ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville author Andrew Lawler is holding congress at Malaprop’s Bookstore later this month to discuss his new book, “A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution,” which tackles an under-explored period of early United States history.
Lawler will be joined by Dr. Ellen Holmes Pearson, a history professor at University of North Carolina Asheville, for his Malaprop’s event, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the bookstore.
The hybrid event can be registered for in-person attendance here or online attendance here.
Lawler has lived in Asheville’s Montford neighborhood for about 15 years, but his hometown is Norfolk, Virginia, where much of the action in “A Perfect Frenzy” is set.
“A Perfect Frenzy” is about Lord Dunmore, a British loyalist and governor of Virginia, and the dissolution of his friendship with George Washington during the outbreak of the American Revolution in the spring of 1775.
“It was really about loyalty to the king and about getting land,” Lawler explained. “Dunmore and Washington wanted the land, Dunmore had to be bound by his loyalty to the king, and therefore the two friends became the bitterest of enemies.”
As he prepared to face Washington in battle, the Virginian governor realized there was one small problem: he didn’t have any troops.
“Here’s a rebellion by the leading planters of the gentry of Virginia. How is he going to fight them without any troops?” Lawler said. “He realized very quickly that two out of every five Virginians were enslaved Africans and that these were people who were brutally oppressed by the patriot planters. He realized as the crisis unfolded that these people were more than willing to fight and die for freedom.”
Lawler invoked Patrick Henry’s famous call-to-arms, “give me liberty or give me death” describing the enslaved people who would fight for Dunmore. As it turned out, liberty was around the corner for the troops Dunmore enlisted.
“On November 15, 1775, he decided to take the big plunge. He published the continent’s first emancipation proclamation, granting freedom to any enslaved person who would fight for the king,” Lawler said. “This was revolutionary. No one had ever proposed something like this before.”
With his proclamation, which influenced and predated Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by nearly 90 years, Dunmore prompted thousands of enslaved people all across the colonies to journey to Norfolk, Virginia.
Lawler was sure to note that Dunmore was not wholly innocent of the slave trade. He, too, owned slaves, as did his opponent, Washington.
“Yes, Dunmore was being opportunistic, but over time he clearly grew to have respect for the capabilities, the fighting capabilities of the Black men who became part of the Ethiopian Regiment. Unlike George Washington, who refused to allow enslaved people into the Continental Army,” Lawler clarified. “I think Dunmore comes out ahead of the game if you compare the two.”
Lawler said that while he originally started working on “A Perfect Frenzy” while exploring his hometown’s history, he quickly realized the story felt relevant to the United States today.
“I don’t think that you can understand these important issues that are dividing our nation today without going back and looking at their origin,” Lawler said. “After 250 years, I think it is time for us to set aside our hero worship and look at some of the hard truths of how our nation was founded. While giving full credit to the founders for their vision, we should also be mature enough to see that the founders also left a mess that we’re still trying to clean up today.”
For more information about Lawler, “A Perfect Frenzy” and the Malaprop’s event, visit the Malaprop’s website.
“A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution” will be published in hardcover on Jan. 28, 2025.