I, Eliza Hamilton

TEST

I’m one of the few Americans who wasn’t totally blown away by the Broadway musical Hamilton. I didn’t find myself particularly moved by the music, even though the story itself seemed compelling. So, when I saw that Susan Holloway Scott had written a novel based on the life of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, it seemed like the perfect way for me to learn more about Eliza and Alexander. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up enjoying it nearly as much as I’d hoped I would.

The synopsis for I, Eliza Hamilton leads potential readers to believe the novel will be a story of Eliza’s life, from just before she and Alexander married through the years following his death, but this isn’t the case. The novel focuses very heavily on the years Eliza spends as Alexander’s wife, with only an author’s note at the end of the novel to give us a glimpse of her life after he was killed. This disappointed me greatly, as I wanted to know more about Eliza as a whole person rather than simply the wife of one of my country’s founding fathers.

Elizabeth Schuyler is the daughter of a prominent general and his wife. She’s used to living life in the shadow of military campaigns, although she doesn’t necessarily envision herself married to a military man. But when Alexander Hamilton, a young, charismatic, but penniless aid to General George Washington is a guest in her family’s home, everything changes. Suddenly, Elizabeth, called Eliza by those closest to her, can’t imagine a life in which Alexander doesn’t play a part. Her father is initially opposed to the match, urging Eliza to seek a more successful husband who will be able to keep her in a lifestyle more suited to her station, but, as the American colonies continue to fight for their independence from the British, Alexander’s star begins to rise, and General Skyler begins to come around to the idea of the marriage.

Once they marry, Eliza learns exactly what it means to be Mrs. Alexander Hamilton. She’s forced to play second fiddle to her husband’s work; his service to his country definitely takes priority over everything and everyone in Alexander’s life, his young wife and children included. If Eliza objects, he placates her with a promise to work less in the very near future, but it’s a promise he’s never able to keep. Alexander is nothing if not driven to succeed.

Eliza truly loves her husband, and the author does an excellent job showing the reader just how loyal and devoted a wife she was. She put up with a great deal of neglect, and struggled to keep her growing family from living too far above their means. She stands by Alexander’s side through both the high and low points in his career, and doesn’t waver when her husband’s infidelity is publicly revealed. Through everything, Eliza remains kind, gracious, and faithful, truly a woman of her time.

The story is told exclusively from Eliza’s point of view, so naturally, I was hoping for some insight into her thoughts and feelings. Instead, I was treated to a rather bland recitation of the facts, with very few mentions of how Eliza felt about a given situation. The author focuses mostly on how much Eliza loves her husband, and she seems to have a bit of difficulty delving into anything that might call that love into question. There are several events that could have served as windows into Eliza’s true emotions, but the author just glosses over their complexities on her way to a quick and tidy resolution.

It’s obvious Ms. Holloway Scott’s research has been extensive and her attention to detail is to be applauded. I’m no expert, but the historical detail she included fits with everything I’ve learned about this period of American history and her ability to make me feel as though I was witnessing events first-hand is one of the things I liked most about this book. But attention to detail isn’t always a blessing. I sometimes felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of political information included in the text, and I was tempted to skim through several rather long and ponderous passages detailing Alexander’s visions for America’s future. I know politics is one of the novel’s major themes, and I certainly expected to read a great deal about the political aspirations of the men responsible for founding the United States, but these portions of the story were incredibly dry, and I had to force myself to plow through them.

The novel’s pacing is problematic. The first two-thirds dragged at times, while the final third sped by. So many key events are rushed through, especially the duel between Hamilton and Burr, the very duel that resulted in Alexander’s death. True, Eliza wasn’t there to witness the confrontation, but such a pivotal event deserves more than a brief mention toward the end of the book. It ends up feeling very anticlimactic.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend I, Eliza Hamilton. The story had so much potential, but, in the end, it fell pretty flat and is missing that spark that makes certain novels so very readable. The novel does have its good points, but they’re too few to make up for its many flaws.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

Reviewed by Shannon Dyer

Grade: C-

Book Type: Historical Fiction

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date: 30/09/17

Publication Date: 09/2017

Review Tags: Biographical Fiction

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

I'm Shannon from Michigan. I've been an avid reader all my life. I adore romance, psychological fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and the occasional memoir. I share my home with my life partner, two dogs, and a very feisty feline.

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Ilona Håkansson-Kuypers
Ilona Håkansson-Kuypers
Guest
07/23/2018 3:00 am

I just finished reading ‘My Dear Hamilton’, also a historical novel about Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. This book is definitely about Eliza, from way before she met Alexander Hamilton until she is in her nineties. I can definitely recommend it. It deals with Hamiltons political views and ambitions of course, but it never becomes dry. They did extensive research and came to conclusions about who Eliza was and how she must have felt, and filled in the blanks on the basis of that and all the available source material. I found it a compelling read and couldn’t put it down. Looking for more on Eliza I found I, Eliza Hamilton. But based on your review I will not read it. I don’t think it can add anything to the wonderful novel I just read. By the same authors I also read America’s first daughter about Martha Jefferson Randolph, the oldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson, which I also found delightful.

sunny
sunny
Guest
10/24/2017 12:35 am

Her maiden was Schuyler, not Skyler.

willaful
willaful
Guest
09/30/2017 8:33 pm

You might be interesting in the upcoming anthology _Hamilton Battalion_. This is part of the synopsis of one story by Alyssa Cole:

Mercy Alston knows the best thing to do with pesky feelings like “love” and “hope”: avoid them at all cost. Serving as a maid to Eliza Hamilton, and an assistant in the woman’s stubborn desire to preserve her late husband’s legacy, has driven that point home for Mercy—as have her own previous heartbreaks.

I haven’t read the story yet, so I’m not sure how much of a role Eliza will play.