Authoritarianism and Class in American Political Fiction

This book analyzes what many critics consider to be the three best examples of modern American political fiction-Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, Edwin O'Connor's The Last Hurrah, and Billy Lee Brammer's The Gay Place-to address a specific problem in American governance.

David Smit is Professor Emeritus of English at Kansas State University, where he taught for twenty-nine years and was director of the Expository Writing Program for two five-year terms. His special interests are writing theory, Henry James, modern drama, and post-war American literature and culture, especially the political fiction of the period.

Introduction Chapter 1: Class, Elite Pluralism, and Political Bosses Part I Chapter 2: Robert Penn Warren and Huey Long's Louisiana: 1928-32 Chapter 3: A Class Analysis of All the King's Men Part II Chapter 4: Edwin O'Connor and James Michael Curley's Boston: 1914-50 Chapter 5: A Class Analysis of The Last Hurrah Part III Chapter 6: Billie Lee Brammer and Lyndon Johnson's Texas in the1950s Chapter 7: A Class Analysis of The Gay Place Conclusion