Alex & Eliza

Having never seen Hamilton: the Musical, I’m viewing this story purely on its historical fiction merits.  That being said, it was slightly a let down.

Alex & Eliza follows the unlikely courtship between Alexander Hamilton, right-hand man to General George Washington, and Elizabeth Schuyler, an aristocratic girl with a well-known family name.  Alexander and Elizabeth first meet at a ball at the Schuyler’s house, but Alexander is an unwelcome guest since he just gave notice to Eliza’s father that he’s being court-martialed for dereliction of duty during battle.  At the ball, he meets Eliza and her two beautiful sisters, who promptly beat him down and snub his flirtations.  Fast forward two years, Elizabeth is now going to visit her aunt in Morristown and help with the war effort, the same city where General Washington is stationed for the winter.  Alex, who is still the aide-de-camp to Washington, purposefully bumps into Eliza again and kindles a friendship between the two that quickly grows into a romance.  But the Schuyler’s are out of money and are determined for their daughters to marry well, so Eliza is thrown into an engagement with another wealthy friend while Alex must decide if he’s worthy enough to fight for Eliza’s love.

As a lover of most historical fiction, I liked that the author kept true to the time period.  It was fascinating to see what passed as fashion in 1790, but the story itself seemed a little stilted and melodramatic.  I understand the attraction between the two characters:  they are both fiercely patriotic and independent thinkers.  But the action itself in the story seemed forced, somehow.  I can’t really put my finger on it, but about half-way through the novel, I started skimming the dialogue because the story lost it’s charm.  Maybe it was her older sister Angelica’s sharp remarks to degrade Eliza and her younger sister Peggy’s romantic choices.  Maybe it was her mother’s willingness to push her daughter into a loveless marriage to keep up the appearance of being rich.  I don’t know, but something turned me off to the story.

There are another two books in this series, so if you love Hamilton, you may want to give this one a try.