Pulitzer Prize Fiction Winner

Advise and Consent

by Allen Drury

Summary

The novel turns on the Senate's bruising confirmation fight over a controversial nominee for Secretary of State, tracking senators, staffers, and journalists as private vulnerabilities collide with Cold War stakes. Drury, a longtime Washington reporter, builds the plot from procedural detail, committee hearings, cloakroom bargains, leaked dossiers, rather than melodrama. The book set the template for the modern Washington political novel and inspired a long line of imitators.

Historical Context & Significance

The book stayed on the bestseller list for 102 weeks and is credited with creating the Washington political procedural genre.