For readers who can't get enough of the hit Broadway musical
Hamilton, Gore Vidal's stunning novel about Aaron Burr, the man who
killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel--and who served as a successful, if
often feared, statesman of our fledgling nation.
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated--and
misunderstood--figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while
serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political
nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested,
tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an
aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to
tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City
journalist named Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler. Together, they explore
both Burr's past--and the continuing civic drama of their young nation.
Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series,
which spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to
post-World War II. With their broad canvas and sprawling cast of
fictional and historical characters, these novels present a panorama of
American politics and imperialism, as interpreted by one of our most
incisive and ironic observers.
