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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 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

  “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  

Author Information

LAURA AURICCHIO is a specialist in eighteenth-century French history and art who received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She received her doctorate with distinction at Columbia in 2000, sponsored by Simon Schama. Auricchio has been the recipient of major fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and Columbia University. She has taught at Princeton University and Connecticut College, and is currently the Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at The New School for Public Engagement.

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