Dear Readers,
The first draft of America’s First Daughter was 240,000 words – and the final book is 198,000 words; the draft of My Dear Hamilton was 260,000 words, and the published book 200,000. We deleted scenes for a variety of reasons – sometimes they didn’t move the story along, sometimes they were repetitive of other scenes, sometimes they were too tangential to Patsy’s or Eliza’s personal experiences, and sometimes the goal of the scene could be accomplished in a better way. Some of the scenes we cut were among our favorites, including a scene where Jefferson engages in an excavation of an Indian burial mound, an activity that earned him the distinction of being known as the Father of American Archaeology, and a scene where Patsy experiences an earthquake in Philadelphia.
Stephanie and I will be sharing scenes with you here and at our joint site, so check back for new additions. And please note, deleted scenes posted on this website have not gone through the detailed fact-checking and proofreading conducted on the material in the final book.
Available Scenes from America’s First Daughter:
- He is Handsome – Patsy reacts to Tom Randolph’s interest…
- Colonel Randolph – Tom Randolph’s father gives Patsy a message…
- Polly Falls – Polly Jefferson falls through the floor at Monticello…
Available Scenes from My Dear Hamilton:
- Eliza at Weehawken – Eliza visits the site of the infamous duel…
- Catherine Fires the Fields – Eliza helps her mothers burn their fields after the fall of Fort Ticonderoga…
- Questioning Nathaniel Pendleton – A few weeks after her husband dies, Eliza questions his second at the duel…
Enjoy!
