Democracy: An American Novel

Henry Adams

Cosimo, Inc., Jan 1, 2008 - Fiction - 188 pages

The authorship of DEMOCRACY: AN AMERICAN NOVEL, published anonymously in 1880, was not made public until after the death of American historian HENRY BROOKS ADAMS (1838-1918), a member of the Adams political family and a journalist dedicated to exposing corruption. In this fictional tale with real-life relevance to late 19th-century politics, an election sometime in the 1870s has given rise to a new president by the name of Jacob. Against this backdrop, readers find New Yorker Madeleine Lee moving to Washington to revive her social life. She quickly starts playing hostess to a number of important politicians, including John Carrington and Silas Ratcliffe, men of opposite demeanors, both of whom are looking for a wife. Entwined with this comedy of manners are Adams's own commentary on politics, corruption, and the great political issues of the day, including suffrage and evolution.

Contents

• Section 1: 7
• Section 2: 9
• Section 3: 15
• Section 4: 27
• Section 5: 40
• Section 6: 48
• Section 7: 62
• Section 8: 78
• Section 9: 95
• Section 10: 110
• Section 11: 127
• Section 12: 142
• Section 13: 160
• Section 14: 172
• Section 15: 187

About the author

Henry Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 16, 1838, the son of American diplomat Charles Francis Adams and grandson of President John Quincy Adams. Educated at Harvard University, he worked in Washington, D.C., as his father's secretary before embarking on a career in journalism and later in teaching. A prominent American historian, he wrote several important historical works. His works include The Education of Henry Adams, Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres, Esther: A Novel, and Democracy: An American Novel. He died on March 27, 1918 at the age of 80.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Democracy: An American Novel; Cosimo Classics literature
• Author: Henry Adams
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Cosimo, Inc., 2008
• ISBN: 1605201103, 9781605201108
• Length: 188 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Historical / General