Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
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- Create Date：2021-08-23 10:52:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Mike Duncan
- ISBN：154173033X
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Summary
From the bestselling author of The Storm Before the Storm and host of the Revolutions podcast comes the thrilling story of the Marquis de Lafayette’s lifelong quest to defend the principles of liberty and equality
Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette。 Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution， he fought courageously on both sides of the Atlantic。 He was a soldier， statesman， idealist， philanthropist， and abolitionist。
As a teenager， Lafayette ran away from France to join the American Revolution。 Returning home a national hero， he helped launch the French Revolution， eventually spending five years locked in dungeon prisons。 After his release， Lafayette sparred with Napoleon， joined an underground conspiracy to overthrow King Louis XVIII， and became an international symbol of liberty。 Finally， as a revered elder statesman， he was instrumental in the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the Revolution of 1830。
From enthusiastic youth to world-weary old age， from the pinnacle of glory to the depths of despair， Lafayette never stopped fighting for the rights of all mankind。 His remarkable life is the story of where we come from， and an inspiration to defend the ideals he held dear。
Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette。 Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution， he fought courageously on both sides of the Atlantic。 He was a soldier， statesman， idealist， philanthropist， and abolitionist。
As a teenager， Lafayette ran away from France to join the American Revolution。 Returning home a national hero， he helped launch the French Revolution， eventually spending five years locked in dungeon prisons。 After his release， Lafayette sparred with Napoleon， joined an underground conspiracy to overthrow King Louis XVIII， and became an international symbol of liberty。 Finally， as a revered elder statesman， he was instrumental in the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the Revolution of 1830。
From enthusiastic youth to world-weary old age， from the pinnacle of glory to the depths of despair， Lafayette never stopped fighting for the rights of all mankind。 His remarkable life is the story of where we come from， and an inspiration to defend the ideals he held dear。
Reviews
Rachel
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Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan is a great nonfiction/historical biography of the fascinating figure， the Marquis de Lafayette。 I loved this one。I have always been fascinated by Lafayette， heck I have even stumbled upon several societies that revolve around his history and legacy and all of this research has only poured fuel onto that fire。 Obviously， I was super excited to be able to read more about this complicated， intricate， and fascinating larger than life historical figure。 The author cl Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan is a great nonfiction/historical biography of the fascinating figure， the Marquis de Lafayette。 I loved this one。I have always been fascinated by Lafayette， heck I have even stumbled upon several societies that revolve around his history and legacy and all of this research has only poured fuel onto that fire。 Obviously， I was super excited to be able to read more about this complicated， intricate， and fascinating larger than life historical figure。 The author clearly has done his research， and it most certainly shows in his presentation。 Lafayette was so many things for so many groups/causes。 He has incredible highs and lows in his life， contributed to many ideals and causes， and placed himself into many a precarious situation during these revolutions。 Was he perfect？ Nope。 But despite his flaws， imperfections， and mistakes， he believed in what he supported， and the world was forever altered and changed because of it。An excellent biography for an excellent figure。5/5 stars Thank you NG and Public Affairs/Perseus Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion。I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon， Instagram， and B&N accounts upon publication。 。。。more
Stephanie
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Mike Duncan could make the phone book an interesting read， so given a topic as fascinating as the Lancelot of the Revolutionary Set， it was impossible to put this down at times。 Many many thanks to Hachette for the ARC！I'm coming back to revise my review a bit; it was written in haste， and now that it seems people are actually seeing my review， I want to stress this one point: if your only opinion of Lafayette is based on anything related "Hamilton，" please do yourself the favor of reading this。 Mike Duncan could make the phone book an interesting read， so given a topic as fascinating as the Lancelot of the Revolutionary Set， it was impossible to put this down at times。 Many many thanks to Hachette for the ARC！I'm coming back to revise my review a bit; it was written in haste， and now that it seems people are actually seeing my review， I want to stress this one point: if your only opinion of Lafayette is based on anything related "Hamilton，" please do yourself the favor of reading this。 Lafayette was so much more than a costar in the American Revolution， and I actually feel kind of bad for referencing the play in my initial review。 It doesn't pay him or his legacy proper tribute。 This telling of his life story held my attention all the way through， and I'll be honest， I was crying as I read the last pages。 Even if you're not a big history/biography reader （like me）， this is absolutely worth your time。 。。。more
Mike
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Review of Duncan's other book， The Storm before the StormI received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway， so yay for meFor the non-Pod Heads out there， Mike Duncan is a titan in the history podcast field。 First with his The History of Rome podcast， one of the first history podcasts produced and an immensely influential one and then with his current running but soon to end （tear） series on political Revolutions 。 Both are fantastic series and I highly recommend you， my dear reader， check them out。It Review of Duncan's other book， The Storm before the StormI received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway， so yay for meFor the non-Pod Heads out there， Mike Duncan is a titan in the history podcast field。 First with his The History of Rome podcast， one of the first history podcasts produced and an immensely influential one and then with his current running but soon to end （tear） series on political Revolutions 。 Both are fantastic series and I highly recommend you， my dear reader， check them out。It is from the latter series that Hero of Two Worlds draws inspiration in the figure of the Marquis de Lafayette， a pivotal figure in not one， not two， but three significant political revolutions。 Duncan chronicles Lafayette's life from his privileged， but tragic， childhood in rural France to the international mourning that followed his passing in 1834 and everything in between。 While I think it is clear Duncan admires Lafayette， this work is by no means a hagiography。 On multiple occasions Lafayette screws up or is cripplingly naïve and Duncan does not soften or argue away these shortcomings。 For instance Lafayette， a great lover of liberty， comes to the Americas with stars and idealism in his eyes。 He effectively becomes the surrogate son of George Washington and befriends many of the key figures of the American revolution。 But as anyone with a modicum of understanding of the time can tell you （much to the chagrin of anti-history nationalists） the blessings of liberty fought for did not extend to the population of enslaved Africans。 Lafayette never directly or strongly confronts his American friends about the gap between the Revolutionary rhetoric and the real world results。 While he would fund and support several abolitionist causes， when push came to shove Lafayette did not extend his neck for the liberty of the enslaved like he did for other causes。What is interesting about Duncan's approach to this story is how much Lafayette dips in and out of the wider historical narrative。 He'll spend time in America when important things are happening but also head back to France， taking the book's focus away from the American Revolutionary War to follow Lafayette。 Likewise much of the more popularly know portions of the French Revolution （reign of terror， Napoleon's rise and fall） are only briefly mentioned and given a cursory explanation because when these events were occurring Lafayette was rotting （possibly literally for a while） away in a Prussian of Austrian prison and completely cut off form the outside world。And that is fine by me。 If I wanted to learn about the American or French Revolutions there are scads of books and other resources （like the Revolutions podcast :-P） I can reference。 This is a book about Lafayette and I appreciated understanding that even great， influential figures in history can be sidelined and insulated from major world events。But what a life Lafayette lived when he was not in jail: hero of the American revolution， head of the National Guard during the French Revolution， opponent of Napoleon's corrupt and absolutist turn， revolutionary conspirator during the restoration of the Bourbons， and the bestower of a republican kiss that ushered in a new French King （though a kiss he would later regret）。 He collected influential and notable friends by the dozens and kept up a correspondence with many of them through till the end。 He was a staunch proponent of liberty in spite of a hostile European atmosphere to such ideals。 Duncan does an excellent job guiding the reader through all these momentous events and noteworthy figures， providing an easy to follow narrative augmented by primary source quotations to drive home important points and themes。 The book read smooth while painting a nuanced and accessible view of this influential and oft overlooked hero of two worlds。What stands out most to me about the life of Lafayette is just how little his political views changed over the course of his life。 Deepened and fleshed out from his idealistic youth， certainly， but his bedrock belief in liberal ideals （free press， equality under the law， freedom of worship， popular governments to name a few core tenants） remained with him his entire life。 Within the context of the French revolution he rapidly changed from being viewed as a radical liberal to a reactionary counter-revolutionary old guard in a span of a few years （"Like Saturn， the revolution devours its children） even as his fundamental beliefs remained unchanged。 I can think of no better way to end this review than to borrow a quote at the end of the book: He [Lafayette] is a tower amid the waters， his foundation is upon a rock， he moves not with the ebb and flow of the stream。 The storm may gather， the waters may rise and even dash above his head， or they may subside at his feet。。。 still he stands unmoved。 We know his sight and his bearings， and with the fullest confidence we point to where he stood six and fifty years ago。 He stands there now。 The winds have swept him， the waves have dashed around him， the snows of winter lighted upon him， but still he is there。 。。。more
Irene
，
I cannot wait to get my hands on this
Janet
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HERE IS MY DITTY ABOUT LAFAYETTE。。。。。Please forgive me， Lin Manuel Maria。🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼Lafeyette， do you know him yet？This great book is a sure bet。He does not sing， he does not dance。。。this dude was all the way from France。🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼Date reviewed/posted: May 22， 2021Publication date: August 24， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （#f HERE IS MY DITTY ABOUT LAFAYETTE。。。。。Please forgive me， Lin Manuel Maria。🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼Lafeyette， do you know him yet？This great book is a sure bet。He does not sing， he does not dance。。。this dude was all the way from France。🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼Date reviewed/posted: May 22， 2021Publication date: August 24， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （#fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。 Plus it is hot as all heck and nothing is more appealing than sitting in front of a fan with a kindle！I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times' bestselling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy， told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution， the French Revolution， and the Revolution of 1830。Few in history can match the breadth and depth of the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette。 Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution， he fought as one with righteous revolutionaries on both sides of the Atlantic。As an idealistic and courageous teenager serving in the American Revolution， he used his considerable wealth and savvy to help the Americans defeat the British。 Then he returned home and was a principal player in the French Revolution。 And in his final act， at seventy years old， he was instrumental in the dramatic overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty during the Revolution of 1830。All the while， he never wavered from the principles he had written into the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789: That men are born and remain free and equal， deserving of liberty， property， safety， freedom of speech， and the ability to resist oppression。Through this age of upheaval， Lafayette remained unshakably committed to the principles he had outlined。 From the time that he was an enthusiastic 19-year-old to the time， he was a world-weary 74-year-old， his resolve never wavered。As the saying goes， if we don't learn from history， we are doomed to repeat it。 Today， the values codified and practiced by Lafayette are increasingly taken for granted。 His life is thus the story of where we came from and what we stand to lose if we abandon the ideals for which he fought。Most people these days know who Le Marquis was based on his appearance in the broadway's phenomenon Hamilton but there is more。。。much more to the man。 This biography was well constructed and it will appeal to lovers of history and good books as it brings up so many points to ponder on。 （we don't study US history in Canada so my knowledge of him and what he did in the US is Hamilton-related and Hamilton-related only！） I do not listen to podcasts or the radio but I will try to find the author's podcast online for hubby to listen to。 I will highly recommend this excellent book to friends， patrons and book clubs alike as it will appeal to so many of them。As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it 🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧 （no one does pastry like the French！） 。。。more
Jan
，