The name ‘Alexander Hamilton’ is increasingly prevalent in pop culture, thanks to the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton”. For those who want to understand the hype about this American Founding Father, Elizabeth Cobb’s The Hamilton Affair is an excellent place to start. This absorbing novel focuses on Alexander and his wife Eliza’s love story. With the help of alternating narrators, the tale begins during the pair’s childhood and continues to their deaths. Cobbs, an award-winning historian, covers a lot of ground, but the story is engaging and easy-to-follow. The book also captures a lot of the emotion, struggle, and heartbreak in Alexander and Eliza’s lives. The Hamilton Affair is highly recommended for readers who want to learn more about this extraordinary man, but prefer historical fiction over a biography.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Arcade Publishing
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 4 religious exclamations, 26 mild obscenities, 2 anatomical terms, 2 scatological terms, 17 derogatory names.
Violence/Gore: A few implied occurrences of violence including a character being shot during a duel and bruises from domestic abuse; multiple secondhand accounts of violence involving the slave trade, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and its associated war crimes, the French Revolution, and the Whiskey Rebellion; several brief scenes of violence include battle, young brothers fighting, a character slapping another, shots fired at a duel and a stones thrown at a character; an extended scene of violence (2 pages) occurs, when characters are engaged in a battle; a brief non-detailed scene of violent death; a few extended scenes (1 page) of violence detailing battle.
Sex/Nudity: Several incidents of kissing; a few incidents of nudity without sexual content; multiple sexual references regarding male genitals, the Book of Socrates, and daydreaming about an affair; multiple reported incidents of sexual intimacy; several mature discussions regarding sex including a bride on her wedding night, family planning and using protection; a few brief, non-detailed scenes of sexual intimacy between adults.
Mature Subject Matter:
Slavery, war, death of family members and friends, treason, illegitimacy, domestic abuse, adultery, stillbirth, blackmail.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Characters occasionally drink.
