Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton

With the success of the Broadway musical Hamilton, it seems only natural that an upswing in interest in both Alexander Hamilton (d. 1804) and his wife, Eliza, would follow. Fortunately, Mazzeo (Irena's Children) has created a highly readable book about a woman who lived in the shadows of the Founding Fathers yet was anything but a stock character. Born to an affluent family and raised both in society and on the frontier where she occasionally attended tribal councils with her father, Elizabeth Schuyler (1757-1854) was most comfortable in the country, though she adapted well to both worlds. Though quieter than her sisters, the socially astute Eliza succeeded in capturing the heart of the fickle Alexander. His later affair with Maria Reynolds, while rocking the nation, reportedly impacted the marriage less so, according to a fascinating theory by Mazzeo. The author also follows Eliza's life after Alexander—Eliza lived till her late 90s—and the local orphanage and public school she founded.