Burr: A Novel is a 1973 historical novel by Gore Vidal that challenges the traditional Founding Fathers iconography of United States history, by means of a narrative that includes a fictional memoir by Aaron Burr, in representing the people, politics, and events of the U.S. in the early 19th century. It was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1974.
Cover of the first edition
Aaron Burr, the Third U.S. Vice President, 1801–05 (John Vanderlyn, 1802)
The Burr–Hamilton Duel occurred on July 11, 1804 (J. Mund)
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the social and sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Vidal was heavily involved in politics, and unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives, and later in 1982 to the U.S. Senate.
Vidal c. 1948
Vidal at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, 2008
Vidal's historical novel 1876 (1976)
Vidal (second from right) supporting the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike