The Lafayette we know from United States history class comes to life in this graphic novel depiction of his life until his return to France after the American Revolutionary War. The tale is being told by “THE PROVOST, THE HANGMAN, AND THE SPY, NATHAN HALE.” (6) Nathan Hale spins this tale to postpone his own execution, if just until the tale is told. It begins shortly after the death of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier the Marquis De Lafayette’s father in the Battle of Minden.

The telling includes bits of history at first, mixed with some urban legend, customs of dress, schooling, and arranged marriages of the time. First Lafayette’s mother dies and then his great-grandfather dies leaving him a rich orphan at the age of thirteen. At thirteen, people are already scheming to have Gilbert marry their daughter to advance their family’s status.

At age nineteen, Gilbert has a wife and child, but still dreams of glory on the battle field. He goes against King Louis XVI’s “DECREE, THAT NO FRENCH OFFICERS WERE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE AMERICAN CAUSE.”(35) Gilbert sails to America and eventually meets up with General George Washington. Lafayette has a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time depending upon which side of the war you want to win. “LAFAYETTE HAS NOW FOILED TWO PLOTS TO OVERTHROW WASHINGTON.” (55) Later, Lafayette will encounter Benedict Arnold before and after Arnold changes sides in the war.

Lafayette is charismatic. No wonder his name is still known today. I’m guessing most people today could not give any specifics about what he did to help the Americans during their revolution.

One small mistake, appears on page 99, in frame 11, where the word ‘their’ appears twice. The second time spelled ‘thier’.

What a wonderful visual way to engage young readers in history!