Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton

Description

For fans of the musical Hamilton, here is a stunning picture book biography about Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton's extraordinary wife and an important figure in her own right. We all know the story of scrappy Alexander Hamilton and his rise in American politics--but how much do we know about his workmate, inspiration, and stabilizing force, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton? Margaret McNamara employs the letter-writing style of the period to tell the story of Eliza Hamilton, who was born into a family of considerable wealth, power, and influence in Albany, New York, in 1757. Eliza was expected to marry into a similarly powerful family . . . until she met and fell in love with the charismatic Hamilton. She stood by him throughout his tumultuous life, and after his death, she single-handedly collected his papers and preserved them for historians and musical-theater writers of the future. Eliza outlived Hamilton by fifty years; during that time she founded the first orphanage in New York State, raised funds for the Washington Monument, and kept the flame of her husband's memory and achievements alive. Featuring Esme Shapiro's exquisite, thoroughly researched art, which mirrors paintings from 18th-century America, this is a beautiful and informative biography with extensive back matter.

MARGARET McNAMARA is the award-winning author of four picture books about Mr. Tiffin's class- How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?; The Apple Orchard Riddle; Poem in your Pocket; and most recently, The Dinosaur Expert. She was married at St. Michael's Church in New York, where Eliza Hamilton was once a parishioner. Ms. McNamara lives in New York City .Visit her on the Web at margaretmcnamara.net or follow her on Twitter at @bbowen949. ESME SHAPIRO is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and is a past recipient of both the Nancy Lee Rhodes Roberts Scholarship and the SILA West 53 Gold Award-Phillip Hayes Scholarship. She has exhibited at the Society of Illustrators and her work has been featured in Taproot and Plansponsor magazines. She is the author and illustrator of Yak and Dove, and illustrator of Kyo Maclear's Ooko. Visit her on the Web at esmeshapiroillustration.com or follow her on Twitter at @EsmeShapiro.

"A lovely biography of a revolutionary in her own right."-Booklist, starred review