Customer Reviews

My Theodosia

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this in high school, this tragic tale of the ill-fated daughter of former vice- president Aaron Burr, and wife of Govenor Joseph Alston, Theodosia Burr Alston, who is said to haunt a beach in South Carolina. In 1812 Theodosia was on a ship that went down off the coast of North Carolina. The bodies of all the others lost at sea washed up, but hers was never found.

It never ceases to amaze me how well Anya Seton can take historical facts, and blend with them just enough drama to make them readable, but not innacurate.

You will not be able to put it down.

This book tells the story of Aaron Burr and his daughter Theodosia (Theo). I have to admit I didn't recall much of Burr from history class outside of the duel with Alexander Hamilton. At the start of the book Theo is 17 and Burr is vice president of the United States. Burr plots to have Theo married to the wealthy but uninteresting Joseph Alston of South Carolina. Burr needs some of that money to cover his debts and also the power of the Alstons to gain him political support in the south. The relationship between Burr and Theo is closer than most father/daughter relationships and Burr is able to manipulate Theo into his increasingly risky and treasonous schemes that distance her ever further from any satisfying relationship she might forge with her husband, and her greatest joy in life is her young son.

There are lots of well known names in the story as Theo interacts with them -- Washington Irving (a minor character), Meriwether Lewis (sigh!), Dolly Madison, Alexander Hamilton and more. I love the way she sets her scenes and writes the various dialects, it's like you really hear them as they would be spoken. Her characters could have been fleshed out better, there is so much subject material in the Burr story and it's twists and turns that could be turned into a gloriously fat and meaty work of historical fiction. Writers out there -- HINT HINT HINT.

Be advised that if you read up on Aaron and Theo on the internet prior to finishing the book you will end up with some spoilers on your hands. However, do look Theo up afterwards and the legends surrounding her mysterious disappearance and the strange ghost that haunts a Carolina shore. Lastly, I was very glad there was not another forward by Philppa Gregory. The one she wrote for Devil Water and the way she obsessed about the too close relationship between father and daughter really irked me to no end.

Theodosia Burr is the smart, adoring, seventeen-year-old daughter of Aaron Burr, who was vice-president at a time when one attained the office by being the runner-up in a presidential election. Thus, the president, Thomas Jefferson, is actually his political rival. Having run into both political and financial hardship, Aaron arranges for Theodosia to marry Joseph Alston, a wealthy but unattractive and dull Carolina planter. Shocked that her father would be desperate enough to send her to such a fate, but resigned, Theodosia goes willingly and begins her life at The Oaks, Joseph's plantation. A son brings her boy joy and pain, as does a clandestine relationship with Meriwether Lewis who, along with William Clark, is about to embark on his famous exploration into the unknown western territory.

Theodosia's ultimate fate is suggested at the end of the book, although the reality is that it is still a mystery. This book appears to be out of print, which is unfortunate as Anya Seton is very talented and has become one of my favorite authors of historical fiction. I didn't enjoy this work quite as well as some of her others, but it's definitely worth a read.

Having read this well-written book many years ago and having thoroughly enjoyed it, I decided it was time to pay an old friend another visit and re-read it. Time has certainly not diminished the capacity of this book to entertain the reader.

The talented author deftly weaves the gossamer threads of history with fiction, creating a tapestry that tells the reader of the tragic life of Theodosia, beloved daughter and only child of the notorious Aaron Burr. Written by a master storyteller, it is an enjoyable and poignant portrait of Theodosia. While her life was tragic in many respects, the book tells a compelling story of a young woman whose name will forever remain in the annals of history.

I enjoyed the read. I learned a lot about Aaron Burr and the lifestyles of different regions in the early days of our nation. Theodosia's story is a sad one. By the end of the book I felt like I knew her and cared for her.

Over the past few months I have been reading, or re-reading, all of Anya Seton's works, and I just finished re-reading My Theodosia, which I first read several years ago. One of the things I like about Anya Seton's historical "biographies" is that, rather than write about the popular figures who are already the subject of countless biographies, and whose stories we already know, she instead focuses on the lesser-known minor players of history. My Theodosia, Devil Water and The Winthrop Woman all tell the stories of people that history has largely forgotten. It is probably even likely that Katherine Swynford wasn't so well-known to the general public until Anya Seton wrote a book about her.

In My Theodosia, Seton's first book, she points her pen at Theodosia Burr Alston. Although the book is about Theodosia, the real "main character" of this story is actually Theodosia's relationship with her father, the scheming, self-serving, but fascinating scoundrel Aaron Burr. Their father/daughter relationship was truly remarkable; while Burr was in many ways ahead of his time in his views of women, and in the way he raised and trained his daughter, at the same time he maintained a Svengali-like hold over her throughout all of her short life. She ultimately sacrificed everything -- even her chance at true love -- on the altar of devotion to her father.

I think what will be most troublesome about this book to modern readers is the way Seton depicts slaves in the South ("protruding lips around enormous white teeth, slate-back skin, and rolling eyes") and her frequent use of the "n" word. I had to remind myself that she was 1) presenting blacks as they probably would have seemed to an upper-class young girl from the North in the days when slavery was still an ingrained institution in both North and South and blacks were widely considered less than human, and 2) this book was written in the 1940s, long before the days of civil rights or sensitivity to such issues.

My Theodosia is a charming peek into upper-class American life in the very early 1800's, and the author weaves in vignettes of some of the early American greats (James and Dolly Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Washington Irving). Seton managed to paint a vivid picture of the time and place without fulsome or verbose descriptions, a style she maintained throughout all her books. Aaron Burr's escapades fill the book as they filled his daughter's life, and woven throughout is a bittersweet love story of Theodosia and the true love of her life. Although this is not Anya Seton's strongest work, it is highly enjoyable.

Aaron Burr, the third Vice President of the US, is a difficult figure to fathom. He was wanted for the "murder" of Alexander Hamilton and never tried for it. He was later was charged with treason and acquitted. History has not been kind to him. A recent work: Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr makes a good case for his vindication as in some ways Gore Vidal does too in his 1973 fictional work: Burr: A Novel.

This 1941 novel shows Burr and all his contradictions through his daughter, Theodosia. Her mother died when she was 11 and her single father did not pass her along to a female relative as was the custom, he raised her himself according to the progressive methods of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

As Seton tells it, Theodosia, like a European princess, acceded to her father's connivance of a marriage designed to a suit his economic and political needs. At 17 Theo accepted the hand of the heir of a prominent South Carolina plantation family. Theo's father, received the South Carolina's electoral votes (and possibly loans or cash) that almost made him president.

Theodosia had been raised on literature, languages and a love of theater. This background is a bad fit for a rice growing family spread over several plantations, all of which seem to be in need of repair. She does not love this man; her heart belongs to Daddy and in this novel, another historical personage.

In speculating on the life of Theodosia, the book shows the stiff courtship that once passed as romance, the contrast of northern and southern cultures, something of the personal dynamics of slave labor and the daring life of Aaron Burr. The racism is a little hard to swallow. The use of pejoratives can be justified in the dialog of these 19th century characters, but the author's voice reflects their view as well.

Love this book-couldnt put it down. Kept wondering how much was true and blown away by fact of her feeling for Merriwether Lewis. I felt as though I got to know Aaron Burr very intimately. Wonderful descriptions of both South Carolina countryside and Richmond Hill & Hudson. Although I adored her novel Katherine I have enjoyed the simplicity and length of this book more.

Anya Seton is a great writer who really does her research on historical characters and then creates an interesting story line and cast of characters.

I'm giving this book four stars, because in its way it is well written, and it may suit many who are looking for a historical romance to read. Seton is known for her well crafted works in that genre, and MY THEODOSIA may not disappoint her loyal readers. I myself came to Anya Seton's book not because of what she had to offer as a novelist, but because I was hoping to learn more about Theodosia Burr Alston and to spend a while in her company. I'm an Aaron Burr fan, and I wanted to read about the well educated, intelligent, heroic daughter who stood at his side through the good times and the bad.

Instead, Anya Seton's Theodosia is a weak female, easily manipulated and very conventional. Not only does she not take an interest in politics, she seems downright closed minded and at times bigoted. Her complaints about the South, about her husband's family, and about the slaves who surround her make one almost sympathize with her beleaguered, incompetent husband. There are racist overtones to the writing, not only in the way African facial features are described, but even when the term "swarthy" is used to characterize poor Joseph Alston's unattractiveness. (This is really odd, because Theodosia herself has always been depicted as rather dark.)

Aaron Burr comes off as a schemer intent on nothing but his own advancement, and Theodosia is the mere victim of her father's unscrupulousness. This may reflect the accepted, textbook version that has been passed down to us, but if you want a more interesting, nuanced portrait of both the man and his daughter, I recommend Burr: A Novel.