  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 12/01/1999 Once again Fritz musters her considerable gifts of wit and verve to resuscitate a Revolutionary War hero in danger of death-by-textbook-prose. In her capable hands, the Marquis de Lafayette emerges as a nineteen-year-old stifled by three years of marriage, bubbling with enthusiasm for the heady eighteenth-century concept of republican government, and aching for a life of action with the promise of personal glory. Never resorting to speculative dialogue or similar trappings of fictionalized history, Fritz manages to convey the ardor of Lafayette’s admiration for General Washington, his rivalries with fellow officers, the outspoken temperament and noisy convictions that imperiled his life during the French Revolution, his late-blooming love for his devoted wife, and his humble gratitude and childlike delight over his American tour at the fiftieth anniversary of the American Revolution. Himler’s black-and-white full-page sketches impart the dignity due a hero while eschewing the reverence of traditional portraiture that so often fossilizes the Founders. Vive Lafayette. Vive Fritz. - Copyright 1999 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Booklist - 09/15/1999 Fritz returns with another of her lively biographies, chock-full of quotes, anecdotes, and wry humor. This time she examines the life of General Lafayette, the young French leader who was an instrumental figure in the American Revolution. After the briefest mention of his childhood, she jumps straight to 1777, when the 20-year-old marquis set sail for the colonies to offer his military services. Fritz does a solid job of documenting his role fighting for democracy both in the U.S. and in France, and she is a master at bringing the small moments to life. Less successful are her attempts at condensing events of the Revolution: descriptions of Benedict Arnold's treason and Lafayette's victory in Yorktown are sketchy and undramatic, and they may confuse readers without much prior knowledge of the events. The biography hits its highest point in the closing chapters, as Lafayette returns to America for a final visit. Her portrait of the aging general welcomed by cheering crowds and old friends is an emotional climax to an account well told. Illustrations by Ronald Himler add to the atmosphere, and notes and a bibliography are appended. (Reviewed September 15, 1999) - Copyright 1999 Booklist. Loading...
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