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angelqueen04 's review for:
I, Eliza Hamilton
by Susan Holloway Scott
I came into this book with high expectations. After having so thoroughly enjoyed the Hamilton soundtrack and also having read [a:Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie|15758242|Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]’s delightful book, [b:My Dear Hamilton|41014257|My Dear Hamilton A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton|Stephanie Dray|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533052327l/41014257._SY75_.jpg|56364049], I expected to have another beautifully wrought rendition of the life of the amazing, remarkable woman who was Elizabeth “Betsey” “Eliza” Schuyler Hamilton, Founding Mother, Philanthropist, wife and widow of Alexander Hamilton.
Unfortunately, this was not the case, at least for me. After seeing (or hearing) how thoroughly fleshed out the characters of this story could be, how their story could be so skillfully brought to life, I, Eliza Hamilton regrettably did not hold up in comparison, or even on its own merits. As I read, I felt like I was watching a bunch of one-dimensional paper dolls act this entire story out, completely without any real substance. None of them felt real. Hamilton and Eliza might argue a little, but it’s resolved within a paragraph or two. There is no lasting impact of these arguments, as there realistically would be. Even Angelica Schuyler Church, one of the most vivacious and spirited women of the day, felt like a pale shadow of what she ought to be.
To be honest, there was also literally no drama at all to this story. The only suspense I felt is that which came from me, because I know the story. I know what significance the summer of 1791 is (Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds), I know what happened in November 1792 (when James Monroe and two congressmen came looking for information about Hamilton’s supposed fraud as Secretary of the Treasury and hearing instead of Hamilton’s affair and blackmail). I know that the story is being told from Eliza’s perspective, and yet there is no effort to insert her into the narrative. Instead, she stands off to the sidelines, completely clueless as to what is going on. That hardly makes for exciting reading.
Then there comes the events of August 1797, when Hamilton writes the Reynolds Pamphlet. While I know that having Eliza only learn about the affair at that time can be written in such a way that it fits – Lin-Manuel Miranda does a superb job guiding the narrative in that way in the musical – but here it just falls flat. What’s more, Hamilton doesn’t even have the fortitude to confess his infidelity himself, but instead hands Eliza a copy of the pamphlet to read it for herself (though at least he had the consideration to let her see it before the pamphlet was released to the public).
Eliza’s overall reaction to the whole thing had literally no real emotion to it. Oh, she says she’s upset, grabs baby William Stephen and runs to Angelica, has a tearful interaction with her husband, and then flees upstate to her parents’ house. Angelica admits to having known about the affair, though she never explains how (did Hamilton actually confess to her but not to his own wife?!). But really, there is nothing here that convinces me that this is hugely upsetting. There is no depth. Really, the only character whose reaction had any impact at all on me was Phillip Schuyler, who was furious and likely this close to grabbing his pistol and shooting his son-in-law.
Phillip Schuyler: OMFG MY SON-IN-LAW CHEATED ON AND SHAMED MY DAUGHTER HOW DARE HE?!
Eliza: But Daddy! Hamilton swears it was a trap set by those dastardly Democratic-Republicans!
Phillip: … TF? AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?!
This scene was possibly the best scene in the whole book, if only for Phillip Schuyler’s passionate reaction, though it was brought down by Eliza’s insanely quick defense of her husband. And don’t get your hopes up of any lasting grudge. By the next chapter Hamilton is again the favorite son-in-law because he’s reentered the army and has been promoted to the rank of General.
Really, Eliza’s super-quick forgiveness was completely unbelievable to me. Even though she says that things weren’t perfect when she chose to return to New York after the scene with her father, and there is one or two sentences that say she and Hamilton work at learning to trust and be honest with one another again, there is no showing of this. We see nothing of how they rebuild their relationship, because honestly, it doesn’t feel like their marriage was all that damaged in the first place. They go on and on about how much they love each other throughout the book, but I am never convinced of it. There is no passion in these characters, nothing that makes me believe that they mean something to one another.
And this is a pattern that extends to other parts of the story as well. There is no build-up to Angelica Hamilton’s breakdown after her older brother was killed in a duel. No hint that such a thing would be even possible. It makes no sense for the breakdown to even occur, because there ought to have been seeds, hints that this could happen, beyond one or two mentions of how close Phillip and Angelica were. But again, we are told this, not shown it, so Angelica’s breakdown and even Phillip’s death are not all that wrenching.
I was also saddened that the story of Eliza ended with Alexander’s death. Eliza lived for fifty years after Aaron Burr killed her husband, and yet all of that is left to a couple of pages of an afterword. Honestly, it was told better by “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”.
Quite possibly the only good thing in that afterword was the line: “What would perhaps have been most galling to Burr is that he is remembered today primarily as the man who killed Hamilton.” I’ll agree to that one, and it earned a laugh from me. Burr was a man who cared for his legacy (as did all of these men, it seems), and to know that he was reduced to merely being “the man who murdered Hamilton” would probably really stick in his craw.
I really wanted to like this book when I started it. Eliza is a fascinating character, and I wish there was more books devoted to her, both historical fiction and serious scholarship (which, for the latter, I know is difficult due to the fact that nearly all of her letters were destroyed at some point either in her life or shortly after her death by her children). But I want books that really try to get into the character’s head, and that flesh them out and make me believe that they are real, living people. This book just didn’t do that for me, which is sad.
Unfortunately, this was not the case, at least for me. After seeing (or hearing) how thoroughly fleshed out the characters of this story could be, how their story could be so skillfully brought to life, I, Eliza Hamilton regrettably did not hold up in comparison, or even on its own merits. As I read, I felt like I was watching a bunch of one-dimensional paper dolls act this entire story out, completely without any real substance. None of them felt real. Hamilton and Eliza might argue a little, but it’s resolved within a paragraph or two. There is no lasting impact of these arguments, as there realistically would be. Even Angelica Schuyler Church, one of the most vivacious and spirited women of the day, felt like a pale shadow of what she ought to be.
To be honest, there was also literally no drama at all to this story. The only suspense I felt is that which came from me, because I know the story. I know what significance the summer of 1791 is (Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds), I know what happened in November 1792 (when James Monroe and two congressmen came looking for information about Hamilton’s supposed fraud as Secretary of the Treasury and hearing instead of Hamilton’s affair and blackmail). I know that the story is being told from Eliza’s perspective, and yet there is no effort to insert her into the narrative. Instead, she stands off to the sidelines, completely clueless as to what is going on. That hardly makes for exciting reading.
Then there comes the events of August 1797, when Hamilton writes the Reynolds Pamphlet. While I know that having Eliza only learn about the affair at that time can be written in such a way that it fits – Lin-Manuel Miranda does a superb job guiding the narrative in that way in the musical – but here it just falls flat. What’s more, Hamilton doesn’t even have the fortitude to confess his infidelity himself, but instead hands Eliza a copy of the pamphlet to read it for herself (though at least he had the consideration to let her see it before the pamphlet was released to the public).
Eliza’s overall reaction to the whole thing had literally no real emotion to it. Oh, she says she’s upset, grabs baby William Stephen and runs to Angelica, has a tearful interaction with her husband, and then flees upstate to her parents’ house. Angelica admits to having known about the affair, though she never explains how (did Hamilton actually confess to her but not to his own wife?!). But really, there is nothing here that convinces me that this is hugely upsetting. There is no depth. Really, the only character whose reaction had any impact at all on me was Phillip Schuyler, who was furious and likely this close to grabbing his pistol and shooting his son-in-law.
Phillip Schuyler: OMFG MY SON-IN-LAW CHEATED ON AND SHAMED MY DAUGHTER HOW DARE HE?!
Eliza: But Daddy! Hamilton swears it was a trap set by those dastardly Democratic-Republicans!
Phillip: … TF? AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?!
This scene was possibly the best scene in the whole book, if only for Phillip Schuyler’s passionate reaction, though it was brought down by Eliza’s insanely quick defense of her husband. And don’t get your hopes up of any lasting grudge. By the next chapter Hamilton is again the favorite son-in-law because he’s reentered the army and has been promoted to the rank of General.
Really, Eliza’s super-quick forgiveness was completely unbelievable to me. Even though she says that things weren’t perfect when she chose to return to New York after the scene with her father, and there is one or two sentences that say she and Hamilton work at learning to trust and be honest with one another again, there is no showing of this. We see nothing of how they rebuild their relationship, because honestly, it doesn’t feel like their marriage was all that damaged in the first place. They go on and on about how much they love each other throughout the book, but I am never convinced of it. There is no passion in these characters, nothing that makes me believe that they mean something to one another.
And this is a pattern that extends to other parts of the story as well. There is no build-up to Angelica Hamilton’s breakdown after her older brother was killed in a duel. No hint that such a thing would be even possible. It makes no sense for the breakdown to even occur, because there ought to have been seeds, hints that this could happen, beyond one or two mentions of how close Phillip and Angelica were. But again, we are told this, not shown it, so Angelica’s breakdown and even Phillip’s death are not all that wrenching.
I was also saddened that the story of Eliza ended with Alexander’s death. Eliza lived for fifty years after Aaron Burr killed her husband, and yet all of that is left to a couple of pages of an afterword. Honestly, it was told better by “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”.
Quite possibly the only good thing in that afterword was the line: “What would perhaps have been most galling to Burr is that he is remembered today primarily as the man who killed Hamilton.” I’ll agree to that one, and it earned a laugh from me. Burr was a man who cared for his legacy (as did all of these men, it seems), and to know that he was reduced to merely being “the man who murdered Hamilton” would probably really stick in his craw.
I really wanted to like this book when I started it. Eliza is a fascinating character, and I wish there was more books devoted to her, both historical fiction and serious scholarship (which, for the latter, I know is difficult due to the fact that nearly all of her letters were destroyed at some point either in her life or shortly after her death by her children). But I want books that really try to get into the character’s head, and that flesh them out and make me believe that they are real, living people. This book just didn’t do that for me, which is sad.