Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte

Elizabeth Patterson BonaparteAn American Aristocrat in the Early RepublicCharlene M. Boyer Lewis"In this expertly researched and carefully documented biography, Boyer Lewis tells the personal saga of a woman scorned, in the process revealing much about this country's debates over the creation of a national culture and the role of women within it. . . . Besides telling a good story, [Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte] enriches our understanding of the formative first decades of the 19th century. As Boyer Lewis shows, 'republican motherhood' was not the sole form of expression for politically active and engaged women of this period. This fascinating, highly readable book should interest scholars and general readers alike."--Library Journal"This study of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte recovers the life of an impressive woman who successfully challenged the gender, political, and cultural conventions of the early American republic to reinvent herself as a European lady of taste and refinement. . . . Readers will be captivated by this well-crafted portrait of a woman who challenges us to rethink our presumptions about gender and the emergence of democratic sensibility in the early republic."--Journal of American History"Although it might be tempting to dismiss Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte as a curiosity--a gorgeous woman in a tiara and a see-through Paris gown--Charlene Boyer Lewis persuasively argues for her significance in this thoughtful and engaging book."--Journal of the Early Republic"Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte's rebellious flouting of contemporary social and gender norms made her famous--and infamous--throughout the western world. Yet in the hands of Charlene Boyer Lewis, this is not just the story of a woman seeking fame. Rather, Boyer Lewis portrays Bonaparte as a significant figure whose unusual life offers the opportunity to explore a much larger set of ideas, trends, and patterns circulating between Europe and America in the early nineteenth century."--Rosemarie Zagarri, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American RepublicCharlene M. Boyer Lewis is Professor of History and Director of American Studies at Kalamazoo College.2012 | 288 pages | 6 x 9 | 14 illus.ISBN 978-0-8122-4430-4 | Cloth | $34.95s | £23.00 ISBN 978-0-8122-2292-0 | Paper | $24.95s | £16.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0653-1 | Ebook | $24.95s | £16.50 World Rights | American History, Biography, Women's/Gender StudiesShort copy:Appraising Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte's many identities--celebrity, aristocrat, independent woman, mother--Charlene M. Boyer Lewis is able to show how Madame Bonaparte, as she was known, exercised extraordinary social power at the center of the changing transatlantic world.