Author Jenn Bregman holds a law degree from UCLA and has served as a white-collar criminal defense attorney working on some of the most notorious financial crime cases of current times. In her new book, The Last Hamilton, she combines her legal experience with a lifetime interest in American history.
In addition to travel, her hobbies include outdoor activities such as running marathons, skiing, scuba diving, hiking, and mountain climbing. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband, children, and pet Havanese.
Interview by Judith Erwin
Q: The Last Hamilton has a fantastic concept of combining contemporary issues with American history. How did you come up with the idea?
Jenn: Like so many Americans interested in the founding fathers and founding mothers, a question was always why did they did it [the American Revolution]? Most were living a fine enough life. Yes, they were taxed by the British. Yes, life wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t terrible. Why did they take on tremendous risk? Were they better, stronger, have more fortitude? And the legacy issues always fascinated me. Then I thought of what is going on in the world. There are so many wars, so much pain, and so much disruption. I thought if I were an evil country, or evil corporation, what would I do? Wouldn’t it be easier to crush a country in ways that weren’t so overt? Why not crush their economy? Crush them in a cyber way. Armed with this concept, I did a lot of broad reading. I’ve always seen a lot about gold and noticed there has been quite a lot of buying by many countries in gold. Why were they buying? I started looking at some of these issues and started reading what some of the gold bugs are saying. And it all kind of coalesced into this thought that maybe the best way to crush the country without firing a shot would be to crush the economy.
Q: While The Last Hamilton is a work of fiction, what elements are factually accurate?
Jenn: The way the book started to develop was thinking about saving our country and all the things that this country stands for. That’s why I started going back to the founding fathers and mothers and what it was that inspired them. What did they care about? Once I got to that point, the overview took shape. Then I looked at the facts, and there are some extrapolations. Number one. Why is there the buying of gold? Why? There’s great speculation in terms of the gold stores that we have in Fort Knox and in Denver, West Point. There’s great speculation that there really isn’t any gold, very little gold that’s actually housed there, and even if we do have gold bars there, they’re encumbered.
There has never been a true, full accounting of the gold in any of our depositories. Since the beginning there has never been a true and accurate accounting. Why is that the case when with most all the banks, everybody whoever holds gold, accounting is done all the time? The reason is nobody wants one. The government doesn’t want one. Do we even have any gold? So, there’s the issue that came from a lot of facts out there for anyone to see. All I really had to do was take this little nugget of truth and fact and extrapolate out just a little bit. But it’s completely hooked and anchored on true facts,
Q: How much about Alexander Hamilton and his family in the book is factual?
Jenn: I love the research and spend way too long on it. But the quotes are direct quotes from Hamilton himself and the deeper you get into comments that were made about Aaron Burr, you can understand there was perhaps some kind of a mental issue or disability that caused certain behavior.
Q: In the book, there’s references to Hamilton’s ancestral home, the Grange, and a certain piano. Do they actually do exist?
Jenn: Yes, yes, and I have been to the Grange three times. I love it. I go there every time I go to New York. Just take the train up from midtown and you’re right there. It’s a short walk. It is beautiful. It’s a beautiful building, and the piano is there. You can even look online for the pamphlet for the Hamilton Grange, and the clavichord is right there. It’s there right now. So that’s all one hundred percent true.
Q: How much technical research did you have to do in explaining Sarah’s job?
Jenn: When I worked, I did white collar, criminal defense. I did a lot of banking. Compliance is a department I actually didn’t have to do any research on because I had lived that. It seems real in the book because it is. That’s how banking works, which was pretty easy for me.
Q: Did you have a favorite character in the book?
Jenn: I do, I do. And it’s never anybody else’s favorite. It’s Elizabeth. She doesn’t make that many appearances, but I know her so deeply—what she embodies, the courage, the strength, the resolve, and the deep love she has within. I love the section in the book when Doris asks herself, when told it was Elizabeth who was killed, why would somebody take their own life? What would cause me to do that? Great love. Democracy, you know, values that would uplift people to the heavens. Right? So that’s Elizabeth. She’s a great person.
Q: What was your favorite scene in the book?
Jenn: It’s the last scene. I rewrote that one and worked it and worked it and worked it. I’m really proud of the writing, the quality of writing. I think it’s just as good as I can do, and I love it. And I love the last paragraph. That’s my favorite. I feel like it all just came together in this really strong ending.
Q: Were there any scenes that were particularly difficult for you to write?
Jenn: All the stuff with Dimitri. He has steel balls he has cut a piece of. He has this kind of deep-seated mental derangement that makes him have to roll these balls and cut his own skin to feel any kind of release.
Q: How long did it take you to write the book?
Jenn: You know it. It really was about five years. I had some personal events. So, there are fits and starts. If I could have had the time and the focus to sit down and do what I wanted to do, probably it would have been two years. But the book I would have written four years ago was not the book it is today. I’m grateful for that.
Q: When you finished writing the book, did it do everything you wanted it to do?
Jenn: First of all, I absolutely love this book. I’m not just proud of it. I love it at a real deep core because it did what I hoped it could. But the process was extremely difficult. I knew where it was going to go. I knew what it needed to end and where it was going to end, but the rest was all character driven. I didn’t know what a character was going to do. A character would do something that would change everything else. It was a puzzle. The pieces did not become clear until it was very far along, and then finally I could write straight through to the end. The characters, especially a couple of them, did some strange things, and I’m like, what are you doing? But then they got to the end, it was richer because of that.
Q: Is there another book in the works?
Jenn: Thank you for asking. There will be a sequel. I have many ideas, but I’m just letting it sit until one comes strongly into focus. I would love to see what Sarah’s going to do next. I think she’s an interesting character, strong-minded with many great qualities. But she’s not fully developed yet, and I would like to see how she continues through life.
Q: In closing, what do you hope readers will take away from The Last Hamilton?
Jenn: I want them to close the book and feel not only did they get a fast-paced, national treasure style story but also satisfaction that their time was well spent.
Review by Judith Erwin
Author Jenn Bregman’s new book, The Last Hamilton, begins with the death by New York City subway train of a young woman. The victim, Elizabeth Hamilton Walker, is the last known survivor of Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Secretary of the Treasury. It draws immediate questions as to whether it was an accident, suicide, or homicide. Those close to the victim, including her husband, Ralph Walker, and best friend, Sarah Brockman, suspect foul play. As the death is investigated by a NYPD detective, mysterious matters emerge, causing Sarah’s suspicions to rise and her involvement to increase.
In a suspenseful mystery combining history with modern day intrigue, Bregman ingeniously weaves a thought-provoking tale of secrets, legacy, political power, and national threat.