Political Animal

(Paperback)

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The late Gore Vidal occupied a unique position within American letters. Born into a political family, he ran for office several times, but was consistently critical of his nations political system and its leaders. A prolific writer in several genres, he was also widely known -- particularly in the United States -- on the basis of his frequent appearances in the various electronic media. In this ground-breaking work, Heather Neilson examines the centrality of the theme of power throughout his writings. Political Animal: Gore Vidal on Power focuses primarily, although not exclusively, on Vidal's historical fiction. In his novels depicting American history and those set in the ancient world, Vidal evokes a world in which deliberately propagated falsehood disinformation can become established as truth. Neilson engages with Vidal's representations of political and religious leaders, and with his deeply ambivalent fascination with the increasingly inescapable influence of the media. She asserts that Vidal's oeuvre has a Shakespearean resonance in its persistent obsession with the question of what constitutes legitimate power and authority.

Reviews

Heather Neilson is one of the most gifted, cleareyed readers of Gore Vidal that we have. She reads not only the sentences but sees through them, ushering us gently toward a fresh understanding of this controversial, often misunderstood writer.

The most significant monograph on Vidals archive of political and historical writing.

Author Bio

Heather Neilson holds a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Oxford for a dissertation on the subject of the uses of history in Gore Vidals fiction. She has been a co-editor of the Australasian Journal of American Studies, and president of the Australian and New Zealand American Studies Association. She has previously taught at the Universities of Melbourne, Sydney and Western Australia. Dr Neilson is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of New South Wales, Canberra campus.