Revolutionary Brothers

Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship That Helped Forge Two Nations

By: Tom Chaffin

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

“...a gripping narrative that offers a revelatory perspective on the combined origins of two nations...compelling drama and instructive history.” (Wall Street Journal)

In a narrative both panoramic and intimate, Tom Chaffin captures the four-decade friendship of Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette.

Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette shared a singularly extraordinary friendship, one involved in the making of two revolutions - and two nations. Jefferson first met Lafayette in 1781, when the young French-born general was dispatched to Virginia to assist Jefferson, then the state’s governor, in fighting off the British. The charismatic Lafayette, hungry for glory, could not have seemed more different from Jefferson, the reserved statesman. But when Jefferson, a newly-appointed diplomat, moved to Paris three years later, speaking little French and in need of a partner, their friendship began in earnest.

As Lafayette opened doors in Paris and Versailles for Jefferson, so, too, did the Virginian stand by Lafayette as the Frenchman became inexorably drawn into the maelstrom of his country's revolution. Jefferson counseled Lafayette as he drafted The Declaration of the Rights of Man and remained a firm supporter of the French Revolution, even after he returned to America in 1789. By 1792, however, the upheaval had rendered Lafayette a man without a country, locked away in a succession of Austrian and Prussian prisons. The burden fell on Jefferson and Lafayette's other friends to win his release. The two would not see each other again until 1824, in a powerful and emotional reunion at Jefferson’s Monticello.

Steeped in primary sources, Revolutionary Brothers casts fresh light on this remarkable, often complicated, friendship of two extraordinary men.

"Revolutionary Brothers is a compelling narrative of an epic - and unlikely - friendship from the Enlightenment era, enlivened by bracing plot-turns and vividly-drawn characters." (Walter S. Isaacson, best-selling author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life)

©2019 Tom Chaffin (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Friendship through overlapping events

I liked how the author laid out Lafayette and Jefferson's friendship through their lives and overlapping historical events.
It could easily have leaned heavily towards talking about Jefferson (which was my concern at first) but was pleasantly surprised to find Lafayette was discussed in detail and the book clearly discussed him but never strayed far from it's point: a "revolutionary" friendship.

Great story!

The story is so full of insights into the lives of both Lafayette and Jefferson. The author shares much of the knowledge that he gained in doing his research. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about these men.