The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered
Laura Auricchio
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Winner of the 2015 American Library in Paris Book Award
The Marquis de Lafayette at age nineteen volunteered to fight under George Washington and became the French hero of the American Revolution. In this major biography Laura Auricchio looks past the storybook hero and selfless champion of righteous causes who cast aside family and fortune to advance the transcendent aims of liberty and fully reveals a man driven by dreams of glory only to be felled by tragic, human weaknesses. Drawing on substantial new research conducted in libraries, archives, museums, and private homes in France and the United States, Auricchio, gives us history on a grand scale revealing the man and his complex life, while challenging and exploring the complicated myths that have surrounded his name for more than two centuriesProduct Details
Price
$19.00
$17.67
Publisher
Vintage
Publish Date
August 18, 2015
Pages
448
Dimensions
5.1 X 8.0 X 0.9 inches | 0.9 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780307387455
BISAC Categories:
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Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Laura Auricchio is a specialist in eighteenth-century French history and art who received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her PhD from Columbia University. Auricchio has been the recipient of major fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and Columbia University. She is currently the Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at The New School. She lives in New York with her husband.
Reviews
"Excellent . . . abundantly detailed." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
"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