Description
Henry Adams’ Democracy is a great novel that discusses the conflict between political and personal interest. Though written in the 1880’s and first published in 1918, the novel is as relevant today is it was a hundred years ago and a very deep and thought-provoking narrative, indeed.The protagonist of the story is Madeleine Lee, a 30-year-old widow from New York who becomes bored with her social life and decides to go to Washington with her sister to become involved in politics. She opens a salon in the capital and soon her guests include the most influential people in the city. She is soon courted by not one, but two men: Silas Ratcliffe, a politician who wants to marry Madeleine in order to promote his political career and John Carrington, who truly loves Madeleine. Ratcliffe uses his influence to eliminate his competitor by offering him a remote, but well-paying job, thus trying to get closer to Madeleine.Before setting off, however, Carrington leaves behind a letter in which he accuses his rival of corruption, but he has no evidence to back up his allegations, making it easier for Ratcliffe to deny them. Disgusted by the accusations and disappointed with the entire political scene, Madeleine declines the politician’s marriage proposal and decides to leave Washington for Egypt, but that does not mean the end of the love line – Madeleine’s sister informs Carrington about the events and advises him to find Madeleine in Egypt and to propose to her again.Besides the major topic – that of the conflict between private life and politics – the novel features other important themes as well, such universal suffrage, greed and ambition as opposed to responsibility, Darwinism and the divine nature of the human being, making the story even more complex, exciting and pertinent in our own times as well.
Product ID: 9781776662746
Sku: T5-A1C3-51JE
