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A review by book_concierge
The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs
4.0
If you don’t already know about Alexander Hamilton’s role as a founding father, then not only did you not pay attention in history class, but you’ve been living under a rock these past few years as the musical H✰milton has swept the Tony awards.
Cobbs is an historian, who also occasionally writes a work of historical fiction. She started researching this novel, got intrigued by the subject, and was told by her publisher that “No one knows about this guy or wants to read about him … Snooze!” But she was convinced that the story was a good one. Several years into the project, a friend told her, “You have to see the You-Tube video of this guy reading a rap poem about Hamilton at the White House!” (It was Lin Manuel Miranda, and this eventually became the hit musical.)
I thought I knew Hamilton’s story, but there were still things in this novel that caught my attention and made me take notice. I was interested and engaged from beginning to end.
Cobbs tells the story in alternating perspectives: Alexander and Eliza each get a turn at relating events. In this way we get some insight into each character’s background, guiding principles, joys, sorrows and desires. I really appreciated how strong a character Cobb’s Eliza is. And while Cobbs’ sympathies were clearly with Hamilton, she did not shy away from pointing out his faults, infidelity being perhaps the least of them.
Our F2F book group had a spirited discussion, made all the more enjoyable by a Skype visit from the author.
Cobbs is an historian, who also occasionally writes a work of historical fiction. She started researching this novel, got intrigued by the subject, and was told by her publisher that “No one knows about this guy or wants to read about him … Snooze!” But she was convinced that the story was a good one. Several years into the project, a friend told her, “You have to see the You-Tube video of this guy reading a rap poem about Hamilton at the White House!” (It was Lin Manuel Miranda, and this eventually became the hit musical.)
I thought I knew Hamilton’s story, but there were still things in this novel that caught my attention and made me take notice. I was interested and engaged from beginning to end.
Cobbs tells the story in alternating perspectives: Alexander and Eliza each get a turn at relating events. In this way we get some insight into each character’s background, guiding principles, joys, sorrows and desires. I really appreciated how strong a character Cobb’s Eliza is. And while Cobbs’ sympathies were clearly with Hamilton, she did not shy away from pointing out his faults, infidelity being perhaps the least of them.
Our F2F book group had a spirited discussion, made all the more enjoyable by a Skype visit from the author.