The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr

Though he was a hero of the Revolutionary War, a prominent New York politician, and vice president of the United States, Aaron Burr is today best remembered as the villain who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

But as H. W. Brands demonstrates in this fascinating portrait of one of the most compelling politicians in American history, Burr was also a man before his time--a proponent of equality between the sexes well over a century before women were able to vote in the US. Through Burr's extensive, witty correspondence with his daughter Theodosia, Brands traces the arc of a scandalous political career and the early years of American politics. The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr not only dramatizes through their words his eventful life, it also tells a touching story of a father's love for his exceptional daughter, which endured through public shame, bankruptcy, and exile, and outlasted even Theodosia's tragic disappearance at sea.

A Paperback Original

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 05/01/2012
ISBN: 9780307743268
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 8.02h x 5.25w x 0.60d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2012
Publishers Weekly 04/02/2012 pg. 51
Library Journal 05/01/2012 pg. 86