Theodosia, Daughter of Aaron Burr by Anne Colver - a Book Review

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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