Theodosia,
Daughter of Aaron Burr by Anne Colver
Anne
Colver was born in Cleveland, OH, in 1908, and died in 1991. She also wrote
under the name Polly Anne Graff. Her books are written for middle/upper
elementary; many biographies and some fiction, and some on her own and some
with others. She wrote or contributed to
these titles among others:
Helen
Keller, Crusader for the Blind and Deaf
Helen
Keller: Toward the Light – a Discovery bio
Bread-and-Butter
Indian
Bread-and-Butter
Journey
The
Wayfarer’s Tree
Abraham
Lincoln – a Discovery bio
Mr.
Lincoln’s Wife
Louisa
May Alcott
Borrowed
Treasure
Thomas
Jefferson, Author of Independence – a Discovery bio
Florence
Nightingale, War Nurse – a Discovery bio
Bad
Jack and the Lincoln Boys
Squanto,
Indian Adventurer – American Indian bio published by Garrard
Yankee
Doodle Painter
Plato:
Brave Lipizzaner Stallion
The
Spirit of ‘76
Old
Bet
Nobody’s
Birthday
Shamrock
Cargo: A Story of the Irish Potato Famine
Lucky
Four
Listen
for the Voices: A Novel of Concord
Secret
Castle
Anne
Colver was thirteen when she first heard of Theodosia Burr, and decided someday
to write her biography….Theodosia,
Daughter of Aaron Burr, was her very favorite out of all the books she
wrote because the idea was her first for a book. Anne attended Friends School
in Washington, D.C. and Pine Manor Junior College, then graduated from Whitman
College in Washington state. After writing five mysteries, she turned to
historical fiction. The Early American period, the era of the Burr family, was
one of her specialties. At the time of the writing of this book, Anne lived in
Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, with her husband, Stewart Graff, a lawyer and
writer, and their daughter Kate.
Theodosia, Daughter
of Aaron Burr,
was first published in 1941. The book is 182 pages long and is written on an
upper elementary reading level.
This
biography is divided into two parts: New York, 1783-1801; and Charleston
1801-1812. The book tells the story of the life of Theodosia, the daughter of
Aaron Burr, and as we learn of her, we learn more about Aaron Burr from the
perspective of his devoted daughter. The story begins with Theodosia being a
young girl who is being schooled by her father to be an academic, disciplined
learner. He made sure she was well-educated. He and she carried on beautiful
letters to one another until her death. Quickly the story moves to her as a
young woman who married Joseph Alston, a Southern man who eventually became the
governor of South Carolina. At first as I read this, I thought maybe I wouldn’t
keep the book, thinking that it was going to be a poorly written romance. But I’m
so glad I didn’t give up on the story. Theodosia stayed loyal to her father
through his political difficulties and throughout the criticism and trial after
his duel with Alexander Hamilton. Through her eyes, the reader learns about the
character of Aaron Burr, his personality, the suffering he endured, and his
ultimate “self banishment.” The story is well-told and conveys so much about a
little-known period of American history. Theodosia died young, supposedly in a
shipping accident in 1812 during the beginning of the conflict of the War of
1812 as she traveled from South Carolina to be with her father as he returned
to Boston from England.
I
can highly recommend this book for those wanting to learn more about Aaron
Burr, and his loving daughter Theodosia, and this turbulent period of American
history.
Additional
titles to add to your studies:
Alexander Hamilton
and Aaron Burr
- Anna Erskine
Crouse and Russel Crouse, Landmark Book
Wide World of Aaron
Burr
– Helen Orlob
Aaron Burr – William Wise
Strange Island – Marion Havighurst
Magnificent Adventure – Emerson Hough
River Pirates – Manly Wade Wellman
Alexander Hamilton – Jean Fritz
Alec Hamilton, The
Little Lion
– Helen Higgins, Childhood of Famous Americans
Duel! Burr and
Hamilton’s Deadly War with Words – Dennis Fradin
First Book of the War
of 1812
– Richard Morris
Story of the War of 1812 – Red Reeder
Pirates, Planters,
and Patriots: The Story of Charleston, South Carolina – Janice Holland
South Carolina – Bernadine Bailey
Young Explorers’ New
York: Maps of Manhattan – Lavinia Faxon
This is New York – M. Sasek
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rights reserved. Sandy Hall 2018 – If you would like to copy this review and
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