Customer Reviews

Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution

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I, too, thoroughly enjoyned "Unlikely Allies," by Professor Joel Paul. I agree with some of the other reviewers in that this book DOES read like a thriller yet the careful reader can confirm, by the Professor's endnotes, that this book is vigorously well-researched. Moreover, Professor Paul begins his book in a way that I truly appreciate: he devotes a beginning chapter to each of these three "unlikely allies,": the merchant, Silas Dean, the playwright, Caron de Beaumarchais, and the cross-dressing Frenchman/Frenchwoman, the Chevalier d'Eon, a captain of the dragoons. I found this technique very helpful in that it provides the reader with a backdrop against which to (begin to) understand the motivations, passions, expectancies, and internal conflicts that each of these important personages faced during his/her respective lives, especially during the ever so critical years of our country's infancy. Professor Paul's writing is crisp and to the point. Yet, at the same time, in each chapter he manages to provide the reader with the flavor, indeed a bona fide SENSATION, of the particular moment in our history that is being covered.

It is true that much of our (typically taught) American History is framed by the righteousness and virtue of our "founding fathers." I had always been taught that men like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin were superior beings, almost godlike in their perfection. However, Professor Paul's book adds some perspective and depth to those history lessons that were spoon-fed to us so long ago. Professor Paul, while paying much respect to these and other important players in our commonly taught history reveals that these men were, indeed, quite human, and were just as imperfect as we all are. None of us is above reproach, nor were our founding fathers. With the possible exception of Silas Deane, none of us gives unconditionally of our time, resources, and energy. We all want or need something for ourselves in return for our efforts, even our efforts on behalf of our country or on behalf of the "greater good." I am thankful to Professor Paul for introducing me to Silas Dean, to Beaumarchais, and to the Chevalier d'Eon. His well-written account will, I believe, withstand the examinations of time, and continue to delight students of American History in the years to come. Overall, a very good read!

Joel Paul's Unlikely Allies is a fascinating account of a crucial episode during the Revolutionary War. It focuses on the intersection of the lives of Silas Deane, America's emissary to the French before Benjamin Franklin, Caron de Beaumarchais, better know to opera lovers than to historians, and the Cavalier d'Eon, a fascinating French aristocrat who was a cross-dressing diplomat, spy and blackmailer. It emphatically makes the point that the success of the Revolution was no sure thing, that the motives of the revolutionaries were mixed, that the politics of the day were every bit as inglorious as our own, and that the American-French connection has deep and complex roots. All this might be known already to a serious student of the American revolution, but for this lay reader the story was enlightening as well as a great entertainment. Law professors as a whole are not known for their vivid writing (I speak as a law professor as well as a friend of Joel's) but this book manages to be great fun and wonderfully written without compromising its intellectual integrity.

Erudite, crisply written and almost impossible to put down, this is a delightful book that grips the reader from the first paragraphs. Paul tells a great story and tells it well. At the same time that he sweeps the reader into the narrative, he is careful to note when he goes beyond the evidence to speculation. Although I've read many histories that sink under the writer's efforts to be as true to the facts as possible, Paul manages it all beautifully.

Many Americans are familiar with the fact that Benjamin Franklin, that wildly popular old patriot, spent years in France convincing the powers that were to support the Americans in their dispute with King George III. Most, however, are unaware that the role played by Silas Deane was even more important, and those who are, know that Deane was vilified as a embezzler of public funds, a traitor to the American cause, or both. At long last, someone has written the truth about the enormous service performed by Deane, who truly was one of the selfless men that saved the revolution from drowning in disaster.

Unlike some reviewers, I would hardly describe Unlikely Allies as rollicking or wildly entertaining. There are a few humorous elements, mainly in the expose of cross-dresser Chevalier d'Eon, but the author fails to show what d'Eon's contribution was. There are some obvious lapses in Paul's research, as when he describes the 1781 Yorktown Conference as taking place in Deane's Wethersfield, CT house (it happened next door). With respect to Deane and Beaumarchais, however, Paul has done a creditable job, plowing through obscure records that few before him have studied. Deane's mission to Paris was truly impossible, and, unsupported by his own government, what he achieved was nothing less than amazing. In the process, betrayed by his friends, he lost his family, his fortune, and ultimately his life. Perhaps now Silas Deane will be granted his rightful place among America's founding fathers.

"Unlikely Allies", a thorough and engrossing examination of behind the scences intrigues leading up to and through the American Revolution, has an underlying theme of how some obscure event and personal interaction can through a series of similar minor happenings and an expanding network of people may affect the outcome of a battle, and probably a war. This is not unlike the famous Butterfly Effect of Chaos Theory.

The players of the book are the playwright Caron de Baumarchasis (Barber of Seville; Marriage of Figaro...drama, pre-opera); the spy Chevalier d'Eon (who walked on the wild side), and American merchant Silas Deane. We are treated with spies, double agents, intrigues within intrigues. We read about politics, jealousies, manipulations, resentments, integrity, courage, injustices, cabals even within the Congress (even?) as a cascade or chain of events.

How we managed to become and survived an independent nation is such a wonder. So many years on the razor's edge where the action of little known individuals altered the course of history. The is fine reading and makes us think of how our own life's actions and advice have helped or hindered others. My only complaint is that the author often telegraphs the "plot", the details of what we know, or thought we knew. ****1/2.

Great stuff! Fascinating story, superbly written with an eye for telling details. Even if you are not fascinating by this period of history (or by history at all), buy and read this book and you will not regret it. Hope the author will write some more in this vein.

I thought I knew a lot about the Founding Fathers (it is one of two specialty areas for my reading), but I was amazed at the many surprises in this book. Of course, the lead character, Silas Deane, has not been all that well portrayed previously due to the fact that only recently were his personal letters and related archives found (by the author). I do not want to give away anything about the plot, but it is definitely a PAGE-TURNER.

Joel Paul's Unlikely Allies does what many History Prof's secretly want to do...resurrect history, inflate it with the helium of story and circumstance, and paint it with the colors of life. His characters dance across the pages, glad to be seen for their accurate person.

Be ready to miss a night of sleep.

While talk of Tea Parties and founding fathers may be all the rage, the founding of the nation--as Paul's book makes delightfully clear--was far more complex, fragile, hard fought and exceptional than we ever knew. Indeed, this excellent and well-researched book should be mandatory reading for students of early American history. They'll not only encounter Revolutionary heroes far more heroic--and revolutionary--than those of the standard tale: a misunderstood and unjustly maligned patriot merchant who sacrificed all, a cross-dressing chevalier who dared blackmail a monarch, and a playwright who creates and is ultimately undone by Figaro. They'll also learn what "going rogue" really means.

Reviewers will no doubt offer well-deserved praise for Paul's engrossing narrative and masterful storytelling skills. Many writers attempt to bring history to life with gunpowder and battlefield maneuvers, but when was the last time you couldn't put down a history book out of sheer fascination? Perhaps that highlights the book's true genius. It not only inspires a deeper appreciation of the political complexities of its time and the personal determination of its characters--remove any one and American independence could have become just another unrealized idea--it does so through the most unlikely approach: simply telling the truth, the whole truth. Thanks to "Unlikely Allies", to borrow from the late Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story.

I am not an avid reader of history books, but I would be if they all read like this one. I love being entertained while I'm learning something, and this book hit the mark. Paul is a fantastic storyteller. I hope Hollywood puts it in on the big screen.