Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder Mystery

By Paul Collins

The remarkable true story of a turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued—a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was served—from bestselling author of the Edgar finalist, Murder of the Century.

In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the populist Republicans, led by Aaron Burr. The two finest lawyers in New York, Burr and Hamilton were bitter rivals both in and out of the courtroom, and as the next election approached, their animosity reached a crescendo.

But everything changed when a young Quaker woman, Elma Sands, was found dead in Burr's newly constructed Manhattan Well. The horrific crime quickly gripped the nation, and before long accusations settled on one of Elma’s suitors: a handsome young carpenter named Levi Weeks. As the enraged city demanded a noose be draped around his neck, Week's only hope was to hire a legal dream team. And thus it was that New York’s most bitter political rivals and greatest attorneys did the unthinkable—they teamed up.

Our nation’s longest running cold case, Duel with the Devil delivers the first substantial break in the case in over 200 years. At once an absorbing legal thriller and an expertly crafted portrait of the United States in the time of the Founding Fathers, Duel with the Devil is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307956477

Reviews for Duel with the Devil

[doomjesse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was excited to receive this book as an Early reviewer. When I received it, I took a quick glance and noticed the story without notes was just over 200 pages. This generally doesn't bode well for a book in my opinion, as authors generally seem to be stretching their material out when a book is this size. finally I settled down to read. The author does a reasonably good job of getting the setting laid down in the first 50 pages and then dives headlong into the story. Unfortunately as other reviewers have noted, his focus seems divided between The trial and Burr and Hamilton. In the end I wished the author would've been more clear in his focus or made the book longer.

[susannainsc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Won on LT Early Reviewers.It took a while (nearly a third of the book) for Collins to get to the actual murder; but the details of daily life in New York City at the opening of the 19th century were fascinating. And the payoff for the slow build was worth it, to me anyway.I enjoyed this as much as Collins' The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime that Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars, set in a very different historical New York City, which I also gave four stars.

[fjumonvi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On a cold night in late 1799, a young Quaker miss named Elma Sands walked out of the Manhattan boardinghouse where she lived--and never returned. More than a week passed. Her friends and relatives grew increasingly alarmed, with, as it turned out, good reason, as Elma's lifeless body was fished from the depths of a nearby well. When an inquest ruled out suicide, suspicion focused upon Elma's fellow boarder and rumored suitor, carpenter Levi Weeks. Effectively set in the context of turn-of-the-nineteenth-century New York, [Duel with the Devil] chronicles Elma's death, Levi's arrest and trial (including a three-member defense team highlighted by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr--on the same side!), and the aftermath. Hailed on its cover as "the true story of ... America's first sensational murder mystery," the book combines historical accuracy, verified by extensive endnotes, with a writing style that clearly presents and brings to life an extensive cast of characters and complex interactions. An effective device employed by author Paul Collins when dealing with matters beyond the availability of quotations is the use of imagined dialogue set in italic type, without quotation marks. Collins is an associate professor of creative writing, and he has applied his considerable writing talent very capably to this nonfiction event.When historians wearied of chronicling the prominent and powerful and turned their attention to ordinary citizens in extraordinary situations, they found that those citizens often failed to leave a trail of correspondence and other documentation--unless they became involved with the courts. Trial transcripts provide historians and other researchers with a wealth of descriptive information, and here those sources are adroitly exploited. The Levi Weeks case, which lived on in the public mind long after the jury reached its verdict, engendered more than the usual commentary, including published transcripts and a novel replete with accurate descriptions of the boardinghouse denizens, written seven decades later by a descendant of the landlady. Although Collins does not solve the case, as promotional material implies (it was solved two centuries ago), he has skillfully woven nineteenth-century sources into a narrative that is well worth a reader's attention.

[teresakayep · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Political rivals Hamilton and Burr teamed up in 1800 to serve as defense attorneys in a high-profile murder trial in Manhattan. The murder victim was a young Quaker woman named Elma Sands whose body had been found in a well. The suspect, presumed by virtually all Manhattan to be guilty, was Levi Weeks, a boarder in her home rumored to be romantically involved with her.In this book, Paul Collins details the events leading up to the murder, peppering the narrative with details about Manhattan life at the time and about construction projects relevant to the case, the main one being the quest to improve the city water supply. He gives background on Hamilton and Burr and their reasons for taking up the case, and he introduces readers to the Greenwich Village neighborhood where Elma and Levi lived. He relies on original sources and firsthand accounts of the trial to build his story, and he holds back enough facts to keep readers in suspense about the outcome of the trial and Levi's likely guilt or innocence. The book is short---only about 200 pages of text followed by extensive notes. Collins generally sticks to his basic story---background, murder, trial, and brief aftermath---and doesn't spend much time trying to cover every issue and topic adjacent to the murder. It was about the right amount of detail, enough to get a sense of the period, but not so much to be overloaded.Although the book wasn't overloaded with historical background, the murder case itself involved so many different people and so many different timelines that I struggled at times to follow it. Certain events were treated with great importance, but I couldn't always work out how those events fit into the case for the prosecution or the defense. I also do want to note that the advance copy I received says that this book delivers the first substantial break in the case in over 200 years. To which I'm just going to say that's overstating the case. Some of the facts he shares weren't necessarily common knowledge at the time, but there's no new information here either. There didn't need to be for it to be a story worth telling.

[lucas20_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent portrayal of New York during the Early Republic. Well researched look into daily life and politics of the time. Interesting if not gripping the book moves quickly.

[movielizard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I received "Duel with the Devil" I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. The title implies the book will be about Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr - which it is - but not entirely. Paul Collins' book is about a murder trial in 1800 where Hamilton and Burr were working side-by-side on the defense team. Although the book does a good job at keeping the storyline consistent, I'm not sure how this book should be marketed. As a murder trial? As a book about Hamilton and Burr? The focus of both is a bit confusing at times....I'm wondering where Collins' loyalties lie: to the 2 men, or the murder trial?The book is mapped out chronologically, but jumps back into the past to give a little background of each character as they are introduced. This greatly assists with understanding the dynamics of the characters involvement with the story being told, along with their feelings and attitudes towards one another. My only big concern is that some of the wording is confusing, and that there are a TON of characters. Perhaps there needs to be a list at the front of the book along with the map of New York, detailing each character as they appear, their occupation, and where they live? Especially once the book becomes about the murder trial, a lot of characters appear very quickly, and it's easy to get confused.A good, easy read if you're interested in the beginnings of America & the Founding Fathers...and if you already know a bit about Hamilton, Burr, and how crazy things were in the first years of the nation's existence.

[wardemote · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed *Duel with the Devil*, Paul Collins' account of how Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr teamed up to prevent an innocent Levi Weeks from being convicted of the murder of Elma Sands in 1799. I appreciated the easy history lessons necessarily integrated into the story, though I should have liked to have learnt more about the process Hamilton and Burr used to discover the exculpatory evidence that led to Weeks' acquittal and to have been privy to how the great rivals divided up the courtroom responsibilities. The book's style was generally fluid, though occasionally stilted, and the structure sometimes a little choppy, but I recommend *Duel* for its unfolding mystery and for Collins' dedication to respecting the historical evidence available to him.

[berkshires · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful read! When hearing of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, I naturally think first about their place in early American History. And their bitter rivalry. But this book tells a bit of a different story, the story of their teaming up for the defense, in the trial of Levi Weeks, a young carpenter who was accused of murdering Elma Sands, a young Quaker woman and boarding house owner in late eighteenth century Manhattan.The book is written in an easy to read style, and held my attention throughout. If you enjoy a good mystery, and a true story from early America, put this book on your reading list.

[loraineo_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well researched . A murder of a young woman and the trial of the accused murderer in 1799. Very good description of the way people lived in New York many years ago.

[keywestnan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Historical true crime is one of my favorite genres and when you have Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr teaming up for the defense, it seems like it should be a perfect set-up. This book is pretty good though I never got a great feel for the primary characters -- the victim and the accused. It does better in providing portraits of Burr and Hamilton, who were already legal and political antagonists even if they would team up on a case if paid to do so. The book is best at providing a portrait of turn of the (19th) century New York, when the commercial city was still the nation's capital and the country was mourning its first president. Recommended for those who are into that time period, or are already into historical true crime.

[maryreinert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1800 in New York City, a young woman mysteriously disappears from a boarding house where she lives with the owners. Days later, first her muff is found, then her body found in a water well. A young man, Levi Weeks, who was also a boarder at the house is accused. Levi is a young carpenter and the brother of a up and coming architect in New York. Ezra Week, the brother, is able to obtain three attorneys to defend Levi: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and another well-known lawyer at the time. Although murder cases were not the specialty of Hamilton or Burr, both were somehow indebted to Weeks so they took the case.The story is as much about the investigation, trial, and aftermath of the murder than about the relationship between Burr and Hamilton. Based on many notes and references, the story seems very factual. It reads like a novel. Especially liked the ending chapters that relate what happen to the various parties involved including the duel between Burr and Hamilton. Good read; would read more by this author.

[wongxu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is such a well researched book on New York in 1800. It is filled with great detail including newspaper articles from the time. The author really did some digging around to get this information and he lays out a good case for who the real killer was. Duel with the Devil was a great find and I one I will keep on my shelf for others to read.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again Paul Collins has found a terribly interesting but largely unknown historical incident and drawn it out into a readable and compelling narrative. In this case it's a 1799 murder mystery: a young woman goes missing from her Manhattan boardinghouse, to be found several days later at the bottom of a nearby well. A fellow boarder is accused of her murder, and his legal "dream team" includes Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The trial is one of the first of its kind to be recorded verbatim by court reporters, so Collins has much to draw on when he reconstructs the scene (of course the case was widely reported in the newspapers as well, providing additional useful sources).Collins ably sets the scene, sketching out the particulars of the murder, summarizing the complicated and lengthy trial (with some great details on early jury sequestration) and then even exploring the aftermath and finding what seems to be the first actual new discovery related to the murder case in more than two centuries. He captures the convoluted nature of New York City politics during the early republic very nicely, too.If you've enjoyed Collins' earlier works, or if you're keen on a good historical detective story, don't miss this one.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really quite enjoyed this book. Written like a murder mystery, this was the actual recounting of a murder of Guilelma Sands in 1799. Living in a Boarding House in downtown NYC, Elma disappears one night. A fellow border, Levi Weeks is arrested for the crime. Powerhouse attorneys Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and Brockhurst Livingston defend him because of debts that they each had in some way to his brother, Ezra Weeks, an established and talented builder in Manhattan. Fast, easy read, especially for people who are fascinated by the history of NYC.

[delphica · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The title is a little forced, but I can see how the author simply had to. It's not the kind of thing I could resist. The tie to the actual case is a little weak, in the charge read in court, the devil is alluded to, as was typical for an 18th century murder.I'll also note that this is the third book I've read in recent memory that was about a murder trial, and claimed to be America's first murder in some way, the first sensational murder, the first murder case to play out in the media, whatever. None of them even mentioned each other. Overall, this was interesting. The murder in question took place in New York City in the late 1700s, the body of a young Quaker woman was found in a well, and a resident of her boarding house was charged with her murder. The guy's brother was an architect who had worked for both Hamilton and Burr, and I believe both of them owed him money, so he ended up with two totally famous lawyers. It's a great picture of the city at that time, there is a lot of information about what daily life was like, and how Hamilton and Burr's political activities were connected to what happened in the city in general.I usually really like Paul Collins's writing voice, and I mostly did here, but there was one weird stylistic thing in this book that kept putting me off. He'd include an italicized statement every once in a while to indicate something wasn't a directly quote, but something that was like to have been said. It was very odd and it tripped me up every time, because I couldn't figure out who was supposed to be saying what to whom. None of them were things that needed to be included at all. I'm giving this a very solid three stars, like a strong three and a half.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though Burr and Hamilton already had a certain amount of tension towards each other, circumstances led them to being two of the lawyers defending a young Quaker man accused of murdering a young woman in 1799.The body of the twenty year-old Quaker woman was found in a city well and suspicion immediately fell on a carpenter who had boarded in the same house and had escorted the victim about town occasionally. The young man's older brother was a wealthy builder with business ties to both Burr and Hamilton, so the two men were somewhat forced to put aside personal feelings and defend a man who had already been convicted in the media.Collins is also the author of the wonderful Sixpence House, a personal memoir. Duel With the Devil is slow going for about the first 100 pages, which is a good chunk for a book that runs just a little over 200. Once the actual trial starts though, the witnesses arrive quickly and we get a picture of how differently the law worked two hundred years ago. There is also a brief chapter of the infamous duel that occurred a few years after the trial.I tend to prefer my history given in facts rather than having conversations and feelings imagined by the author as happens here, but it's an interesting story that I'd never heard about before.

[drneutron_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I sometimes think our media act as if sensational crimes are a new thing. In reality, there have always been these events that capture public attention. In New York of 1800, it was the murder of a young Quaker girl by a boarder at the house where she lived. And the public was ready to string him up. Except that Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr - two men that absolutely despised each other - teamed up for his defense and was able prove he didn't do it. Paul Collins' new book is very good retelling of the story along with sidelights on New York of the day, Hamilton, Burr, and the world they lived in. Given the size of the city at the time, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by the interconnectedness of all the players in this drama, but I was, and Collins really brought it to life for me. Plus, he clears up the mystery in the end!

[foof2you · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A crime story set in New York City in 1799 a man charged with the murder of Elma Sands brings rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr together to defend Levi Weeks. It is a great look at America at the turn of the century. How people lived and how intertwined the lives of rivals could be.It even deals with the famous duel between Hamilton and Burr and the consequences of their actions.A great book and a must read.

[plumdog28_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting book that is as much a history of New York City at the turn of the 19th Century as it is about the trial itself. While the reader learns a bit about both Hamilton and Burr, it learns much more about the society in which both lived, where political rivals had connections intertwined throughout their non-political roles.

[kaysee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting. I remember from history about the duel Burr and Hamilton had, but never know they sometimes as lawyers they worked together or against each other depending on the client.Wonderfully told story, great details, perfect read for those that like a little mystery with their history.

[cmbohn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I won this one from LT Early Reviewers.The subtitle here is: The true story of how Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr teamed up to take on American's first sensational murder mystery. It was pretty sensational, and I loved the look at how the court system has changed, but I was really reading it for the interplay between Hamilton and Burr. Elma Sands and Levi Weeks lived at the same boarding house in Manhattan. They had a close friendship, so close that when she went missing, all eyes turned to him. Then her body turned up in a well nearby. He was arrested for her murder, just before the mob closed in and lynched him themselves. But was he really guilty?The description of the early court system was really interesting. Hamilton and Burr both worked for the defense. NYC being as small as it was, everyone involved on the case knew each other and had worked together - the defense, the jury, the prosecution, the witnesses - they all had ties. Burr's company even owned the well where the body was found. But there wasn't a lot of room to choose anyone else. This wasn't the best book ever, but it was good. The author and I have very different takes on Hamilton and Burr. He would describe Burr as a war hero. Um, no. Not buying it. Burr was an opportunistic show-off. Hamilton was the true hero. And his description of the duel left out a few key parts. But the emphasis was on the trial, and he did a good job there. Recommended for those interested in New York, in law, or in the Founding Fathers.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The death of a beautiful young woman in suspicious circumstances is always a matter of intense public interest. Just before Christmas in 1799 the nation mourned the death of founding father George Washington. An attractive, single Quaker woman vanished from her boarding house. Days later, her body was discovered at the bottom of a well. Suspicion soon settled on a fellow boarder, carpenter Levi Weeks, and he was soon arrested and tried for her murder. Fortunately, his brother, a prominent contractor, was well-connected and hired the best lawyers in New York to mount a defense: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.The trial was recorded in shorthand and three accounts with varying levels of detail were published within days of its conclusion, including a complete transcript of the proceedings by the court reporter. Collins supplements his account of the murder and trial with descriptive details gleaned from newspaper accounts and other contemporary sources. The result is a highly entertaining and informative narrative that presents some of the most famous personalities of the Early Republic in a different context than they're usually remembered. I believe Collins comes as close to the truth as could reasonably be expected given the nature of newspapers and journalism in that era. The book should appeal to readers with an interest in true crime stories, U.S. history, and New York history.This review is based on an advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

[bap1012 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading the historical account of the mysterious death of a young woman in post-Revolutionary America where two of the attorrneys defending the suspected killer were well-known American citizens: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. As most people learned in school, Burr and Hamilton held a duel where Hamilton lost his life but, in this instance, and other cases, they were on the same side. The book was interesting with good historical references and some conjecture. I enjoyed learning more about the early years in the New York area as well. Most of the book is set in 1799/1800.

[bellafoxx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Something happened while I was reading this book that has never happened before. I was so engrossed in reading that I missed my stop. Seriously I have never done that before. That is how fascinating and interesting I found this book to be. This crime happened in 1799 in what is now known as SoHo. The site of the murder was a well known as the Manhattan Well. A young Quaker woman was murdered and a young man, referred to as one of her suitors, who lived in the same boardinghouse as she did was accused of the crime. There were many accusations but not much proof, he needed a dream team and the two top lawyers in Manhattan were hired. Those two men were Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.Paul Collins shows his skill as a historian in the information he conveys about how life was in Manhattan in 1799. He tells of the diseases that ran rampant and how clean water was vital to the city but not available, how Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton came to be such bitter rivals and how Ezra Weeks was able to hire these two men to defend his brother. He brings the turn of the century to life in an informative and interesting way.He also describes in vivid detail the jail the accused was confined to and how trails were conducted at that time. This was a time of swift justice, citizens would riot if the outcome of a trial was not as they desired and men fought duels. Also included is how the trial transcripts was handled at that time.The book also covers the aftermath of the trial, what happened to the girl’s family and the accused. The lawyers involved, he includes an account of the famous duel between Hamilton and Burr. He also recounts some information that was discovered long after the crime that points to a much more likely suspect, someone who was suspected at the time of the crime, but not enough evidence was available to accuse this person.He also gives the street address of where the Manhattan Well was and still is, although it is in the basement of a restaurant and not able to be seen by the general public. He tells how he got this information and that the site is reported to be haunted. I have made of note of this spot and someday I plan on going there and asking them, “Is there a ghost in your basement?”

[debnance_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A young woman, Elma Sands, is found dead in a well and all fingers point to her suitor, Levi Weeks. The unlikely team of political opponents, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, defend the young man from the charges in this very readable real-life mystery. I don’t remember when I’ve read a nonfiction book that was not only written as smoothly as a novel but was as carefully footnoted as this one (almost a third of the book is footnotes!)