Beaumarchais: Playwright, Secret Agent, Revolutionary

Tuesday, November 24, 2026 From 6:00 PM To 7:00 PM Add to Calendar 2026-11-24 18:00:00 2026-11-24 19:00:00 Beaumarchais: Playwright, Secret Agent, Revolutionary The little-known story of the man behind Figaro and the secret French support that helped sustain the American Revolution. The French Library, 53 Marlborough St, Boston, Massachusetts, United States America/New_York

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In 1776, as the American colonies fought for independence, an unlikely French ally came to their aid: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, a playwright, courtier, entrepreneur, watchmaker, secret agent, and the celebrated author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro.

Working behind the scenes, Beaumarchais persuaded Louis XVI to support a secret operation supplying the American rebels with desperately needed weapons, ammunition, and equipment. His extraordinary efforts helped sustain Washington’s army at a critical moment in the Revolution.

Join acclaimed historian of Boston and the American Revolution Robert J. Allison for the remarkable and little-known story of Beaumarchais and the secret French support that helped change the course of the American Revolution. .

Our author's talk will be followed by a Q&A session and a reception.

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$10

About Robert Allison

Robert J. Allison is a historian of the American Revolution and early American history. A professor at Suffolk University who also teaches at Harvard Extension School, he is the author of The American Revolution: A Concise History, as well as books on Boston, the Barbary Wars, and naval hero Stephen Decatur.

Allison is co-chair of Revolution 250, a consortium of organizations working together to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. He has also written about Harlow Giles Unger’s Improbable Patriot: The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French Playwright Who Saved the American Revolution, recently reissued by Brandeis University Press.

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