''Empire'' is the fourth
historical novel in the ''
Narratives of Empire'' series by
Gore Vidal, published in 1987.
The novel concerns the
fictional newspaper dynasty of
half-sibling characters Caroline and Blaise Sanford. Playing these characters against
real-life
Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...
figures of the years 1898 to 1907, the novel portrays the conjunction of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
and
mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit informati ...
in the creation of
modern-day America. As with Vidal's other books in his ''Narratives of Empire'' series, this novel offers an insight into the
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...
of the time, following the exploits of
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
in his efforts to displace
Theodore Roosevelt as
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in
1904. Following the events leading up to and following the ascension of Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency following
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
's
assassination, it includes
pithy portraits of such leading
public figure
A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own,
In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...
s of the day as Roosevelt, Hearst,
Henry Brooks Adams,
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
,
Secretary of State John Hay and President William McKinley. In this tome, the descendants of Charles Schuyler, the fictitious main character of ''
Burr'' and ''
1876'', continue the American saga of empire building. Nevertheless, most of the characters in this novel are nonfiction and historic.
1987 American novels
Novels by Gore Vidal
Novels about mass media owners
Works about William Randolph Hearst
Novels set in the 1890s
Novels set in the 1900s
Random House books
Cultural depictions of William McKinley
Cultural depictions of William Randolph Hearst
Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt
Cultural depictions of Henry James
American historical novels
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