Abstract
By publishing his posthumous memoirs in 1837, Lafayette’s family intended to insure his reputation and promote the liberal cause. This article explains the varied and often surprising reasons for the failure of this enterprise, including the effects of copyright laws, finance and editing decisions. By examining the responses of contemporaries to the memoirs, this article also explores the shifting meaning of Lafayette’s legacy in both France and the United States, the changing meaning of revolution in the middle of the nineteenth century, and the difficulties of sustaining a heroic reputation when it is no longer politically useful.
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