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"Lincoln, Lincoln, and the Priests of Academe" (1988-91) Summary and Analysis
A compilation of three separate articles written by Vidal over a three-year period for different publications, this essay is ostensibly about Abraham Lincoln but actually more about Vidal quibbling with critics of his historical novel, Lincoln. The reader may find the essay at times tedious, tortured and petty, but Vidal's elegant prose barely manages to make what amounts to an apologia pro sua vita interesting.
The first article, reprinted from The New York Review of Books in 1988, answers critics of his novel, primarily Richard N. Current, Yale history professor and "a leading Lincoln biographer," who wrote that "Vidal is wrong on big as well as little matters. He grossly distorts Lincoln's character and role in history." Vidal notes that his book is historical...
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This section contains 449 words (approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page) |
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