''Captains and the Kings'' is a 1972 historical novel by Taylor Caldwell chronicling the rise to wealth and power of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, who emigrates as a penniless teenager to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, along with his younger brother and baby sister, only for their parents to die shortly afterwards. Joseph Armagh befriends a Lebanese immigrant, and both are taken under the tutelage of an American plutocrat. The novel is an inter-generational saga that focuses on the themes of the American dream, discrimination, bigotry, and history that is being made by a cabal of the rich and powerful. The saga nears its end when Armagh succeeds in making his eldest son, Rory (modeled after John Fitzgerald Kennedy), a senator. When Rory is going to become the first Catholic President of the United States, he is assassinated by the cabal of the rich and powerful. The novel was adapted as a 1976 television miniseries of the same name, starring

Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993) was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films include '' Logan's Run'', ''Les Misér ...

as Joseph Armagh.

Plot

Young Joseph Armagh, whose parents recently died after giving birth to his sister, is left to venture towards

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

with his younger brother and the baby. He made a promise to his dying mother that he will always care for his siblings. His determination carries him through years of shady-deal making and his gradual accumulation of wealth and power. As his siblings mature into adulthood, they choose different paths in life, with his brother becoming an Irish singer and his sister taking monastic vows. Joseph's personal life also suffers with his focus to take on the global power brokers, with his younger son having been accidentally killed while working as a war correspondent during the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

and his daughter suffering a riding accident that rendered her into an infantile state. Much of Joseph's focus is on forcing his eldest son Rory to climb the political ladder in order to become the first Catholic President of the United States, at the expense of Rory's personal life, to include dissolving a marriage that Joseph believed would have been a political liability for Rory.

Release

It was one of the top 10 best-sellers of 1972, as ranked by ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Caldwell drew heavily on aspects of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

, John D. Rockefeller and

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...

. However, Caldwell also states in the book's prologue that the Armagh family was entirely fictional and was not intended to lampoon or criticize any known figures.

Adaptation

The book was adapted into an eight-part television miniseries, also called ''

Captains and the Kings ''Captains and the Kings'' is a 1972 historical novel by Taylor Caldwell chronicling the rise to wealth and power of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, who emigrates as a penniless teenager to the United States, along with his you ...

'', by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in the 1976 broadcast season as part of its '' Best Sellers'' series.

References

External links

Enotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captains And The Kings 1972 American novels American historical novels Novels by Taylor Caldwell Novels set in the 19th century Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Cultural depictions of William McKinley Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt