Inventing Ethan Allen /

This brief but interesting work has two purposes. The first is to trace the shifting reputation of Ethan Allen from his time to ours. The second is to question recent interpretations the authors find too flattering. In argument and structure, the book is more an exercise in the history of memory than a historiographic essay. Duffy (emer., English, Johnson State College) and Muller combine a short biography of Allen with an account of social and cultural change in order to explore his varying roles in Vermont's intellectual life over time. Ethan Allen's conduct and role were controversial from the start. The authors describe well the clashing opportunities and risks, loyalties, and ambitions rife on the northern frontier during his era. They also give a convincing account of Allen's efforts to justify himself and forge a reputation as a patriot and frontier philosopher. The work than analyzes the cultivation of Allen as an exemplar of personal and civic virtue amid the uncertainties of 19th-century Vermont. That image was later countered by Progressive historians, and then partially rehabilitated in recent times. This book provides useful insight into the evolution of Vermont culture and thought. --Richard P. Gildrie, Austin Peay State University