The Marquis de Lafayette at age nineteen volunteered to fight under George Washington and became the French hero of the American Revolution. In this major biography, Laura Auricchio looks past the storybook hero and selfless champion of righteous causes who cast aside family and fortune to advance the transcendent aims of liberty and fully reveals a man driven by dreams of glory only to be felled by tragic, human weaknesses. 

Drawing on substantial new research conducted in libraries, archives, museums, and private homes in France and the United States, Auricchio, gives us history on a grand scale revealing the man and his complex life while challenging and exploring the complicated myths that have surrounded his name for more than two centuries

Laura Auricchio is a Professor of Art History at Parsons School of Design and Vice Provost for Curriculum and Learning, studies and teaches French and American history, art history, and visual and material culture in the Age of Revolution. Her most recent book, The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered, offers a visually-informed biography of the French hero of the American Revolution and received the 2015 American Library in Paris Book Award. She is a frequent lecturer in both academic and public settings in the United States and around the world. You can follow her on Twitter at @Auricchio_Laura.