LAUSR

celibate life. The second point was that Burr, far from being a libertine (a label often applied to him), had a code of sexual ethics that—while it would not have passed muster with his grandfather Jonathan Edwards— was far stricter than that of many of his male contemporaries. Burr was faithful to both his wives (the authors view the accusation of adultery in his second marriage as a legal collusion for the purpose of obtaining a divorce). He did not sleep with other men’s wives or mistresses (and, as this reviewer would add, he did not sleep with slaves). This book also includes an essay on Burr’s protégé, the artist John Vanderlyn, by Katherine Woltz, the leading expert on Vanderlyn’s work. Vanderlyn was living in Paris at the time and often met with Burr. This relationship, as well as Vanderlyn’s paintings, had political overtones which Woltz thoroughly analyzes.This is a fascinating book from which the reader will learn much.