[mojito]

Entertaining essay by Hitch.

[x]

London and Paris novelists didn't usually write much about politicians and their doings, which is what the "Washington novel" is all about.

The American counterparts of novelists like Dickens and Balzac wrote about New York (or possibly Chicago or Los Angeles), not Washington.

[GeronL]

That Civil War fiction novel by William Safire was a pretty good “Washington novel”

[Timocrat]

Entertaining essay by Hitch.

He's a very droll writer, viz:

One of his short stories—“The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert”—is my selection for the most improbable title ever evolved on the banks of the Potomac.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

"We still await the novelist who can address the matter of the last, best hope of earth and treat it without frivolity, without cynicism, and without embarrassment."

Whatever other opinions he has, Hitch understands at least one thing very well.

[Jack Deth]

Most any novel written by the late, great Ross Thomas. Especially If You Can't Be Good, The Money Harvest, Yellow Dog Contract and Twilight At Mac's Place give a splendid view of how Corporate and Political Wheeler Dealers operate in DC.

If you enjoy descriptive travelogue and the glimpses of the Capital's recent, early 60s history; try Cast A Yellow Shadow.

Ross Thomas was to DC what Hammett was to San Fransisco and Ross MacDonald was to Southern Florida.

[Pelham]

‘Advise and Consent’ by Allen Drury, portraying the Washington DC of my youth. And Drury was one of the rare politically conservative authors.