Review: My Dear Hamilton
My Dear Hamilton
Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Synopsis: Elizabeth Hamilton was the daughter of a General during the Revolutionary War, and later because the wife of Alexander Hamilton. But though she was a force to be reckoned with in her own right, history knows very little of her. My Dear Hamilton dares to take what we do know of her and paint a picture of the woman behind one of America’s founding fathers.
Like many people, I love the musical Hamilton. No shock there, it’s pretty awesome, right? When I saw the musical, however, what struck me most was, “Hamilton was one of our founding fathers, and responsible for SO MUCH of our creation as a country.. so… why don’t I remember learning about him in school?”. It made me very curious to know more about his life. I was very excited to come across My Dear Hamilton.
I will admit that I had the Hamilton soundtrack playing in my head through much of the book. Thankfully I didn’t have a difficult time separating the two stories, and the music only added to my enjoyment of the novel.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, having seen the musical, to hear the story from a different (also fictional) perspective. It’s a pretty long book, and very detailed, but not to the point of being too much, where it drags things out. The book moves along at a steady pace. It’s very thorough and paints a realistic idea of what Elizabeth’s life may have looked like. Her joys and triumphs, as well as her deepest heartbreaks and struggles are beautifully written to where the reader has no choice but to feel what she is feeling. You will be fully engrossed in this one!
I have two minor criticisms. First: The book starts off kind of in the middle of the story. The war has already begun, and General Schuyler is the midst of defending himself as he is being court martialed. I struggled with feeling like I was playing catch up. I felt like I needed to know more about Elizabeth’s father in order to understand what was going on. I was a little lost. Thankfully it didn’t take long before I felt like I was onboard and with the story. Second: The last couple of chapters dragged on a little bit. Still interesting content, just a little slower pace than the rest of the novel. Having said that, neither of these would discourage me from recommending My Dear Hamilton. Just give it a few chapters. Once the books finds it’s footing, it’s a journey you won’t want to miss.
As always, with historical fiction novels, be sure to read the Author’s Note. I always find it adds a lot to the story!
Fans of historical fiction, and Hamilton the musical will enjoy My Dear Hamilton. Be sure to add this one to your Christmas list! And now that I have completed the book, I need to re-watch Hamilton so that I can get the songs out of my head.