num_pages: 432
description: Washington, D.C., is the final installment in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire, his acclaimed six-volume series of historical novels about the American past. It offers an illuminating portrait of our republic from the time of the New Deal to the McCarthy era.Widely regarded as Vidal's ultimate comment on how the American political system degrades those who participate in it, Washington, D.C. is a stunning tale of corruption and diseased ambitions. It traces the fortunes of James Burden Day, a powerful conservative senator who is eyeing the presidency; Clay Overbury, a pragmatic young congressional aide with political aspirations of his own; and Blaise Sanford, a ruthless newspaper tycoon who understands the importance of money and image in modern politics. With characteristic wit and insight, Vidal chronicles life in the nation's capital at a time when these men and others transformed America into "possibly the last empire on earth."
language: English
title: Washington, D.C.
titlecomplete: Washington, D.C.
characters: Burden Day, Enid Sanford, Blaise Sanford, Clay Overbury
genres: 20th Century, American, Politics, Historical Fiction, Historical, Novels, Literature, American History, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 1802
places: The United States of America
series: Narratives of Empire
publisher: Vintage