Fritz's The Great Little Madison covers the same period that Why Not, Lafayette? does.

Lafayette appears in The Great Little Madison, first as a war leader and later as Madison and America's guest. In The Great Little Madison, Lafayette is described as obese during his tour of America, but this image is softened considerably in Why Not, Lafayette?, which only hints that he had put on weight. Why Not, Lafayette? was written ten Why Not, Lafayette?

years after The Great Little Madison, so it is possible that Fritz acquired new information during the period after writing The Great Little Madison, although it is possible that she grew to like Lafayette so much that she did not care to characterize him as obese. Otherwise, The Great Little Madison notes Lafayette's immense popularity in the United States and his warm friendship with Madison himself.