Scandal at Bizarre - Malfunctioning Patriarchy

Cynthia Kierner’s study of the families and events of “Jefferson’s Virginia” in Scandal at Bizarre is an example of how a microhistory can take on broader historical aspects, such as the feminist history of the Old South, the decline of the gentry establishment in post-Revolutionary America, and the subtle forms of power that oppressed, and even enslaved, people could possess.

Kierner begins, like many microhistories, with a very macro-looking introduction to provide the contextual foundation of the book. Chapter 1 looks at the overarching social, political, and economic landscape of Virginia, including the hierarchical influences in land ownership, wealth, and public power. Woven into this contextual overview is the story of one extended family – the famous Randolphs – and the tragic events that unfolded at Bizarre and Glentivar. The scandal, largely influenced by the stories shared by slaves who told stories of finding the body of an aborted baby, affected everyone involved for decades to come and, as exposed by Kierner’s research and writing, provided a unique vantage point on the personal dynamics of men and women, privileged and pedestrian, revered and repugnant members of society. Nancy, stuck at the center of the scandal, endures to find love with the acclaimed statesman Gouverneur Morris in New York, a happy marriage but one resented by some who felt that Nancy was beneath Morris’ status. The marriage produced a son, Gouverneur Jr., who became the center of Nancy’s universe and her reason for fighting vigilantly against those who attempted to use the earlier scandal to discredit and tarnish her. The story that emerges is one of strength, determination, and heartbreak, all serving to highlight how wrong things can go when social power is concentrated in one demographic group – the white male elites  – and that group “malfunctions.” As Kierner says, it is “a story that illustrated the perils of seduction and malfunctioning patriarchy.”