Susan Holloway Scott has written a book about a little-known woman who has been forgotten by history. Blending fact and fiction, Scott recounts a story few know anything about.
As the colonies are at war with Great Britain to gain independence, our founding fathers are engaged in a military conflict while also fighting for control of their new country. As the men fight, the women behind the scenes do what they must to survive.
One of these survivors is a woman named Mary Emmons, who is long forgotten from history. Mary is sold into slavery as a young child by her uncle in India and eventually brought to America as the Revolutionary War is just beginning. Mary is sold into a home with a mistress who’s constantly shifting her loyalties, even though she is married to a British officer. Mary is smart, resourceful, and strong. She soon makes herself indispensable to her new owner, gaining her trust, but also gaining the attention of Aaron Burr, a young officer in the colonial army who has fallen in love with Mary’s mistress, Mrs. Theodosia Prevost. 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.
The behind-the-scenes schemes and double-crossings that conspired among key figures in the founding of our nation not only shocked me but also opened my eyes to the influence women had on these men’s lives. This carefully researched novel reveals a part of history I knew little about. Aaron Burr was more than just the man who killed Alexander Hamilton in the now infamous duel. He was also a brilliant lawyer, politician, and very nearly president, but like most men of that time, he was not afraid to claim whatever he thought should be his. Sadly, Mary Emmons was one of those things he coveted. Their story is not only shocking and despairing but also passionate and inspiring.
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