Comments   Summary

Summary: Set in Texas,The Gay Placeconsists of three interlocking novels, each with a different protagonist-a member of the state legislature, the state's junior senator, and the governor's press secretary. The governor himself, Arthur Fenstemaker, a master politician, infinitely canny and seductive, remains the dominant figure throughout. Billy Lee Brammer-who served on Lyndon Johnson's staff-gives us here "the excitement of a political carnival: the sideshows, the freaks, and the ghoulish comedy atmosphere"(Saturday Review). Originally published in 1961,The Gay Placeis at once a cult classic and a major American novel.