Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a 'gentleman bitch' and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller.

His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.Īt the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D.

Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.Įssays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy. They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway. Works of American writer Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, noted for his cynical humor and his numerous accounts of society in decline, include the play The Best Man (1960) and the novel Myra Breckinridge (1968).

Washington, D.C. by Gore Vidal