January 2, 2020

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

Cover of My Dear Hamilton showing the back of a woman in red dress, from the late 1900s, in front of a Federalist army

Title: My Dear Hamilton

Categories: Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction

Genres: Fiction, Historical fiction

Published: 2018-04-03

ISBN13: 9780062466167

Page Count: 672

From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of…

Hardbook of My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Hamilton, with a black backhground and two antique metal shoe hooks leaning against the book — Notice the antique shoe hook at the bottom

With the widely successful production of Hamilton the Musical, both on Broadway and beyond, it is not surprising that books about the Hamiltons have appeared on bookshelves. My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Drey and Laura Kamoie is one of these books. What I found surprising about this book is the vast amount of research these two women did while writing this fascinating book.

Summary:

My Dear Hamilton is the story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, a woman born in 1757 into a wealthy family. Her father was an American Revolutionary war general, Philip Schuyler, and her mother Catherine Van Rensselaer. Elizabeth grew up in Albany, New York.

She met and married Alexander Hamilton at the age of 22. For her, it was love at first sight. They married soon after that. Alexander was a political genius. He was also instrumental in the founding of our country. In addition, he had a number of enemies.

Their marriage was filled with strife and money issues. But love always prevailed. Alexander died at the age of 47 from a duel with Aaron Burr. Eliza, as she was later called, lived until the age of 97.

My review:

This is a fascinating historical fiction. I chose to read it because my husband and I have seen Hamilton the Musical and Hamilton the Exhibit, and I wanted to learn more about the woman behind Hamilton.

I really admire Eliza. She was a strong, loving, forgiving and faithful woman, even in very difficult times. She was forward-thinking and was involved in both military affairs and politics which was unusual for a woman living when she did. Eliza made sure her voice was heard in important matters.

Eliza, widowed at the young age of 47, after the famous duel between Alexander and Aaron Burr, found herself beholding to her husband’s debts. She paid them and went on to spend the next fifty years working for charities such as setting up the first private orphanage in New York and also dedicating herself to defending her husband’s character against his critics. In order to do so, she collected and preserved as many of Hamilton’s letters and writings as she could find. Her goal was to have a biography written about this man she so loved.

Eliza died at the age of 97. What an admirable woman she was!

One thing not to miss is the Note from the Authors at the end of the book. These notes encompass 15 pages and explain how they did their research and when they had to embellish or make things up to move the story along. They also list the stories and rumors they left out.