Personal Essays

Alex & Eliza Book Summary

On April 26, 2004, Ron Chernow published 'Alexander Hamilton', a 995-page biography about the life of the American revolutionary and first treasury secretary of the United States. 

After the novel was published, a young broadway writer named Lin-Manuel Miranda read it while on vacation and was inspired to write a musical. 

Miranda began working on the adaption in 2009, and on August 6, 2015, "Hamilton" debuted on Broadway. 

The musical instantly became one of the most cherished musicals of all time, winning 11 Tonys and one Grammy, for Best Musical Theatre Album. 

In June of 2016, one performance of the musical was attended by a special guest- Melissa de la Cruz. 

She was accompanied by her family, including her ten-year-old daughter Mattie, who was instantly amazed by the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth Schuyler-Hamilton. 

De la Cruz's daughter inspired her to do research on the historical couple and was inspired by their story to write 'Alex & Eliza; A Love Story'.

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The biographical fiction, which was first published in April of 2017, starts in late 1777 and takes place in Albany, New York. 

In the midst of the revolutionary war, Catherine Schuyler is hosting a winter ball, which will be attended by one of General Washington's aide de camps, Colonel Alexander Hamilton. 

The eldest daughters of Ms. Schuyler, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy have heard much about the young, charismatic, and intelligent orphan Hamilton, and are very ecstatic about his arrival. 

However, upon his arrival, Alexander must deliver somber news to the sisters' father, General Philip Schuyler, in regard to the defeat of the American army at Saratoga. 

This conversation is regrettably overheard by Eliza, who delivers the news to her sisters. 

Once the ball starts, she finds to her horror that one of the men signed up to dance with her is none other than Colonel Hamilton. 

During their dance, Eliza behaves rather condescendingly to Alexander on her father's behalf, but even she cannot resist interest in his genius.

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Over two years later in February 1780, Eliza is making a journey to stay with her aunt Gertrude Cochran and her husband, Dr. Cochran. 

While on the carriage ride from Albany to Morristown, one of the wheels on their carriage fell apart, and while trying to get out, Eliza's chaperone fell and broke her ankle. 

The group was unable to walk the rest of the way, but a horseman approached in the distance. 

When he got closer, Eliza realized he was none other than Colonel Hamilton, to whom she hadn't spoken in more than two years. 

Alexander helped Eliza to the Cochran residence, and on the journey, the two of them talked much of the way there.

By the end, however, Eliza started to fall ill because of the freezing weather. 

The next day, Hamilton visited the house to check on Eliza and her recovery, and their paths continued to cross even more in the following days.

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At a party hosted by Eliza's aunt and uncle, Alexander and Eliza finally expressed to each other their feeling about each other, and they establish something like a courtship. 

Nearly a week into this, however, a letter arrived from Catherine Schuyler, explaining to the sisters that they each needed to marry soon. 

Angelica was already in a courtship with John Church and Peggy with a younger man named Stephen Van Rensselaer III. 

Catherine's letter expressed her plan for Eliza to be wedded to a family friend named Henry Livingston, meaning the end of her relationship with Colonel Hamilton. 

The night before their scheduled wedding, Eliza and Henry ended up in the same room, and while heavily intoxicated, Livingston attempted to have sexual relations with Eliza. 

She was saved by none other than Alexander and Peggy's suitor Stephen. After this incident, Alexander made a journey alone all the way to Albany to warn the Schuylers against Henry Livingston and made it back just in time to stop the wedding. Eight months later on December 14, 1780, Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler were married.

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'Alex & Eliza' was the winner of the 2018 Young Quills award and was well received by both 'Hamilton' fans and young readers alike. The book was rated 3.7/5 by Goodreads, and 93% of Google users who rated the book enjoyed it. It was followed with two sequels, 'Love & War' in 2018 and 'All For One' in 2019, the finale to the trilogy. 

Reason for writing: In this time of school closings and quarantine, my mother assigned me to write a five-paragraph essay about a book I'd recently read by the end of the day. If I wrote the essay, she would order from Amazon the sequel (Love & War) and if I failed to write the essay, I would not be able to have my phone for five days.