| Improbable Patriot: The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French Playwright Who Saved the American Revolution Contributor(s): Unger, Harlow Giles (Author) |
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ISBN: 1584659254 ISBN-13: 9781584659259 Publisher: University Press of New England OUR PRICE: $28.45 Product Type: Hardcover Published: September 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Historical - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures - History | United States - Revolutionary Period (1775-1800) |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2011014242 |
| Physical Information: 0.93" H x 6.36" W x 9.13" (1.16 lbs) 260 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Cultural Region - French |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was an eighteenth-century French inventor, famed playwright, and upstart near-aristocrat in the court of King Louis XVI. In 1776, he conceived an audacious plan to send aid to the American rebels. What's more, he convinced the king to bankroll the project, and singlehandedly 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 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 author of some of the most enduring works of the stage, including The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville. |