| The Golden Age | |
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1st edition |
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| Author(s) | Gore Vidal |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Narratives of Empire |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | September 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 467 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-385-50075-0 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC Number | 44174305 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 21 |
| LC Classification | PS3543.I26 G65 2000 |
| Preceded by | Washington, D.C. |
The Golden Age, a historical novel published in 2000 by Gore Vidal, is the seventh and allegedly final novel in his "Narratives of Empire" series.
Contents |
The story begins in 1939 and features many of the characters and events that Gore Vidal introduced in his earlier novel, Washington, D.C. This includes the families of conservative Democratic Senator James Burden Day, and powerful newspaper publisher Blaise Sanford. The book inserts the character of Caroline Sanford, Blaise's half-sister and publishing partner, who was introduced in the prequels to Washington, D.C. It covers America's entry into World War II and the national politics of that time in some detail, and highlights of the post-war years, and then closes with a year-2000 retrospective.
The title is more ironic than ambivalent, referring principally to hopes expressed by young Americans shortly after winning WWII.
The action centers around President Roosevelt's maneuvers to get the United States into World War II while keeping his 1940 campaign pledge to America voters that "No sons of yours will ever fight in a foreign war, unless attacked." Vidal makes the case that 1) the U.S had backed Japan into a corner with the oil and trade embargo, as well as massive aid to China and unconditional demands Japan could never accept; 2) the U.S. provoked Japan into attacking; and 3) the U.S. had broken Japan's military codes and knew of Japan's pending attack, but intentionally withheld warning Pearl Harbor. This was to arouse the U.S. populace and bring the United States into the war, so the U.S could take its place as the post-war dominant superpower.
The novel also covers some of the American artistic and cultural scene after the war, with attention given to John La Touche, Dawn Powell, Tennessee Williams, and postwar Hollywood.
Historical characters: William Randolph Hearst, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins, Wendell L. Wilkie, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Thomas Pryor Gore, and Gore Vidal himself
Fictional characters: Caroline Sanford, Blaise Sanford, Peter Sanford, James Burden Day, Diana Day, Enid Sanford, Clay Overbury, and Emma Sandford
Charles A. Beard, President Roosevelt and the Coming of War
George Orwell, Animal Farm
Robert B. Stinnett, Day of Deceit
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