Lincoln: A Novel by Gore Vidal

I had been thinking about this older book this year for two reasons. The year 2015 was an important anniversary, one that was memorialized in Springfield, as the subject of the book was assassinated 150 years ago. A second point of interest was that the author was the subject of a documentary released this year. The documentary is Best of Enemies, and the author in question is Gore Vidal.

To be frank, I was concerned how Gore Vidal would portray Abraham Lincoln. Adding to the concern is the full title of the portrayal, Lincoln: A Novel. It is a fictional account of our sixteenth president. Why read fiction when there are so many acclaimed biographies on this subject? Also, I was well acquainted with Gore Vidal's reputation for being irreverent. Would Lincoln and Vidal be a good fit? Not to worry. The novel offers adroit storytelling and is largely based on fact.  It's drawn from historical accounts: letters, diaries, memoirs, and contemporary newspaper stories. Also, no less a Lincoln scholar than  David Herbert Donald was a consultant. But it's Lincoln. There was criticism along with the acclaim when the novel was published thirty years ago in 1984. 

I enjoyed it immensely. It is skillfully written and, at 657 pages, it's a quick read. Lincoln:  A Novel covers the years of the presidency, 1861-1865. The rich cast of secondary characters (Nicolay and Hay, Seward and Chase, Mrs. Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley) are richly brought to life. Much of the exposition is in the memorable dialogue that drives the story along. But it is Lincoln, as he should be, who leaves the deepest impression. Vidal creates a multi-dimensional man. And, through one of his characters, the author makes a case for the greatest of presidents, one who was handed a civil war and still managed to remake "an entirely new country, and all of it in his own image." At story's end, Lincoln's good and melancholy company, so human, enlightened, humble and playful, is deeply missed.