Improbable Patriot: The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French Playwright Who Saved the American Revolution
Brandeis University Press, 2026
Paper: 978-1-68458-316-4 | eISBN: 978-1-68458-315-7
See other books on: French Playwright Who Saved American Revolution | Improbable Patriot | Monsieur de Beaumarchais | Secret History | Unger, Harlow Giles
See other titles from Brandeis University Press
Paper: 978-1-68458-316-4 | eISBN: 978-1-68458-315-7
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
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.
See other books on: French Playwright Who Saved American Revolution | Improbable Patriot | Monsieur de Beaumarchais | Secret History | Unger, Harlow Giles
See other titles from Brandeis University Press
