Atlantic Monthly Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
NEW!
From the nationally bestselling author of The Secret Token, the largely untold story of rebellion in Virginia that will forever change one’s understanding of the American Revolution
As the American Revolution broke out in New England in the spring of 1775 dramatic events unfolded in Virginia that proved every bit as decisive as the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill in uniting the colonies against Britain. Virginia, the largest, wealthiest, and most populous province in British North America was led by Lord Dunmore, who counted George Washington as his close friend. But the Scottish earl lacked troops, so when patriots imperiled the capital of Williamsburg, he threatened to free and arm enslaved Africans—two of every five Virginians—to fight for the Crown.
Virginia’s tobacco elite was reluctant to go to war with Britain but was outraged at this threat to their human property. Dunmore fled the capital to build a stronghold in the colony’s largest city, the port of Norfolk. As enslaved people flocked to his camp, skirmishes broke out. “Lord Dunmore has commenced hostilities in Virginia,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. “It has raised our countrymen into a perfect frenzy.” With a patriot army marching on Norfolk, the royal governor freed those enslaved and sent them into battle against their former owners. In retribution, and with Jefferson’s encouragement, furious rebels burned Norfolk to the ground on January 1, 1776, blaming the crime on Dunmore.
The port’s destruction and Dunmore’s emancipation prompted Virginia’s patriot leaders to urge the Continental Congress to split from Britain, breaking the deadlock among the colonies and leading to adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Days later, Dunmore and his Black allies withdrew from Virginia, but the legacy of their fight would lead, ultimately, to Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
Chronicling these stunning and widely overlooked events in full for the first time, A Perfect Frenzy offers a striking new perspective on the American Revolution that reorients our understanding of its causes, highlights the radically different motivations between patriots in the North and South, and reveals the seeds of today’s racial divide.
“Andrew Lawler has uncovered critical new information about why and how Virginia and its leading citizens, among them Washington and Jefferson, joined the rebellion against the British Crown—and it doesn’t shine a favorable light on them. Without Virginia there might not have been a successful Revolution. Lawler’s fascinating new book is a revelation.”—Larry Sabato, author of A More Perfect Constitution
“Just in time for the 250th anniversary of American independence, A Perfect Frenzy casts the nation’s founding in a whole new light. Andrew Lawler finds fresh voices and novel ways of looking at the start of the Revolution—and, best of all, he offers the historian’s holy grail of an original argument. I love this book.”—Woody Holton, author of Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution
“By revisioning the past, Lawler sheds penetrating light on the present and, importantly, illuminates the future. Elegantly written and impeccably researched, this pathbreaking book is a gift this troubled nation needs as it approaches its 250th anniversary.”—Gerald Horne, author of The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America
“The Secret Token, spanning more than 400 years, offers the most authoritative account of the Lost Colony to date . . . [Lawler] recounts his arduous travels with clarity and insight.”—Wall Street Journal
“Clear-eyed way . . . Just plain fascinating . . . The themes of mingled races, of cultures clashing to create something new, are surprisingly fresh and powerful.”—Washington Post, on The Secret Token
“[Lawler’s] willingness to chase down every lead, no matter how outlandish, and his enthusiasm for the journey as much as the destination, make The Secret Token a lively and engaging read.”—Economist
“The Secret Token is a very special kind of popular history . . . diving headfirst into the latest developments regarding the fate of the colonists and providing colorful, affectionate portraits . . . Lawler sheds light on why the story of the Roanoke Colony remains so important today.”—Salon
“It’s not a spoiler to say that Lawler never solves the ultimate mystery, but by the book’s end, the enduring legacy of this early colony, from mapmaking to even the far right, is more than enough.”—Vanity Fair, on The Secret Token
“Part detective novel, part historical reckoning, Lawler’s engrossing book traces the story of—and the obsessive search for—the lost colony of Roanoke . . . leading to a thoughtful and timely discourse about race and identity . . . Lawler makes a strong case for why historical myths matter.”—Publishers Weekly, on The Secret Token
“[Lawler] creates a vivid picture of the roiling, politically contentious, economically stressed Elizabethan world . . . In this enjoyable historical adventure, an unsolved mystery reveals violent political and economic rivalries and dire personal struggles.”—Kirkus Reviews, on The Secret Token
“Andrew Lawler turns Roanoke into one of our history’s best stories, recounting not only the fascinating, little-known history of the colony itself but that of the incredible swirl of historians, archaeologists, hoaxers, actors, priests, Native Americans, and experts on arcane subjects who have been caught up in the quest to find it. A tale of cock-eyed historical obsession, The Secret Token is also a serious look at America’s confused ideas about itself.”—Charles C. Mann, New York Times bestselling author of The Wizard and the Prophet and 1491
“A fascinating account of one of our country’s great historical mysteries. Fast-paced and wonderfully written, with plenty of surprising turns along the way, The Secret Token is a delight.”—Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times bestselling author of Valiant Ambition
“In Under Jerusalem, journalist Andrew Lawler directs our contemplation away from the heavenly city, and down into the roots of history and faith . . . In a city where the winner takes all, Mr. Lawler does an admirable job of striving for the diplomats’ ideal of ‘evenhandedness.’”—Wall Street Journal
“A sweeping tale of archaeological exploits and their cultural and political consequences told with a historian’s penchant for detail and a journalist’s flair for narration . . . Lawler’s timely book [shows] how and why ordinary men and women, and great empires alike, continue to seek meaning in the dirt and debris beneath this magnetic, confounding city.”—Washington Post, on Under Jerusalem
“Richly detailed, sensitively argued, and entertainingly written, this immersive history casts Jerusalem in a new light and reveals the tensions that meet at the intersection of science, politics, religion, and history. This fascinating, evenhanded chronicle is a treasure.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Under Jerusalem
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