Lincoln (novel)

Lincoln

Cover of the first edition
Author	Gore Vidal
Language	English
Series	Narratives of Empire
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	1984
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	672 pp
ISBN	0-375-70876-6
OCLC	43479239
Preceded by	Burr
Followed by	1876

Lincoln: A Novel is a 1984 historical novel, part of the Narratives of Empire series by Gore Vidal. The novel describes the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and extends from the start of the American Civil War until his assassination. Rather than focus on the Civil War itself, the novel is centred on Lincoln's political and personal struggles. Though Lincoln is the focus, the book is never narrated from his point of view (with the exception of several paragraphs describing a dream Lincoln had shortly before his death); Vidal instead writes from the perspective of key historical figures. He draws from contemporary diaries, memoirs, letters, newspaper accounts, the biographical writings of John Hay and John Nicolay (Lincoln's secretaries), and the work of modern historians.