The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr

August 5, 2019
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. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

In a performance filled with restrained rage, Kirsten Potter portrays Via, a 7-year-old Tamil girl, the product of her mother's rape by a British soldier, who is sold into slavery. Her final owner, Colonel Prevost, renames her Mary and presents her to his wife, Theodosia. "Mary" grows into a woman with a strong sense of personal identity. Theodosia begins a torrid affair with young Colonel Aaron Burr, who also forces his sexual attentions on Mary. Burr continues to demand Mary's presence in his bed even after marriage to Theodosia. Potter makes Mary's helplessness and confused feelings toward Burr starkly real. She skillfully conveys the dangerous nature of the Mary/Burr relationship, in the process revealing the jealousies, duels, and double-dealings of our Founding Fathers. S.J.H. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine