The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered

"Excellent . . . abundantly detailed." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

"Astute and often thrilling." --The New Yorker

"A vivid raconteur and avid researcher, Laura Auricchio tells the story of Lafayette's precocious military feats and political maneuvering on an international stage with passionate interest." --Radcliffe Magazine

"Absorbing . . . well-written, well-furnished. . . . An excellent account." --Frederick Brown, Wall Street Journal

"Describes vividly and critically the roller coaster of Lafayette's successes and failures." --Public Books

"A lively portrait." --Peggy Carlson, The Free Lance-Star

"Admirably well-written, fresh." --Harvard Magazine

"Robust, hugely satisfying . . . spirited and entirely accurate . . . [Laura Auricchio's] book follows Lafayette's life and career with greater sympathy and in greater detail than any previous account in English that I know of, and the infectious zest of her character descriptions is by no means limited to her illustrious hero. . . . [Lafayette has] always been far more deserving of a first-rate popular biography than either the General he worshipped or the Tyrants he opposed, and now at last he's got one." --Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly

"Absorbing." --Henrik Bering, The Weekly Standard

"Superb. . . . Auricchio's portrait of Lafayette will appeal to lovers of biography and history alike. She artfully weaves Lafayette's story into a rich account of the interconnections between 18th-century France and America, recreating in vivid detail the worlds he occupied, from the salons of the Enlightenment to the battlefield and public squares of the New World. This is a book of remarkable historical depth, yet is very accessible to a general reader." --America Magazine

"Engrossing. . . . Laura Auricchio is as adept at recounting the Marquis's first, awkward moments negotiating the subtleties of Versailles as she is bringing to life his seemingly father-son relationship with George Washington. Impeccably researched and compelling." --Andrew Curran, Dean of the Arts and Humanities, Wesleyan University

"In a sharp and moving biography, Auricchio captures the essence of the 'French hero of the American Revolution--the Hero of Two Worlds, the Apostle of Liberty.'" --Kirkus (Starred Review)

"Laura Auricchio has managed to bring the Marquis de Lafayette back to life, replacing the rather wooden figure of legend with the real man, a hero of two great revolutions, the American and the French, and man of great complexity and unfailing courage. An immensely rewarding book." --Michael Korda, author of Clouds of Glory

"[A] fine biography. . . . Lafayette still deserves more attention in France, but he's found just the right American biographer in Auricchio." --Publishers Weekly