Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton
Written by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Narrated by January LaVoy
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton—Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife—in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides—and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life.
This “expertly told story” (Publishers Weekly) follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation’s early days.
This captivating account of the woman behind the famous man is perfect for fans of the works of Ron Chernow, Lisa McCubbin, and Nathaniel Philbrick.
Tilar J. Mazzeo
Tilar J. Mazzeo is the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle bestselling author of books that include The Widow Clicquot, The Secret of Chanel No. 5, and Hotel on the Place Vendôme. She also writes on food and wine for the mainstream press, and her work has appeared in venues such as Food & Wine and in her Back-Lane Wineries guidebook series (Ten Speed Press). Her course on creative nonfiction (Great Courses), featured as in-flight viewing content on Virgin America airlines, is widely distributed and has made her a nationally prominent teacher of writing in nonfiction genres. The Clara C. Piper Associate Professor of English at Colby College, she divides her time among coastal Maine, New York City, and Saanichton, British Columbia, where she lives with her husband and stepchildren.
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Reviews for Eliza Hamilton
101 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The author does a beautiful job of telling Eliza's story. As she writes in the author's notes, she felt like she actually spent time with Eliza while researching for this book, and after reading/listening to it, I feel the same way. This is the first book I've ever cried from. Aside from math texts lol!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I'm not exactly certain what to make of this book, other than my strong feelings that it should not be classified as biography or history, despite containing elements of both. Throughout this book, the author discusses Eliza's feelings and writes some events as though she was describing a scene in a novel. This would be great - if this book was a novel. But it's not, and the author provides no sources for these portions of the book. While this book does more to cover the entire span of Eliza Hamilton's life than others I've encountered, I cannot help but say to approach it with extreme caution.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an interesting woman! I loved this book and even though I don’t read a lot of biographies, I so enjoyed this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely wonderful book! Great narration! I could not stop listening. I WILL listen again. Eliza Hamilton was an amazing woman!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow! Amazing true story!! A must read or listen too !
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful, well written, thoughtful. Read beautifully. Eliza would have loved it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm not sure how to start this review. On one hand, I enjoyed the story. On the other, I didn't. I don't like books that claim to be biographies to give voice to the subjects' feelings. Example: "Eliza blushed. It was a beautiful letter." How do you know she blushed? Were you there? These are questions I want to ask the author. I also object to there being no bibliography. There is a notes section, but this only pertains to letters or direct sources where things were quoted. I feel like this is more historical fiction than biography.However, I did enjoy reading a story that I had previously been unaware of. In all honesty, before reading this book the only things I knew about Alexander Hamilton were that he was killed in a duel and his likeness appears on the $10 bill. This book brought the characters of Eliza and Alexander to life.A good read, but I would caution those seeking a straight "biography". The author herself states "this book is not a scholarly dissertation". Maybe if it had been, it would've been better.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Like many, I fell in love with the protagonist of Broadway's biggest hit in recent years Hamilton. The true protagonist of that story is not Alexander Hamilton but his wife Eliza Hamilton. Her life as one of our country's founding mothers brings accolades that stack up well alongside her husband's.
She bore seven children. Mindful of her husband's past and her children's present, she helped found the country's first private orphanage. She helped raise money to fund the Washington Monument. She was close personal friends with Martha and George Washington. She was a noble "Roman wife" whose work directly helped found the United States of America. She loved her family and tolerated her enemies.
Eliza was not brilliant. That was Alexander's part. She had heart, though, and loved Alexander and her family deeply.
Most interesting is Mazzeo's take of the Reynolds affair. The way this tale is traditionally told is that Alexander, while Treasury Secretary, had a sexual tryst with a Maria Reynolds with Maria's husband's full knowledge in Eliza's bed. A love note supposedly corroborated the affair. James Reynolds, Maria's husband, supposedly blackmailed Alexander for money with the threat of telling Eliza.
But Eliza never divorced Alexander and defended him with passion for the rest of her life. Why? Mazzeo contends that Alexander falsified the Reynolds pamphlet to cover up for insider trading. She contends that politicians of his time and enemies of Hamilton's political party (including future presidents James Monroe and Thomas Jefferson) knew this and forced the brilliant Alexander out of politics. Mazzeo even outlines her theory in a closing Author's Note within the book.
Well-written and an interesting profile of one of our founding mothers, Eliza Hamilton tells a story not of a saint but of someone's interesting angle on life. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not a big history buff but this book peaked my interest when I entered the contest to win a copy of this book.I found the book well researched and the story flowed from the first page. The one thing I didn't like was that two thirds of the book was devoted to Eliza and Alexander. The other third of the was about the approximately 55 years she lived after his death.This book would be a good read for those who love history or even those who are into the "Hamilton" craze.