My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Historians know there is not much written by, or of, women at the birth of the U.S. Because of this the daughters' and wives' stories of our founding fathers have been told primarily as supporting characters which was consistent with cultural norms for almost 200 years. In the case of Mrs. Hamilton, she may not have written about, or even destroyed evidence of, her private thoughts and feelings regarding the peaks and valleys of her life story. Nevertheless, she continued to shape her city and nation long after the founding fathers were laid to rest. These authors have taken what is historically agreed upon, woven in custom and culture of the period, and used intuition and imagination to depict who Betsey, Eliza, and Mrs. Hamilton may have been and how she may have processed all to which she was a witness. Her charitable works that still continue today prove she was more than a survivor. . . she knew what it was to thrive. Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, the authors, balanced it all eloquently. I especially appreciated the notes from the authors, both prior to and following the story, separating many of the facts from the fiction. I felt it started out slow and didn't enjoy it as much as America's First Daughter but truly it is an excellent account of a woman to be admired.

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