{"id":57863,"date":"2025-12-17T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=57863"},"modified":"2025-10-28T15:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:20:20","slug":"10-years-of-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/10-years-of-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Years of Hamilton"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first performance of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’<\/a>, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda debuted on Broadway in the summer of 2025. This musical is a smash hit, winning 11 Tony Awards in 2016, plus numerous other awards. ‘Hamilton’ is celebrating ten years of success, so I wanted to highlight items, both fiction and nonfiction, in our collection relating to the historical figures in the show. Below you will find a list of these titles (and this is not a complete list). As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions provided by the publishers.<\/p>\n

\n

Nonfiction<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Molly Beer<\/p>\n

A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton\u2019s influential sister-in-law.<\/em><\/p>\n

Few women of the American Revolution have come through 250 years of US history with such clarity and color as Angelica Schuyler Church. She was Alexander Hamilton\u2019s \u201csaucy\u201d sister-in-law, and the heart of Thomas Jefferson\u2019s \u201ccharming coterie\u201d of artists and salonni\u00e8res in Paris. Her transatlantic network of important friends spanned the political spectrum of her time and place, and her astute eye and brilliant letters kept them well informed.<\/em><\/p>\n

A woman of great influence in a time of influential women (Catherine the Great and Marie-Antoinette were contemporaries), Angelica was at the red-hot center of American history at its birth: in Boston, when General Burgoyne surrendered to the revolutionaries; in Newport, receiving French troops under the command of her soon-to-be dear friend Marquis de Lafayette; in Yorktown, just after the decisive battle; in Paris and London, helping to determine the standing of the new nation on the world stage.<\/em><\/p>\n

She was born as Engeltje, a Dutch-speaking, slave-owning colonial girl who witnessed the Stamp Act riots in the Royal British Province of New York. She came of age under English rule as Angelica, the eldest daughter of the most important family on the northern part of Hudson\u2019s River, raised to be a domestic diplomat responsible for hosting indigenous chiefs and enemy British generals at dinner. She was Madame Church, wife of a privateer turned merchant banker, whose London house was a refuge for veterans of the American war fleeing the guillotine in France. Across nationalities, languages, and cultures, across the divides of war, grievance, and geography, Angelica wove a web of soft-power connections that spanned the War for Independence, the post-war years of tenuous peace, and the turbulent politics and rival ideologies that threatened to tear apart the nascent United States<\/em><\/p>\n

In this enthralling and revealing woman\u2019s-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica\u2019s story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation.<\/em> – W.W. Norton<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>by Tilar J. Mazzeo<\/p>\n

Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton\u2014Alexander Hamilton\u2019s devoted wife\u2014in Lin-Manuel Miranda\u2019s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don\u2019t 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\u2014and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life.<\/em><\/p>\n

This \u201cexpertly told story\u201d (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\u2019s early days.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/em> – Gallery Books<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by H.W. Brands<\/p>\n

To the framers of the Constitution, political parties were a fatal threat to republican virtues. They had suffered the consequences of partisan politics in Britain before the American Revolution, and they wanted nothing similar for America. Yet parties emerged even before the Constitution was ratified, and they took firmer root in the following decade. In Founding Partisans, master historian H. W. Brands has crafted a fresh and lively narrative of the early years of the republic as the Founding Fathers fought one another with competing visions of what our nation would be.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first party, the Federalists, formed around Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and their efforts to overthrow the Articles of Confederation and make the federal government more robust. Their opponents organized as the Antifederalists, who feared the corruption and encroachments on liberty that a strong central government would surely bring. The Antifederalists lost but regrouped under the new Constitution as the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, whose bruising contest against Federalist John Adams marked the climax of this turbulent chapter of American political history.<\/em><\/p>\n

The country\u2019s first years unfolded in a contentious spiral of ugly elections and blatant violations of the Constitution. Still, peaceful transfers of power continued, and the nascent country made its way towards global dominance, against all odds. Founding Partisans is a powerful reminder that fierce partisanship is a problem as old as the republic.<\/em> – Doubleday<\/p>\n

This title is also available in large print.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>by Andrew Roberts<\/p>\n

The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating\u2013and will completely change the way readers and historians view his reign and legacy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon\u2013a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff\u2019s preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda\u2019s Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of eighteenth-century revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, who needed to make the king appear evil in order to achieve their own political aims. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth: George III was in fact a wise, humane, and even enlightened monarch who was beset by talented enemies, debilitating mental illness, incompetent ministers, and disastrous luck.<\/em><\/p>\n

In The Last King of America, Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten. Two hundred and forty-five years after the end of George III\u2019s American rule, it is time for Americans to look back on their last king with greater understanding: to see him as he was and to come to terms with the last time they were ruled by a monarch.<\/em> – Viking<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers & Adventurers Who Created a new American Nation<\/a><\/strong><\/em> edited by David Head and Timothy C. Hemmis<\/p>\n

The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints; here are the stories of those Founders who were schemers and scoundrels, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

We now have a clear-eyed understanding of Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton; even so, they are often considered American saints, revered for their wisdom and self-sacrificing service to the nation. However, within the Founding Generation lurked many unscrupulous figures\u2014men who violated the era\u2019s expectation of public virtue and advanced their own interests at the expense of others.<\/em><\/p>\n

They were turncoats and traitors, opportunists and con artists, spies, and foreign intriguers. Some of their names are well known: Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr. Others are less notorious now but were no less threatening. There was Charles Lee, the Continental Army general who offered to tell the British how to defeat the Americans, and James Wilkinson, who served fifteen years as a commanding general in the US Army, despite rumors that he spied for Spain and conspired with traitors.<\/em><\/p>\n

The early years of the republic were full of self-interested individuals, sometimes succeeding in their plots, sometimes failing, but always shaping the young nation. A Republic of Scoundrels seeks to re-examine the Founding Generation and replace the hagiography of the Founding Fathers with something more realistic: a picture that embraces the many facets of our nation\u2019s origins.<\/em> – Pegasus Books<\/p>\n

\n

Fiction<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Girl from Greenwich Street: a novel of Hamilton, Burr, and America’s First Murder Trial<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Lauren Willig<\/p>\n

At the start of a new century, a shocking murder transfixes Manhattan, forcing bitter rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to work together to save a man from the gallows.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just before Christmas 1799, Elma Sands slips out of her Quaker cousin\u2019s boarding house\u2014and doesn\u2019t come home. Has she eloped? Run away? No one knows\u2014until her body appears in the Manhattan Well.<\/em><\/p>\n

Her family insists they know who killed her. Handbills circulate around the city accusing a carpenter named Levi Weeks of seducing and murdering Elma.<\/em><\/p>\n

But privately, quietly, Levi\u2019s wealthy brother calls in a special favor\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

Aaron Burr\u2019s legal practice can\u2019t finance both his expensive tastes and his ambition to win the 1800 New York elections. To defend Levi Weeks is a double win: a hefty fee plus a chance to grab headlines.<\/em><\/p>\n

Alexander Hamilton has his own political aspirations; he isn\u2019t going to let Burr monopolize the public\u2019s attention. If Burr is defending Levi Weeks, then Hamilton will too. As the trial and the election draw near, Burr and Hamilton race against time to save a man\u2019s life\u2014and destroy each other.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part murder mystery, part thriller, part true crime, The Girl From Greenwich Street revisits a dark corner of history\u2014with a surprising twist ending that reveals the true story of the woman at the center of the tale.<\/em> – William Morrow<\/p>\n

This title is also available in large print<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>The Lace Widow<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Mollie Ann Cox Bryan<\/p>\n

Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.<\/em><\/p>\n

New York, 1804. America\u2019s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton\u2019s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father\u2019s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.<\/em><\/p>\n

Eliza searches for ways to clear her son\u2019s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband\u2019s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family\u2014but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander\u2019s innocence?<\/em><\/p>\n

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace\u2014and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York\u2019s high-society families. They know their dead husbands\u2019 secrets\u2014and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband\u2019s and son\u2019s names but keep herself out of the killer\u2019s sights.<\/em> – Crooked Lane Books<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>The Last Hamilton<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Jenn Bregman<\/p>\n

The more they know, the more danger they\u2019re in.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.<\/em><\/p>\n

The morning after Elizabeth\u2019s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah\u2019s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth\u2019s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth\u2019s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country\u2019s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth\u2019s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them\u2013and the secrets of Hamilton\u2019s society are lost forever.<\/em> – Crooked Lane Books<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Love, Theodosia: A Novel of Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Lori Goldstein<\/p>\n

A Romeo & Juliet tale for Hamilton! fans.<\/em><\/p>\n

In post-American Revolution New York City, Theodosia Burr, a scholar with the skills of a socialite, is all about charming the right people on behalf of her father\u2014Senator Aaron Burr, who is determined to win the office of president in the pivotal election of 1800. Meanwhile, Philip Hamilton, the rakish son of Alexander Hamilton, is all about being charming on behalf of his libido. <\/em>
\nWhen the two first meet, it seems the ongoing feud between their politically opposed fathers may be hereditary. But soon, Theodosia and Philip must choose between love and family, desire and loyalty, and preserving the legacy their flawed fathers fought for or creating their own.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love, Theodosia is a smart, funny, swoony take on a fiercely intelligent woman with feminist ideas ahead of her time who has long-deserved center stage. A refreshing spin on the Hamiltonian era and the characters we have grown to know and love. It\u2019s also a heartbreaking romance of two star-crossed lovers, an achingly bittersweet \u201cwhat if.\u201d Despite their fathers\u2019 bitter rivalry, Theodosia and Philip are drawn to each other and, in what unrolls like a Jane Austen novel of manners, we find ourselves entangled in the world of Hamilton and Burr once again as these heirs of famous enemies are driven together despite every reason not to be.<\/em> – Arcade Publishing<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie<\/p>\n

In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza\u2019s story as it\u2019s never been told before\u2014not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal\u2014but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.<\/em><\/p>\n

A general\u2019s daughter\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington\u2019s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she\u2019s captivated by the young officer\u2019s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton\u2019s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.<\/em><\/p>\n

A founding father\u2019s wife…<\/em><\/p>\n

But the union they create\u2014in their marriage and the new nation\u2014is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all\u2014including the political treachery of America\u2019s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n

The last surviving light of the Revolution\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

When a duel destroys Eliza\u2019s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband\u2019s enemies to preserve Alexander\u2019s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she\u2019s left with one last battle\u2014to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her\u2026<\/em> – William Morrow<\/p>\n

This title is also available in CD audiobook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Susan Holloway Scott<\/p>\n

Inspired by a woman and events forgotten by history, bestselling author Susan Holloway Scott weaves together carefully researched fact and fiction to tell the story of Mary Emmons, and the place she held in the life\u2014and the heart\u2014of the notorious Aaron Burr.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was a hero of the Revolution, a brilliant politician, lawyer, and very nearly president; a skillful survivor in a raw new country filled with constantly shifting loyalties. Today Aaron Burr is remembered more for the fatal duel that killed rival Alexander Hamilton. But long before that single shot destroyed Burr\u2019s political career, there were other dark whispers about him: that he was untrustworthy, a libertine, a man unafraid of claiming whatever he believed should be his.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sold into slavery as a child in India, Mary Emmons was brought to an America torn by war. Toughened by the experiences of her young life, Mary is intelligent, resourceful, and strong. She quickly gains the trust of her new mistress, Theodosia Prevost, and becomes indispensable in a complicated household filled with intrigue\u2014especially when the now-widowed Theodosia marries Colonel Aaron Burr. As Theodosia sickens with the fatal disease that will finally kill her, Mary and Burr are drawn together into a private world of power and passion, and a secret, tangled union that would have shocked the nation . . .<\/em> – Kensington Books<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first performance of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda debuted on Broadway in the summer of 2025. This musical is a smash hit, winning 11 Tony Awards in 2016, plus numerous other awards. ‘Hamilton’ is celebrating ten years of success, so I wanted to highlight items, both[Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,5,1,8],"tags":[10581,10580,10749,10575,402,10577,10578,10574,10587,10592,10583,10589,10588,10585,10750,1871,10590,676,10591,10594,10582,10584,10586,10579,10593,10576],"class_list":["post-57863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-read-a-likes","category-reference","category-staff-picks","tag-a-republic-of-scoundrels","tag-andrew-roberts","tag-angelica","tag-eliza-hamilton","tag-fiction","tag-founding-partisans","tag-h-w-brands","tag-hamilton","tag-jenn-bregman","tag-laura-kamoie","tag-lauren-willig","tag-lori-goldstein","tag-love-theodosia","tag-mollie-cox-bryan","tag-molly-beer","tag-musical","tag-my-dear-hamilton","tag-nonfiction","tag-stephanie-dray","tag-susan-holloway-scott","tag-the-girl-from-greenwich-street","tag-the-lace-widow","tag-the-last-hamilton","tag-the-last-king-of-america","tag-the-secret-wife-of-aaron-burr","tag-tilar-j-mazzeo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXx-f3h","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57863"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58301,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57863\/revisions\/58301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}