Improbable Patriot
The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French Playwright Who Saved the American Revolution
9781684583164
Distributed for Brandeis University Press
Improbable Patriot
The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French Playwright Who Saved the American Revolution
The compelling story of a little-known figure in the American Revolution, now available in paperback for the first time, with a new foreword by Iris de Rode.
In 1776, the playwright and inventor Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–99) conceived an audacious plan to send aid to the American rebels. What’s more, he convinced King Louis XVI to bankroll the project and single-handedly carried it out. By war’s end, he had supplied Washington’s army with most of its weapons and powder, though he was never paid or acknowledged by the United States. To some, he was a dashing hero, a towering intellect who saved the American Revolution. To others, he was a pure rogue, a double-dealing adventurer who stopped at nothing to advance his fame and fortune. In fact, he was both, and more: an advisor to kings, an arms dealer, and an author of some of the most enduring works of the stage, including The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville. Now in paperback, Improbable Patriot introduces readers to an unrecognized power player in the Revolutionary War.
In 1776, the playwright and inventor Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–99) conceived an audacious plan to send aid to the American rebels. What’s more, he convinced King Louis XVI to bankroll the project and single-handedly carried it out. By war’s end, he had supplied Washington’s army with most of its weapons and powder, though he was never paid or acknowledged by the United States. To some, he was a dashing hero, a towering intellect who saved the American Revolution. To others, he was a pure rogue, a double-dealing adventurer who stopped at nothing to advance his fame and fortune. In fact, he was both, and more: an advisor to kings, an arms dealer, and an author of some of the most enduring works of the stage, including The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville. Now in paperback, Improbable Patriot introduces readers to an unrecognized power player in the Revolutionary War.
Reviews
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
1. We Must Help the Americans 1
2. Gold by God! The Fuel of Life! 19
3. Last Night Poor, Wealthy Today! 36
4. So You Mistreat Some Poor Devil . . .Till He Trembles in Disgrace! 57
5. I’m the Busiest, Cleverest Fellow I Know 74
6. Plotting and Pocketing 95
7. I Wish to Serve Your Country as if It Were My Own 111
8. Figaro Here, Figaro There . . . 131
9. Bright People Are So Stupid 156
10. What Did You Do to Earn So Many Rewards? 182
11. Tout finit par des chansons / Everything Ends in Song 201
12. All of Which Proves That a Son of a Clod Can Be Worth His Weight in Gold 206
Appendix
Works by Beaumarchais 213
Notes 215
Bibliography 225
Index 229
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
1. We Must Help the Americans 1
2. Gold by God! The Fuel of Life! 19
3. Last Night Poor, Wealthy Today! 36
4. So You Mistreat Some Poor Devil . . .Till He Trembles in Disgrace! 57
5. I’m the Busiest, Cleverest Fellow I Know 74
6. Plotting and Pocketing 95
7. I Wish to Serve Your Country as if It Were My Own 111
8. Figaro Here, Figaro There . . . 131
9. Bright People Are So Stupid 156
10. What Did You Do to Earn So Many Rewards? 182
11. Tout finit par des chansons / Everything Ends in Song 201
12. All of Which Proves That a Son of a Clod Can Be Worth His Weight in Gold 206
Appendix
Works by Beaumarchais 213
Notes 215
Bibliography 225
Index 229