Lyndon is a short story written by David Foster Wallace. Released in 1987, it is the fourth short story in Wallace's collection Girl with Curious Hair and tells of the life of the titular president as viewed by one of his underlings.
Characters[]
- David Boyd - the narrator of the short story, a homosexual man who works under LBJ
- Lyndon Baines Johnson
- Margaret Childs Boyd - a woman with whom David is in a lavender marriage
- René Duverger - a black man who David marries
- Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson
- Dora Teane - LBJ's personal secretary
- Piesker - one of LBJ's aides
Plot[]
One day, during the Senatorial career of Lyndon Baines Johnson, Johnson walked into the office of a Connecticuter named David Boyd and, in a characteristically aggressive (though not hostile) manner stated that he was hiring David to become his mail carrier. Though somewhat surprised by this, David was soon hired to become Senator Johnson's mail carrier. At the time, David was married to a woman named Margaret Childs (though this marriage was most likely a lavender marriage and came on the heels of David's expulsion from Yale due to an affair with another male student). For several years, their marriage was somewhat stable but soon deteriorated due to Margaret's alchoholism.
While Margaret was in rehab for her alcoholism, Senator Johnson became Vice President of the United States of America under President John F. Kennedy. Along with this, David started a relationship with a black man named René Duverger. While serving as Vice President, LBJ suffered a heart attack and was rushed to Parkland Hospital in secret. Around the same time, Margaret left rehab without telling David and Duverger began to suffer from the effects of bronchitis and his health began to decline. Despite this, David married Duverger once LBJ left the hospital.
Some time after this, Vice President Johnson ascended to the Presidency, with David staying at his side behind this. Somewhat late into this Presidency, President Johnson barricaded himself into his office and refused to leave - even relieving himself into a bucket to keep himself from leaving. While doing this, Johnson allowed David to enter into his room and, while the two watched over Vietnam War protestors, talked about the struggles he experienced that he believed the protestors did not and the meaning of responsibility.
Shortly after this, Duverger (whose health had been on the decline) disappeared with several notebooks of correspondence on LBJ that he had written. David initially feared that he had been kidnapped by allies of LBJ's rival Richard Nixon until he received a note from Lyndon's wife talking about "his and her husbands". David assumed that this was a thinly-veiled accusation that he was sleeping with Lyndon - who, already ill throughout his Vice Presidency and Presidency, was on his deathbed at his estate. As such, David drove to Lyndon's estate and, while speaking with Lady Bird Johnson, learned that Duverger was staying with Lyndon. David then visited Lyndon and found that the two were in the same bed.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libra | Don DeLillo | 1988 | A novel with similar themes by one of Wallace's inspirations |
| Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream | Doris Kearns Goodwin | 1976 | A nonfiction book on Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Works of David Foster Wallace | ||
|
Novels | ||