The ''Narratives of Empire'' series is a
heptalogy
A heptalogy (; from Greek ἑπτα- ''hepta-'', "seven" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse"), also known as a septology, is a compound literary or narrative work that is made up of seven distinct works. While not in wide usage, it has been u ...
of
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
s by
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
, published between 1967 and 2000, which chronicle the dawn-to-decadence history of the "
American Empire
American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conquest ...
"; the narratives interweave the personal stories of two families with the personages and events of U.S. history. Despite the publisher's preference for the politically neutral series-title "American Chronicles", Vidal preferred the series title "Narratives of Empire". The seven novels can be read in either historical or publication order without losing narrative intelligibility.
[Vidal, Gore. (2006) ''Point to Point Navigation: a memoir, 1964 to 2000'', p. 123.]
References
{{American-chronicle
American historical novels
Heptalogies
Novel series
Novels by Gore Vidal