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All the King's Men
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All the King's Men (1946) (edit title/settings)

by Robert Penn Warren (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

This landmark book is a loosely fictionalized account of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana, one of the nation's most astounding politicians. All the King's Men tells the story of Williefried politician who builds support by appealing to the common man and playing dirty politics with the best of... read more

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Summary edit see section history

All the King's Men is the story of the rise and fall of a political titan in the Deep South during the 1930s. Willie Stark rises from hardscrabble poverty to become governor of his state and its most powerful political figure; he blackmails and bullies his enemies into submission, and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

All the King's Men is the story of the rise and fall of a political titan in the Deep South during the 1930s. Willie Stark rises from hardscrabble poverty to become governor of his state and its most powerful political figure; he blackmails and bullies his enemies into submission, and institutes a radical series of liberal reforms designed to tax the rich and ease the burden of the state's poor farmers. He is beset with enemies--most notably Sam MacMurfee, a defeated former governor who constantly searches for ways to undermine Willie's power--and surrounded by a rough mix of political allies and hired thugs, from the bodyguard Sugar-Boy O'Sheean to the fat, obsequious Tiny Duffy.

All the King's Men is also the story of Jack Burden, the scion of one of the state's aristocratic dynasties, who turns his back on his genteel upbringing and becomes Willie Stark's right-hand man. Jack uses his considerable talents as a historical researcher to dig up the unpleasant secrets of Willie's enemies, which are then used for purposes of blackmail. Cynical and lacking in ambition, Jack has walked away from many of his past interests--he left his dissertation in American History unfinished, and never managed to marry his first love, Anne Stanton, the daughter of a former governor of the state.

When Willie asks Jack to look for skeletons in the closet of Judge Irwin, a father figure from Jack's childhood, Jack is forced to confront his ideas concerning consequence, responsibility, and motivation. He discovers that Judge Irwin accepted a bribe, and that Governor Stanton covered it up; the resulting blackmail attempt leads to Judge Irwin's suicide. It also leads to Adam Stanton's decision to accept the position of director of the new hospital Willie is building, and leads Anne to begin an affair with Willie. When Adam learns of the affair, he murders Willie in a rage, and Jack leaves politics forever.

Willie's death and the circumstances in which it occurs force Jack to rethink his desperate belief that no individual can ever be responsible for the consequences of any action within the chaos and tumult of history and time. Jack marries Anne Stanton and begins working on a book about Cass Mastern, the man whose papers he had once tried to use as the source for his failed dissertation in American History.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Willie Stark: Jack Burden's boss, who rises from poverty to become the governor of his state and its most powerful political figure. Willie takes control of the state through a combination of political reform (he institutes sweeping liberal measures designed to tax the rich and ease the burden on the state's many poor farmers) and underhanded guile (he blackmails and bullies his enemies into submission). While Jack is intelligent and inactive, Willie is essentially all motive power and direction. The extent of his moral philosophy is his belief that everyone and everything is bad, and that moral action involves making goodness out of the badness. Willie is married to Lucy Stark, with whom he has a son, Tom. But his voracious sexual appetite leads him into a number of affairs, including one with Sadie Burke and one with Anne Stanton. Willie is murdered by Adam Stanton toward the end of the novel.
  • Jack Burden: Willie Stark's political right-hand man, the narrator of the novel and in many ways its protagonist. Jack comes from a prominent family (the town he grew up in, Burden's Landing, was named for his ancestors), and knows many of the most important people in the state. Despite his aristocratic background, Jack allies himself with the liberal, amoral Governor Stark, to the displeasure of his family and friends. He uses his considerable skills as a researcher to uncover the secrets of Willie's political enemies. Jack was once married to Lois Seager, but has left her by the time of the novel. Jack's main characteristics are his intelligence and his curious lack of ambition; he seems to have no agency of his own, and for the most part he is content to take his direction from Willie. Jack is also continually troubled by the question of motive and responsibility in history: he quit working on his PhD thesis in history when he decided he could not comprehend Cass Mastern's motives. He develops the Great Twitch theory to convince himself that no one can be held responsible for anything that happens. During the course of the novel, however, Jack rejects the Great Twitch theory and accepts the idea of responsibility.
  • Anne Stanton: ack Burden's first love, Adam Stanton's sister, and, for a time, Willie Stark's mistress. The daughter of Governor Stanton, Anne is raised to believe in a strict moral code, a belief which is threatened and nearly shattered when Jack shows her proof of her father's wrongdoing.
  • Adam Stanton: Anne's brother. A surgeon who was best friends with Jack Burden when they were children.
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First Sentence edit see section history

You follow Highway 58, going north-east out of the city, and it is a good highway and new.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Best Books of All Time. (community list)
This is book 32 of 37 in First Edition Library. (publisher edition list)
This is book 46 of 213 in Best English-Language Fiction of the 20th Century. (authoritative list)
This is book 1947 of 85 in Pulitzer Prize Winners - Fiction. (authoritative list)
This book is in TIME Magazine Top 100 English-Language Novels. (community list)
This is book 119 of 113 in Book Smart Reading List. (community list)
This is book 72 of 93 in Newsweek's Top 100 Books: The Meta-List. (authoritative list)
This is book 36 of 93 in Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Board's List. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Robert Penn Warren (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1946
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 464

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3545.A748 A7 1946
  • Dewey: 813.52

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Heart of Darkness / The Secret Sharer
  • An American Tragedy
  • The Innocents Abroad
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • As I Lay Dying

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown

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