The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr
A Riveting Untold Story of the American Revolution
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Inspired by a woman and events forgotten by history, bestselling author Susan Holloway Scott weaves together carefully researched fact and fiction to tell the story of Mary Emmons, and the place she held in the life—and the heart—of the notorious Aaron Burr.
He was a hero of the Revolution, a brilliant politician, lawyer, and very nearly president; a skillful survivor in a raw new country filled with constantly shifting loyalties. Today Aaron Burr is remembered more for the fatal duel that killed rival Alexander Hamilton. But long before that single shot destroyed Burr’s political career, there were other dark whispers about him: that he was untrustworthy, a libertine, a man unafraid of claiming whatever he believed should be his.
Sold into slavery as a child in India, Mary Emmons was brought to an America torn by war. Toughened by the experiences of her young life, Mary is intelligent, resourceful, and strong. She quickly gains the trust of her new mistress, Theodosia Prevost, and becomes indispensable in a complicated household filled with intrigue—especially when the now-widowed Theodosia marries Colonel Aaron Burr. As Theodosia sickens with the fatal disease that will finally kill her, Mary and Burr are drawn together into a private world of power and passion, and a secret, tangled union that would have shocked the nation . . .
Praise for I, Eliza Hamilton
“Scott’s devotion to research is evident . . . a rewarding take on a fascinating historical couple.”
—Library Journal
“Readers will be captivated.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Packed with political and historical as well as domestic details.”
—Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scott (I, Eliza Hamilton) imagines the life of Mary Emmons, an enslaved woman from India who had a relationship with Aaron Burr, providing her a voice that highlights the hypocrisy and cruelty of the white imperialists around her. Born in Calcutta and sold into slavery at age eight, Mary learns at an early age to use her wits survive. She is brought to the American colonies on the eve of revolution and is eventually sold to the wife of Col. Aaron Burr, Theodosia Prevost. Mary is drawn to the kind, enigmatic Burr, and as they tend to the dying Theodosia, he and Mary begin an affair that challenges the rules of society and the very notions of freedom at the heart of the new American experiment. While the plot and pacing can be plodding and predictable, Scott's deeply empathetic heroine is sure to keep readers hooked; both her inner strength and the strength of her relationships such as the connection she has to her fellow enslaved people in India elevate and anchor the story. Though not exactly revolutionary, this is a moving and vivid work of historical fiction.
