Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman---And the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America

By Alan Pell Crawford

Book Overview

Recreates one of the most sensational trials in American history involving Nancy Randolph, a young woman from a wealthy family in Virginia, who played a role in the murder trial of her brother-in-law, who was accused on fathering and killing an illegitimate child.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068483474X
• ISBN13: 9780684834740
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 329 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A great beach read!

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.

Lurid Historical Potboiler -- and True!

_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.

WOW!!

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!!

Unwise Passions 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.

Gripping, fascinating tale of scandal, love, and crime!

Highly recommended: If you're fascinated by true-crime stories, American history or just like a good read, you should really enjoy this compelling story about the Crime of the (18th) Century. Imagine a cross between Dominick Dunne, Stephen Ambrose and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," and you'll get a sense of the author's power at telling a gripping tale. The book tells the story of a young, tempestuous aristocrat, Nancy Randolph, part of the legendary Randolph clan of Virinia, who is accused of killing the love child she had with her brother-in-law, Richard Randolph. The two Randolphs were defended by Patrick Henry and even Thomas Jefferson was caught up in the family's crises. The book then traces the fate of Nancy Randolph in the wake of the scandal that clouded her name forever, as she tried to remake herself as the wife of Gouverneur Morris of New York, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. The story is played out against the crumbling of the Virginia tobacco aristocracy and the politics and passions that swept America in the wake of the American Revolution. This is as riveting as any book published so far this year. I loved it, and I think you will, too.