The Cambridge Companion to J. M. Synge Book

This was an enjoyable book which brought to light one of the seedier, more morally questionable (and yet deeply significant) subplots of the American Revolution. This is not the story of Washington leading a daring escape across the Delaware; or Adams debating with the Continental Congress; or Jefferson penning the Declaration of Independence. "Unlikely Allies" is a story of backdoor deals, light treason, conspiracy, money laundering, spycraft, deception, and intrigue. There's even a dose of transgenderism (I think?? The Chevalier was nothing if not enigmatic) to make the final story all the more exotic and improbable.

"Unlikely Allies" is a story about three people whose names are largely lost to history: Silas Deane, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, and the Chevalier d'Eon. Deane was a prosperous Connecticut merchant and original Continental Congress member...who was sent to France to plead on behalf of the American Colonies long before Benjamin Franklin famously traveled there for the same purpose. Beaumarchais was an accomplished artist & playwright who created a shell company designed to deal supplies, arms, & ammunition to the desperate colonials...all supposedly without the knowledge of the French king. And the Chevalier d'Eon was a French spy (and cross-dresser extraordinaire) living in London and sitting on loads of incriminating evidence that would ruin the French throne. These three colorful, opinionated, fatally prideful characters each had a crucial part to play in cementing the alliegance between France and the American colonies. Without their exhaustive, tireless behind-the-scenes machinations, the alliance may never have been formed. The colonists, bereft of supplies and desperate, may have succumbed to the British army. In short, the history of America may have been very different without the contributions of these three men/women and their efforts.

Since so much of their work was done on the down-low or "behind the scenes," author Joel Richard Paul is occasionally forced to estimate or deduct their motivations or methods. Overall, though, this is a well-researched story, with decades of time for new evidence to be released that adds more color to the historical tale (in one instance, a friend of Deane's was revealed as a British double agent more than a century after the fact!). This is a complicated story, with a lot of supporting characters; as a result, I sometimes had trouble keeping all the names and places straight. Luckily, the book is not overly long, so it never became an impossible task. Even knowing the overall outcome of the situation, I was impressed with the amount of tension Mr. Paul was able to wring out of the situation. At times, I wondered if their plot would ever bear fruit, or if it would all be wasted by the vagaries of fate, or the politics of men often ignorant of the urgent situation.

The book is not flawless; the author often found it necessary to back up in time to explain someone's backstory, and thus the overall time frame of the book was occasionally difficult to follow. Mr. Paul was often somewhat repetitive as well; I found him reiterating points he'd already made in previous chapters, and I felt it was unnecessary. Despite these minor issues, "Unlikely Allies" is still a great read for those interested in American history, and in lesser-known tales from the Revolutionary War era.