Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution by Amanda Vaill

 

Summary (from the publisher): Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler, born to wealth and privilege in New York's Hudson Valley during the latter half of the 18th century, were raised to make good marriages and supervise substantial households. Instead, they became embroiled in the turmoil of America's insurrection against Great Britain — and rebelled themselves, in ways as different as each was from the other, against the destiny mapped out for them.

Glamorous Angelica, who sought fulfillment through attachments to powerful men, eloped at twenty with a war profiteer and led a luxurious life, first in Paris, then in London, charming Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the Prince of Wales. Eliza, one year her junior, too candid for flirtation and uninterested in influence or intrigue, married a penniless illegitimate outsider, Alexander Hamilton, and devoted herself to his career. But after his appointment as America's first treasury secretary, she was challenged by the controversies in which he became involved, not the least of which was the attraction that grew between him and her adored sister.

When tragedy followed, everything changed for both women: one deprived of her animating spirit, the other improbably gaining a new, self-determined life. "You would not have suffered if you had married into a family less near the sun," wrote Angelica to Eliza, "but then [you would have missed] the pride, the pleasure, the nameless satisfactions."

Drawing on deep archival research, including never-published records and letters, Amanda Vaill interweaves this family drama with its historical context, creating a narrative with the sweep and intimacy of a nineteenth-century novel. Full of battles and dinner parties, murky politics and transparent frocks, fierce loyalty and betrayals both public and personal, Pride and Pleasure brings to two extraordinary American heroines to life.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this biography in exchange for an honest review. 

"You would not have suffered if you had married into a family less near the sun, but then [you would have missed] the pride, the pleasure, the nameless satisfactions." Angelica to her sister Eliza. 

This biography follows the lives of the two oldest Schuyler sisters, Angelica and Elizabeth, who were born into a wealthy New York family in the late 18th century. Angelica eloped at twenty and led a glamorous and luxurious life in Paris and London before returning home to America. Eliza, one year younger than Angelica, married a penniless illegitimate outsider named Alexander Hamilton. Eliza devoted her life to her husband's career and raising their children, only to be betrayed by his infidelities, which seem to have likely included an indiscretion with her own sister Angelica. After Alexander's untimely death in a duel, Eliza worked tirelessly to drag her family out of debt and see to her children's futures. 

I have never had more complicated feelings about a biography! I was absolutely fascinated by all that I learned about the two sisters. This book even made me weep at one point, when Eliza is called to the bed of her dying son and lays down with him to hold him all night until his death. I was outraged on Angelica's behalf upon learning that her husband had married her under a false name and didn't reveal his true identity until she was pregnant with their fourth child. I felt Eliza's despair so keenly in the aftermath of her husband's death and as she toiled to provide for her family. This felt well researched, and it was clear that the author has spent siginficant time combing through the family's correspondence and the historical record to meticulously detail their lives. 

But I was also tormented by way too much historical context, which overwhelmed the biography of the sisters. While informative, I wish there had been far less information about the state of the United States and random asides about different important American historical figures. While the sisters did know many of these people, it deviated far too greatly from the main focus of the book far too often for me. This is an immense book at over 700 pages. Fortunately, a head's up to other ebook readers, the text of the book does end at 80%, which shaved off an estimated nearly three hours from the total. Much of this read felt like a slog, and not because of great details about the sisters' lives but because of lots of historical anecdotes. I do think balancing the historical backdrop with the person's life is a delicate prospect for biographers and sympathize with the difficulty of wanting to set the ladies' lives in a greater context. 

Much of this book was written in the first person, which I have never encountered in a biography before, and certainly not a historical one. I believe this was meant to put the reader in the moment with Angelica and Eliza, but it still felt like an odd choice. At some point, the biography deviated from this back into past tense. I did read an advance copy so the final version may differ. 

Stars: 4