Messiah (Vidal novel)

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Messiah (Vidal novel) - Wikipedia

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Messiah (1954 novel)
Cover of the first edition
Author	Gore Vidal
Language	English
Publisher	E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York City
Publication date	April 26, 1954^[1]
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	222
ISBN	9780141180397
Preceded by	The Judgement of Paris
Followed by	A Thirsty Evil
Text	Messiah (1954 novel) online

Messiah is a satirical novel by Gore Vidal, first published in 1954 in the United States by E.P. Dutton.^[2] It is the story of the creation of a new religion, Cavism, which quickly comes to replace the established but failing Christian religion.

Plot summary

The novel is written as the memoir of Eugene Luther (Vidal's birth name), one of the first followers of Cavism, founded by John Cave, an American undertaker. Cave teaches, among other things, not to fear death and to actually desire it under certain circumstances. Later followers come to glorify death, and even enforce it on other members. The founder John Cave is himself killed by his followers when he proves inconvenient for the new religion's development.

Eventually, Cavism is successful in completely displacing and exterminating Christianity, even to the extent of all Gothic Cathedrals being systematically blown up and destroyed in order to erase any memory of the tradition. The narrator, having quarrelled with the other religious leaders, finds refuge in Egypt – Islamic countries having forbidden Cavism any access to their territory. He eventually discovers that his name was removed from the Cavist Scriptures which he had himself composed. Also, a woman Cavist leader named Iris, whom he had known, becomes a new manifestation of the ancient Mother Goddess – which had earlier been manifested in The Virgin Mary and before that in Isis and others. This "Irisian" element becomes grafted on to Cavism, as it was earlier grafted on Christianity.

References

^ "Books Published Today". The New York Times: 23. April 26, 1954.
^ Guide to First Edition Prices 2004/5, Tartarus Press

External links

Full text of Messiah at Project Gutenberg

v t e Gore Vidal
Plays	Visit to a Small Planet (1957) The Best Man (1960) Romulus On the March to the Sea Weekend (1968) An Evening with Richard Nixon (1972)
Novels	Williwaw (1946) In a Yellow Wood The City and the Pillar (1948) The Season of Comfort A Search for the King Dark Green, Bright Red (1950) The Judgment of Paris Messiah (1954) Julian (1964) Washington, D.C. (1967) Myra Breckinridge (1968) Two Sisters (1970) Burr (1973) Myron (1974) 1876 (1976) Kalki (1978) Creation (1981) Duluth (1983) Lincoln (1984) Empire (1987) Hollywood (1990) Live from Golgotha: The Gospel According to Gore Vidal (1992) The Smithsonian Institution (1998) The Golden Age (2000)
Screenplays	The Catered Affair (1956) I Accuse! (1958) The Left Handed Gun (1958) The Scapegoat (1959) Ben Hur (1959) (uncredited) Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) The Best Man (1964) Is Paris Burning? (1966) Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970) Caligula (1979) Dress Gray (1986) The Sicilian (1987) (uncredited) Billy the Kid (1989) The Palermo Connection (1989)
Teleplays	The Telltale Clue Danger Climax! Suspense The Best of Broadway Goodyear Television Playhouse Studio One NBC Matinee Theater General Electric Theater NBC Sunday Showcase Ford Startime
People	Eugene Luther Vidal (father) Nina Auchincloss Straight (half-sister) Burr Steers (nephew) Hugh Auchincloss Steers (nephew)

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External links