The first few foggy days here were perfect for nestling into the couch with a book and that I did. I spent two entire days just reading! An absolute treat.
SUMMER READING (Tracking 20 by Sept. 1)
#9 My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
Historical novels can be a painless and enjoyable way to delve into history and to discover the personalities behind famous individuals. This six-hundred page novel was so absorbing and fascinating I read it in little more than a day! For anyone who has seen Hamilton, the musical, it provides intriguing counterpoint, being the story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton told from her perspective. It’s all here—from her youth as the child of a Revolutionary War general who took her to negotiations with the Iroquois nation, to her marriage to upstart Alexander Hamilton, to her role as his helpmate and the mother of his children, to the fifty years after his death she contributed to society as social activist and philanthropist.
Authors Dray and Kamoie are both published novelists and Kamoie has the added distinction of being a former history professor. They have researched the historical record in detail, read countless works about the period and the founding fathers, and used Alexander and Eliza’s own words whenever possible. Few original documents exist about Eliza herself. In fleshing out this lively and accomplished woman, they have invented what they imagine might have been Eliza Hamilton’s emotional responses to Hamilton’s adultery and his death by duel as well as her relationships with her sisters, Peggy and Angelica, and her friendships with Lafayette, James Monroe, James Madison, and Martha Washington among others.
In two long afterwords, they explain where they diverged from fact and how their portrayal of Eliza differs from and expands upon the Eliza in the musical. If you like history and complex women, this would be a great book to take to the beach! (~JWFarrington)
MIDTERM REVIEW: MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2018
Of the books I’ve read in the first part of this year, these are the ones I consider the most memorable. In no particular order, I’ve listed them here.
Best Contemporary Novel
American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Best Historical Novel
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Most Creative Sequel (What Came after Portrait of a Lady)
Mrs. Osmond by John Banville
Best Historical Novel about a Real Author (George Eliot)
Honeymoon by Dinitia Smith
Most Compelling Memoir
Educated by Tara Westover
Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)
