Dolley | Literary Precedents

Dolley Literary Precedents

In some ways, every work on American history and the nature of the presidency could function as a literary precedent for this text, but the cast that Brown puts on the tale, through looking at the woman behind the male political figure, is a less common one, and brings to mind texts such as Mark and Livy, (1992) Resa Willis's important biography of Olivia Langdon Clemens, the woman behind America's best-known author, Mark Twain. Willis's work forges another link with Brown's text, as Twain's influence on this work is again very strong, inspiring Brown to employ biting social satire to criticize the power-hungry politicians, especially those in a feedingfrenzy at the prospect of Madison's losing the war. Nor are the women spared criticism as they twitter about who is the best-dressed at Washington's social gatherings, and cultivate their spite along party lines, hoping thus ruthlessly to further their husbands' political...
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