Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read
Review: If you love American history, you'll love this book. For those of you who were wondering what the founding fathers were up to when they weren't having their portraits painted this is the book for you. Crawford offers great insight into the daily grind even these men of stature endured to make their way in a raw new country. The view of plantation life is well drawn thanks to the numerous letters quoted from both famous visitors and the common folk passing through. I found Jack Randolph, Nancy's tormentor, a fascinating if creepy character. He could have his own book - particularly examining his time in Washinton DC putting together (or trying to dismantle) the new government. This is a great read with history, scandals, conniving relatives and well drawn characters. ....
Rating:
Summary: Great read - enjoyed every minute of it
Review: The story of Nancy Randolph and the scandal which surrounded this young member of the famous Randolph family. Set in the 1790's in Virginia, this book recounds the story of Nancy who bore a child (fathered either by her dead fiance or his married brother) who was either stillborn or murdered shortly after the birth. Connected by birth or marriage to the great Virginia families, Nancy and her brother-in-law survived the inquest held to determine whether a crime was committed yet gossip surrounded them for the rest of their days. What should have been a fascinating study of a possible murder and family intrigue is poorly served by this author. Very few conclusions are drawn and the reader is left with very few facts. Chapters are only a few pages long and the type face is large and spaced very far apart. Without illustrions and printed normally, the book would barely be more than one hundred pages. This fascinating story was better served by Robert S. Bloom in the fictional account, "A Generation of Leaves". I would highly recommend this far superior account which also covers Nancy's subsequent marriage.
Rating: 
Summary: Brief and Unsatisfying
Review: The story of Nancy Randolph and the scandal which surrounded this young member of the famous Randolph family. Set in the 1790's in Virginia, this book recounds the story of Nancy who bore a child (fathered either by her dead fiance or his married brother) who was either stillborn or murdered shortly after the birth. Connected by birth or marriage to the great Virginia families, Nancy and her brother-in-law survived the inquest held to determine whether a crime was committed yet gossip surrounded them for the rest of their days. What should have been a fascinating study of a possible murder and family intrigue is poorly served by this author. Very few conclusions are drawn and the reader is left with very few facts. Chapters are only a few pages long and the type face is large and spaced very far apart. Without illustrions and printed normally, the book would barely be more than one hundred pages. This fascinating story was better served by Robert S. Bloom in the fictional account, "A Generation of Leaves". I would highly recommend this far superior account which also covers Nancy's subsequent marriage.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: The thing that impresses me most about Unwise Passions is that--in addition to a great read--Crawford's book shows such depth and focus. Added to the compelling narrative is a map, a family tree (informative without being overwhelming), and 279 meticulous notes in the back. Look what's been found in our backyard, Central Virginia!
Rating:
Summary: A great beach read!
Review: This book was a great, gossipy account about the rich and famous of colonial days. I've spent way too much time reading dull, dry history books. Bless the historians who have the stamina to compile all that primary data..... but thank you Mr. Crawford for writing the other kind! This was a real page turner. Fast moving, well written, and truly fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: A great beach read!
Review: This book was a great, gossipy account about the rich and famous of colonial days. I've spent way too much time reading dull, dry history books. Bless the historians who have the stamina to compile all that primary data..... but thank you Mr. Crawford for writing the other kind! This was a real page turner. Fast moving, well written, and truly fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Unwise Passions review
Review: This is a fun and fascinating book. It is a great story, all the more so because it is true. The characters are among our country's founding families, including Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. The author shows us the very human side of the people involved. He smoothly works in quotes of letters to and from the characters to give us an eyewitness account of people and events. Crawford tells the story impartially so we are free to draw our own conclusions and opinions. I found myself unable to put the book down and read it in a weekend.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: True crime, mystery, biography, history - this book has it all. The happenings of more than 200 hundred years ago and involving some notable names in our American history - Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Gouverneur Morris to name a few, had this reader sitting up all night absolutely spellbound! A remarkable story, meticulously researched by Mr. Crawford, it brings to light many details that one would not find in an ordinary history book. Living just a stone's throw from the site of the old Bizarre Plantation I have heard this local legend many, many times, but never before with such accurate detail or startling revelations. BRAVO!!
Rating:
Summary: Unwise Passions is superb - buy it !
Review: What an extraordinarily fascinating and beautifully written book this is. I can only hope that Alan Crawford will keep writing so that we'll have the good fortune to enjoy his work for
many years to come. To be able to bring history alive this vividly is a real gift.......and Mr. Crawford has it. Makes me actually think about returning to school to study history.... Buy this book for your library and/or give it as a
wonderful gift!
Rating:
Summary: Lurid Historical Potboiler -- and True!
Review: _Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth Century America_ (Simon & Schuster) by Alan Pell Crawford reminds us that there was scandal in the age of our Founding Fathers, and among those in government. If you want to read a lurid potboiler containing mischief that would make J. R. Ewing blush, but is all true, this is your book. It contains reports of seductions, incest, child murder, family infighting, the decay of a prominent aristocratic family, drug addiction, and general scoundrelism. All true, and all occurring in the public eye, and among supporters and family members of Thomas Jefferson. It is a historical feast of scandal. The main character, Nancy Randolph, was accused at various times by rumor, and by her family, of seducing her cousin Richard Randolph, helping Richard murder the infant, and then murdering Richard himself. Many of the charges came from Richard's brother Jack, a fiery orator and congressman who grew increasingly unstable in matters concerning Nancy, perhaps because she had herself spurned him. Nancy was therefore unmarriageable, but that didn't bother the fun-loving, cheerful patriot Gouverneur Morris, who took her on as housekeeper, and then married her, giving her two decades of true happiness. Nancy was a resourceful woman and this amazing chronicle of scandal brings her out of oblivion into our own times, times that are no better or worse than her own.
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