8 h 2 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if getting close to power means doubting everything you hoped to find there?
Madeleine Lee has money, intelligence, and a life in New York that no longer satisfies her. After losing her husband and child, she turns toward Washington with a question: what drives the people who govern? In Henry Adams's Democracy, an American Novel, her search for purpose becomes a close encounter with political ambition.
Silas Ratcliffe, a powerful senator from Illinois, draws Madeleine in with force and charm. But she wants to examine his record, not simply hear his words. Her lively sister, Sybil Ross, watches with good sense, while John Carrington, a Virginia lawyer who admires Madeleine, distrusts Ratcliffe's methods. The stakes are personal: what can Madeleine accept?
What you’ll discover
- A restless, searching heroine Follow Madeleine as she trades familiar comfort for difficult questions about power and belief.
- Charm under close inspection Meet a senator whose skill with people makes his methods harder to ignore.
- Washington behind the manners Enter drawing rooms, dinners, and Senate corridors where ambition moves through polite conversation.
- Comedy with a sharp edge Enjoy Adams's ironic eye for small gestures, social habits, and those left outside the conversation.
- The cost of conviction Consider what democracy demands when public ideals meet private appetites and political bargaining.
Who will love it
For readers who love sharp social comedy, political intrigue and a thoughtful heroine, or who enjoy an early American novel about how government really works.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A widow goes to Washington for answers
- Ratcliffe embodies the power she wants to see
- Friends and family keep asking hard questions
- Madeleine tests the man behind the charm
- The novel asks what democracy really costs
- Wit, manners and a pointed voice carry the book
Who’s who
- Madeleine LeeA rich and thoughtful New York widow who goes to Washington to understand how power works and what it does to people.
- Silas RatcliffeA senator from Illinois, forceful and charming, whose skill with people draws Madeleine toward him.
- Sybil RossMadeleine's younger sister, lively and clear-sighted, who joins her in Washington and watches events with plain good sense.
- John CarringtonA Virginia lawyer who admires Madeleine, knows Washington well and distrusts the senator's methods.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 2 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Demokratie in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Demokratie
by Henry Adams · 1880
Madeleine Lee enters Washington society to discover where power lives and decide what she can accept.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Democracy is a novel of political life in Washington, written by Henry Adams and published without a name on the title page in 1880. Adams was a historian, the grandson and great-grandson of American presidents, and he knew the capital from the inside.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A widow goes to Washington for answers
The story opens with Madeleine Lee, a young widow of means, restless in New York. She has lost her husband and her child, and she has money, time and a mind that wants a task. Charity and society no longer satisfy her. She wants something larger, and she decides she wants to stand close to the center of national power.
So she moves to Washington, bringing her younger sister Sybil along. The reader learns early that Madeleine is not drawn by gossip or social climbing. She is drawn by a question. In a democracy, who really holds the wheel, and what do they do with it? She wants to see the machinery, not just read about it in newspapers.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Demokratie
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Democracy by Henry Adams about?
It follows Madeleine Lee, a wealthy widow who moves to Washington to see how political power works. She befriends a powerful senator and has to decide what she thinks of him and of the system around him.
Who wrote Democracy, an American Novel?
Henry Adams wrote it. It appeared in 1880 without his name on the title page, and readers guessed at the author. Adams was a historian and the descendant of two American presidents.
Who is Silas Ratcliffe in Democracy?
Ratcliffe is a senator from Illinois and the most powerful political figure Madeleine Lee meets. He is capable, confident and charming, and the novel uses him to test her idea of what power looks like.
The author
Henry Adams
1838–1918 · American historian and novelist
Henry Adams (1838–1918) was an American historian, journalist, and novelist born in Boston. He taught history at Harvard University and later lived in Washington, D.C., where he died. He wrote Democracy (1880), Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (1904), and The Education of Henry Adams, privately printed in 1907 and published in 1918.
More by Henry Adams
All 3 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
