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Burr
The Man Who Shot Hamilton
Series: Narratives of empire
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Check link for latest rating. ( 10,737 ratings, 907 reviews)
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Summary
The novel delves into early American history, questioning loyalty, power, and what truly belongs to a nation, its Constitution, and its people.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers who enjoy historical fiction with rich political intrigue and nuanced character studies of American history's key figures.
In 1804, Colonel Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Three years later, on the order of President Thomas Jefferson, he was tried for treason: for plotting to dismember the United States.
The first novel in the chronology of Vidal's epic NARRATIVES OF EMPIRE, embodying the passage of American history.
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Description
Gore Vidal's classic novel of Aaron Burr - the man who shot Alexander Hamilton.
In 1804, Colonel Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Three years later, on the order of President Thomas Jefferson, he was tried for treason: for plotting to dismember the United States.
Gore Vidal, romping iconoclastically through American history, debunks, in this historical novel of Burr's life, the common and casually held notion of the man as a scoundrel and an adventurer. Instead, he appears as one of the 'host of choice spirits' forced to live among coarse, materialistic, hypocritical people, among them Jefferson and Hamilton. Here, the latter appears as a power-hungry 'parvenu' from the West Indies and the former as a semi-literate slave-owning tyrant. American politics, suggests Vidal, had a penchant for the vulgar. Even then.
Veering backwards to the revolution and the early days of the republic, stopping at dinner-parties on the way, and reaching forward to the future, Burr is a novel about treason, both the particular and in general. For what, asks Vidal, really belongs to whom? What properly belongs to the Constitution, to the nation, to the family even, intriguingly, to novelists and historians?
Series: Narratives of empire
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Burr
Gore Vidal's classic novel of Aaron Burr - the man who shot Alexander Hamilton. In 1804, Colonel Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Three years later, on the order of President Thomas Jefferson, he was tried for treason: for plotting to dismember the United States. Gore Vidal, romping iconoclastically through American...PaperbackSold Out
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Burr has been praised as 'fascinating reading' by the Daily Telegraph, noted for its many-sided storytelling. The Observer calls it 'intensely readable, artfully constructed, and often touching,' lauding Vidal's skill, wit, and elegance. Gabriel Garcia Marquez described the novel as 'magnificent.'
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349105314
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 April 1994
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Abacus
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 34.0mm
Width: 124.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 340g
Pages: 512
About the Author
Gore Vidal has been at the centre of literary and intellectual life for half a century. He lives in Italy.
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