Impressive work of fiction that clearly belongs on a shelf with the author's best earlier efforts. Hayes and Samuel Tilden in ''1876,'' this is a wonderfully literate and consistently Is quite so riveting as the various deathbed scenes in ''Lincoln'' or the incredible election involving Rutherford B. Takes place soon after the conclusion of ''Empire'' and precedes ''Washington, D.C.'' (1967), which documents both the New Deal and the McCarthy era. (1976) and, finally, ''Empire'' (1987), a portrait of the Gilded Age that features the pre- Hollywood Caroline as she battles her half brother for a share of their father's immense estate. Subtitled ''A Novel of America in the 1920s,'' the new work comes chronologically after ''Burr'' (1973), ''Lincoln'' (1984), ''1876'' This cinematic encounter is just one of many entertaining moments in '' Hollywood,'' the latest installment in Gore Vidal's documentation (and revision) of our country's fables and foibles from its The book chat will be heard by none of the throngs of viewers who will be inspired by ''Huns From Hell'' to new heights of patriotic fervor and who will make Emma Traxler, whose real name is Caroline Sanford, an Their improvised dialogue is edifying, to be sure, but since the film is silent The actors, too, are pleased, though Emma's makeup is burning her eyes and unlucky Pierre is rubbing his head. It's a perfect take, and the director is ecstatic. Madonna, tells him, and suggests that he read ''The Education.'' Then as he tears at her dress, she picks up a crucifix and breaks it across his head. ''Who is Henry Adams?'' he asks, gutturally. Standing in front of an altar, his monocle glittering in the klieg lights, a tiny Prussian officer is about to assault the mother of an American soldier. Section 7, Column 1 Book Review Deskīy JOEL CONNARROE Joel Connarroe, a former chariman of the fiction jury for the National Book Awards, is president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. January 21, 1990, Sunday, Late Edition - Final

Gore vidal 1876 review