a young journalist, offering an alternative view of America's founding figures. His recollections challenge established reputations while revisiting the ambitions, rivalries, and accusations that shaped his own controversial career.

Charles Schuyler returns to America after decades in Europe, bringing his widowed daughter Emma and hopes of restoring their fortunes. His journal records Washington society and political maneuvering during the contested presidential election of the nation's centennial year.

Lincoln arrives in Washington under threat of assassination and takes office as the nation moves toward civil war. Vidal follows the next four years through political conflict, wartime decisions, and the effort to preserve the Union.

As the United States emerges as a world power at the turn of the twentieth century, Caroline Sanford struggles to direct her own future. Her ambitions unfold within a newspaper dynasty and an expanding culture of political influence.

Beginning as America enters the First World War, Vidal connects Washington politics with the growing influence of Hollywood. Politicians, performers, and media figures inhabit a society increasingly shaped by moving pictures and the public images they create.

Newspaper publisher Caroline Sanford and her nephew Peter observe American power from 1939 to 1954. Their lives intersect with Roosevelt, Truman, Hollywood, and intellectual circles as World War II and the Cold War transform the nation.