Wife, Widow, and Warrior in Alexander Hamilton’s Quest for a More Perfect Union
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. Haunting, moving, and beautifully written, 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 a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.
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A general’s daughter…
Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.
A Founding Father’s wife...
But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.
The last surviving light of the Revolution…
When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her…
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Excerpt:
The night before our
wedding, the ball at our house was attended by all the best of Dutch Albany
society. The Van Rensselaers and the Van Burens, the Ten Broecks and the Ten
Eycks, the Van Schaicks and the Douws, and so many others. Neither snow nor ice
nor howling wind seemed to deter our New Netherlander friends and neighbors
from coming out to the Pastures for the celebrations.
Amidst boughs of holly and
the light of countless candles, the grand hall on our second floor hosted
festivities that included food and drink, dancing and music, and games and
toasts. We danced minuets, cotillions, and Scottish reels until my feet ached
and my heart soared. Alexander never seemed to tire, and I determined to keep
up with him through every bar and set. I danced with Mac and my brother-in-law,
Mr. Carter, a man eight years Angelica’s senior, whose business supplying
the army for once permitted him time to join in the festivities. But Alexander
could never wait long before declaring himself impatient and claiming me again.
My fiancé appeared more at
ease than I’d ever seen him before, and perhaps that wasn’t a surprise, as
these days of rest and merriment were the first break from military service
he’d had in five years. Indeed, his eyes sparkled as he asked, “May I steal you
away for a moment?”
“By all means.” I’d been
hoping for a quiet opportunity to give him my gift. He took my hand and led me
around the edge of the dance floor as we were stopped again and again by
well-wishers, until we finally escaped down the stairs and into the cooler air
of the dimly lit sitting room, which afforded us a modicum of peace and
privacy. There, Alexander asked me to wait. And while he ducked away I seized
the moment to pull my gift from its hiding place in the cabinet next to the
fireplace. Alexander returned before I’d barely completed the task—and held a
large sack of his own.
“Whatever is that?” I
asked.
He grinned and nodded at
what I held in my own hands. “I could ask the same.”
I smiled. “A wedding gift
for my husband.”
He feigned a frown and
stepped closer. “Your husband, madam?
Do I know him?”
Playing his game, I said,
“Oh, you know him very well, sir. And your gift is for?”
He came closer yet. “For my
wife-to-be. And before you ask, indeed, you know her well. She has a good
nature, a charming vivacity, and is most unmercifully handsome”—he arched a brow and
closed the remaining space between us—“and so perverse that she has none of
those affectations which are the prerogatives of beauty.”
How did he always manage to
set my world a-tumble with his words? “Oh, you must be a lucky man, indeed. I
hope you’ve shown her your appreciation.”
He barked a laugh. “You
saucy charmer!”
I sat in the chair closest
to the fire so that I could see by the greater light there, and Alexander
pulled up a chair of his own so that our knees touched. With a nervous smile,
he placed the heavy sack onto my lap. I untied the its string and worked the coarse
cloth over the solid object inside. Impatience rolled off him so forcefully
that I had to tease him further by taking great pains to slide the sack evenly
off, a little on this side, and then a little on that.
“And to think someone once told me you
were the Finest Tempered Girl in the World,” he said with a chuckle.
Author Spotlight:
Stephanie Dray is a New York Times bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into multiple languages, illuminating women of the past so as to inspire the women of today. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation’s capital.
Stephanie Dray Website * Newsletter * Facebook * Twitter * Dray & Kamoie Website
Laura Kamoieis a New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction, and the author of two nonfiction books on early American history. Until recently, she held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction under the name Laura Kaye, also a New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels.
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