Empire

At the turn of the twentieth century, Caroline Sanford and her half-brother Blaise inherit competing interests in a newspaper dynasty and discover that control of information can be converted into political power. Their rivalry unfolds against the aftermath of the Spanish–American War, the expansion of United States influence in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the increasingly close relationship between publishers, financiers and government. William Randolph Hearst, John Hay, Henry Adams and Henry James move through the same world of publicity and private calculation.

The political story centres on William McKinley’s presidency, his assassination and Theodore Roosevelt’s energetic rise to national dominance. As Caroline and Blaise compete for ownership, access and social position, Vidal examines how newspapers manufacture reputations, promote intervention and turn public events into profitable spectacle. The novel covers the years 1898 to 1907, portraying the emergence of an American empire through the linked ambitions of political leaders and media proprietors.