Let’s face it: Thanks to Lin Manuel Miranda and his Broadway smash hit, Alexander Hamilton is a hot commodity right now. It would be easy to accuse Melissa de la Cruz of jumping on the hype train and riding it all the way to Paycheckville, but after reading Alex & Eliza: A Love Story, but we think you’d be wrong to do that. See, de la Cruz’s story is definitely inspired by Hamilton: An American Musical, but it’s not a rip-off by any means.
Alex and Eliza focuses in on the early days of Hamilton’s relationship with his future wife, Eliza Schuyler, from their first meeting at a ball in 1777 to their wedding in 1780. The author puts a much more positive spin on their relationship by making both characters frenemies who turn out to later be quite dedicated to each other, full of their own brand of youthful spirit. Gone are the scandals like Alexander’s possible side relationship with Eliza’s sister, Angelica– historical rumor taken as fact after its inclusion in Hamilton. Instead, de la Cruz’s versions of the characters are plagued by the effects of The Revolutionary War, even though most of the story takes place in the winter months when the fighting was largely suspended, and a series of more common issues: bad first impressions, awkward dates, class disparity, and disapproving family members.
Because of these factors, the novel hones in on the characters’ individual personalities and THAT is where the fun lies. The interpretation of Alexander Hamilton, his loyal friends, and the Schuyler girls is where the story gets its finesse. You follow the characters for their witty, sweet interactions as they, like most young adults, struggle to reconcile dreams and reality. They’re just doing it in the context of the American Revolution, which adds unique communication and societal challenges.
Eliza was particularly impressive, presented as a realistically “progressive” lady for her time period with a dash of boldness. She questions things slightly more than the average young woman, but isn’t running around with a boy in secret or defying her parents’ wishes for her life, for example, because those things were straight-up scandalous in this time period. Alex is portrayed as a hopeless romantic, softer than the average man and unwaveringly dedicated to Eliza from very early-on. He’s an adorable puppy of a character, regardless of how true that is to real life. I also enjoyed Peggy Schuyler, who gets a much better chance to come to life in this adaptation, as well as appearances from Hamilton’s besties Laurens and Lafayette, who alternate between sage advice and comic relief.
The problem with the story lies in the plot. The couple’s first meeting is intriguing and you want to know what happens from there. Their slow friendship-turned-relationship formed through medical trips and dinner parties is sweet, but not really enough to sustain the plot. Melissa de la Cruz adds some tension by regularly pointing out the class disparity between the two, but doesn’t really act on anything until the last third of the novel, when she throws in a monkey wrench that is as historically inaccurate as it is cliche. Without giving too much away, it also plays into one of my least favorite tropes: The damsel in distress, desperately in need of saving that conveniently, can only be done by the man she loves most.
Alex and Eliza is certainly a love story and a period piece, but it’s not necessarily strict on historical accuracy. Much of what happened between the characters as they fell in love is unknown and rightfully open to interpretation, but known details about the characters are also skewed. The author also chose to leave out or downplay some interesting historical moments surrounding the couple, like Eliza forming a friendship with Martha Washington and John Andre’s fate. If accuracy isn’t a sticking point for you, it’s all pretty easy to look past. The story didn’t necessarily need these elements and it seems the novel was purposefully Schuyler-centric, but it seemed a little odd to add in so much day-to-day life and leave out exciting, real-life events.
While the third act does cheapen the overall story a bit, we think you’ll like the novel overall so long as you come for the character interactions and of course, the innocent, youthful romance. So if you like cute, if you like uncomplicated, and if you like a historical basis, try this one on for size!
RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
Alex and Eliza: A Love Story is out now. You can order it via Amazon.
1777. Albany, New York.
As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival that of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.
Still, she can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.