So much fiction has been written about the Marquis de
Lafayette that it becomes difficult to know how to sort the wheat from the
chaff.
For years, historians at the Pennsylvania State Museum
Commission interpreted the Gilpin House at Brandywine Battlefield Park as
Lafayette’s Quarters, ignoring 18th century letters and diaries
from the Gilpin family as well as Lafayette’s own correspondence indicating he
stayed "at Washington's elbow" for two days in the Ring House.
In addition we have all heard the fractured fairy tale of
the 19-year-old Marquis dressing his wounds received in the battle under the
...well…I won't go there, as the story is pure fiction,
has been around for a good century or more and refuses to go away.
So when a 327-page book about Lafayette comes out that is
categorized as “historical fiction” by publishers at “Outskirts Press,” it’s
difficult to know how to address it.
Kennett Square author, Gene Pisasale grew up in Wynnewood,
on Philadelphia’s Main Line. After graduating from Bucknell University, he went
on to the University of Texas and later San Diego State University, earning an
MBA and Master’s in petroleum geology.
(Uh Gene… I think they could really use you down on the
Louisiana coast right now.)
In a recent e-mail, Pisasale wrote, “‘Lafayette's Gold—The
Lost Brandywine Treasure,’ is an historical novel that utilizes real places and
historical sites and weaves them into a fascinating historical fiction
concerning Lafayette and the battle.”
“My work is a novel—it is not a history book,” he stressed.
“I hope to kindle excitement in people who love our history and have them
appreciate what he did for our country.”
Pisasale directed me ro the promotional video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMzX9VVEWeM.
It was impressive.
According to Pisasale, “For a rough comparison,
"Lafayette's Gold" has similarities to "The Da Vinci Code"
and to the movie "National Treasure", but it is a more serious
book discussing important issues—not a flamboyant work or one to titillate the
masses."
I asked how he came up with his idea for this, his second
novel.
“I came up with the idea for the story line of
"Lafayette's Gold" after visiting Brandywine Battlefield Park last
year and taking the tour with [park guide] Beth Rorke, who told us the park was
likely to close due to lack of funding,” he said.
“I was saddened by that possibility and wanted to write a
story that revolved around the Battle of the Brandywine and Lafayette.”
“I also wanted to highlight the critical importance of
preserving our historic sites, which are treasures disappearing every day due
to overdevelopment and neglect,” he added.
But as an amateur historian, having headed the boards of two
history museums, it is difficult for this writer to objectively address issues
of “historical fiction” especially in areas where there has been way too much
“history according to Disney” already.
Case in point, when Longfellow wanted to honor his great
uncle, Paul Revere, he padded his now epic poem with so many inaccuracies that
“hardly a man now alive” realizes that Paul Revere was captured by the British
and never made it to Concord.
But hey, anyone out there with connections to Scorsese or
Spielberg?
Pisasale will be holding book signings this summer at the
Sanderson Museum and Chadds Ford Historical Society and we wish him well.
About Sally Denk Hoey
Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”
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