Rating: 
Summary: Cher chez la femme
Review: A morality tale, Unwise Passions is described as "The True Story of a Remarkable Woman and the First Great Scandal of the Eighteenth-Century". At the heart of the scandal is young Nancy Randolph, once the toast of Virginia society. The daughter of a tobacco plantation owner, Nancy ran afoul of the rules while living with her brother-in-law, Richard, and his wife Judith, Nancy's sister. According to rumor, one night in 1793, at the formerly elegant plantation home where they lived in the post-Revolutionary south, Nancy woke the household with her screams, perhaps in childbirth. A newborn's body was later discovered. At the inquest, Nancy was formally accused of infanticide, in collusion with her brother-in-law, who may have been the father. Nancy's reputation was ruined, but Richard and Judith allowed her to stay with them, although Judith was growing ever more disdainful of her sister. There were no more society invitations, the girl now a pariah. When Richard suddenly sickened and died, fratricide was added to Nancy's list of transgressions. Distraught at the loss of her husband, Judith requested the help of Richard's younger brother, Jack, who rebuilt the plantation to its former glory. They contrived to banish Nancy, who was never again welcome in her sister's home. After traveling to New York, Nancy married Gouvernour Morris, a confirmed bachelor, who relinquished his freedom for the young woman. His great wealth allowed Nancy to ignore her infamous past. The much older Morris died and Nancy found herself in reduced circumstances. She soldiered on, determined to protect her young son's inheritance from Morris' greedy relatives, though she again fell victim to the vicious gossips. Crawford's story is propelled by a virtual Who's Who of American politics, revealing intimate details in the lives of the Founding Fathers, including Patrick Henry, Court Justice John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Gouverneur Morris of New York, a signatory of the US Constitution. These early politicians created a governmental structure to safeguard the future of a country still in its infancy. Evident in the juxtaposition of their idealistic agendas, was a polarization of factions, divided between the Federalists, who favored the interests of the mercantile classes of the north and the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson. The Jeffersonians fought the establishment of a National Bank, federal excise taxes and US interference in the war between France and Great Britain, suspicious of the evolving national government. They believed that governmental excess must be restrained to preserve personal liberties. In the hands of the Federalists, the executive branch posed a great threat, presidential power in danger of evolving into monarchy. The youngest Randolph son, Jack, was a Jeffersonian and an articulate Virginia congressman; unfortunately, he was also addicted to opiates. Jack made the persecution of Nancy Randolph his lifelong mission, including her preference for his brothers rather than him. Nancy Randolph's indictment required no proof to provide grist for the mill of avid gossips, including popular orators and politicians, who waxed poetic, high on their righteous pedestals. The Nancy Randolph saga faded into legend, its legacy the ascension of personal politics and the power of inflammatory rhetoric. Luan Gaines/2003.
Rating:
Summary: Wise, Passionate Reading
Review: Alan Crawford has pulled off a real coup here: he has not only done enough research for two or three doctoral dissertations, but he has turned the data into a very well-told tale, almost novelistic in its style yet free of fictionalizing. Moreover, beneath the fast-moving narrative, there is lots of food for reflection: the collapse of dynasties, the cultural drift toward civil war, the American tradition of starting over, something like a saga but without the pretentiousness the term implies. Comparisons with "In the Garden of Good and Evil" are inevitable, but I like "Unwise Passions" better.
Rating:
Summary: Unwise, Indeed
Review: Although I take issue with the subtitle of this book: "...the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America", author Alan Pell Crawford does deliver an interesting narrative of one extended family's disintegration. The family in question are the Randolph's of Virginia, and Crawford provides the reader with both a map and a family tree to chart all the characters. By lineage, the Randolph's were Virginia aristocracy, in every sense of the word; they were the 'patricians' who would form the English colonies of the South, and the new nation after the Revolution. By marriage (and they had the tendency to marry each other as cousins), they were linked with Thomas Jefferson and Gouverneur Morris.
Crawford makes a point of how 'high on the hog' these patricians were, and based on the events in the book, it's a good illustration of 'how the mighty have fallen'. The central scandal involves Nancy, a Randolph who may - or may not - have had an affair with her brother-in-law (and cousin) Richard, become pregnant, and with Richard's connivance, disposed of the baby (while her sister, Richard's wife, was in the next room). Great things had been expected from Richard, and this scandal threatened to destroy his and the family's reputation. Defending Richard (and Nancy) was Patrick Henry, the antithesis of what the Randolph's stood for; when he wins the case, it seems as if the debate over what happened between Nancy and Richard would die down. However, over the next 50 years, Nancy is hounded by her extended family, especially brother-in-law Jack, with the original charge of seduction and infanticide, then a relationship with a slave, then with possibly murdering her own nephew. And that's the tip of the iceberg.
Crawford does a good job with setting the scene of Nancy's life. He also paints an informative and entertaining picture of the many scandals - personal and political - that embroiled not just the Randolph's, but by extension all the Virginia aristocracy, whose way of life was dying after the Revolution, and they did not like it. However, Nancy herself, and what if any part she played in the various scandals, remains unclear. We know more about Jack, her principal tormentor, and her husband, the cosmopolitan Morris, than we do about Nancy. Also, I would argue the 'first great scandal of the 18th C' idea: there were several events that could claim that title, including the treason of Benedict Arnold, about 20 years before the events in this book began. Also, the events in the book go on well beyond the 18th C. Still, it does make the title more intriguing for marketing purposes!
Rating: 
Summary: Well researched includes many fascinating historical figures
Review: Although this book is the biography of Nancy Randolph, who was the daughter of one of the great Virginia planters, Unwise Passions is rich with history of Virginia, and it has a cast of characters that includes not only the haughty Randolphs, but also Thomas Jeffereson, Patrick Henry, and John Marshall. This book offers a valuable look at the lives of historical figures that we have previously known only as public figures of great stature. Here the reader gets a "real" view of these figures. The research process for this book was obviously conducted painstakingly with excellent results. It is an delightful read. It brings all the characters to life. I would like to go back to some of the original documents. I hope tjhat Mr. Crawford will write another book, bringing the history of our country into real focus for us.
Rating:
Summary: Well researched includes many fascinating historical figures
Review: Dive into Unwise Passions and you won't come up for air until you're finished. Alan Pell Crawford has created a rare thing--a meticulously researched history that reads like a novel. The 'remarkable woman' of the title, Nancy Randolph, is proof that there are in fact second acts in American life. Equally fascinating is her cousin John Randolph of Roanoke, a brilliant scoundrel (and Congressman and opium addict) who figures prominently in the story as Nancy's chief tormenter. Buy one book for yourself and several more for presents!
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Read
Review: Dive into Unwise Passions and you won't come up for air until you're finished. Alan Pell Crawford has created a rare thing--a meticulously researched history that reads like a novel. The 'remarkable woman' of the title, Nancy Randolph, is proof that there are in fact second acts in American life. Equally fascinating is her cousin John Randolph of Roanoke, a brilliant scoundrel (and Congressman and opium addict) who figures prominently in the story as Nancy's chief tormenter. Buy one book for yourself and several more for presents!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping, fascinating tale of scandal, love, and crime!
Review: Highly recommended: If you're fascinated by true-crime stories, American history or just like a good read, you should really enjoy this compelling story about the Crime of the (18th) Century. Imagine a cross between Dominick Dunne, Stephen Ambrose and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," and you'll get a sense of the author's power at telling a gripping tale. The book tells the story of a young, tempestuous aristocrat, Nancy Randolph, part of the legendary Randolph clan of Virinia, who is accused of killing the love child she had with her brother-in-law, Richard Randolph. The two Randolphs were defended by Patrick Henry and even Thomas Jefferson was caught up in the family's crises. The book then traces the fate of Nancy Randolph in the wake of the scandal that clouded her name forever, as she tried to remake herself as the wife of Gouverneur Morris of New York, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. The story is played out against the crumbling of the Virginia tobacco aristocracy and the politics and passions that swept America in the wake of the American Revolution. This is as riveting as any book published so far this year. I loved it, and I think you will, too.
Rating:
Summary: Unwise Passions
Review: I loved this book! It was outstanding! Well written and it details a great historical story. Anyone who loves history or intrigue will love this book. Can you imagine needing a lawyer and calling Patrick Henry? I bought five copies and gave them to friends and colleagues. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Unwise Passions
Review: I loved this book! It was outstanding! Well written and it details a great historical story. Anyone who loves history or intrigue will love this book. Can you imagine needing a lawyer and calling Patrick Henry? I bought five copies and gave them to friends and colleagues. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Great read - enjoyed every minute of it
Review: I won't rehash the story and the praise you'll find in the other five-star reviews, but suffice it to say that the book was a great read. I'm only sorry that it was relatively short book that I was easily able to read over a weekend.
|
