Warren (1905–1989) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 with this novel, inspired by the real-life story of Senator Huey P. Long, who was assassinated in 1935. It tells the story of the populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Deep South during the Great Depression. Coming from a humble background, a mass leader and a man without scruples, Stark rises to the very top only to collapse suddenly at the height of his career.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its narrator, Jack Burden, one of Stark’s advisers and an archetype of the fascination (mixed with guilt and a certain degree of repulsion) that a populist, yet seemingly effective, politician can inspire among traditional elites.
For some historians (such as Montero Jiménez), this novel still helps us understand how the Trump phenomenon could become a reality.