Over on my booktube channel (Hannah's Books), I shared this book in my description of exciting books forthcoming in early July. Link to the particular discussion: https://youtu.be/PkB94Of64TI?si=7vMvu-nIJMz6FKAG&t=65

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer via NetGalley. Many thanks to W. W. Norton & Company for approving my request.

I was motivated to request Molly Beer’s biography because it is described as “A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton’s influential sister-in-law.” Let’s discuss.

The Hamilton Connection

Like a lot of people, I would describe myself as a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet had the chance to be in the room where it happens (pun intended), but I regularly listen to the cast recording, watch the Ham4Ham performances, and I’ve seen the pro-shot. One of my favorite characters from the musical is Angelica Schuyler Church, though it’s very possible that my love for the character was greatly influenced by Reneé Elise Goldsberry’s fantastic performance.

In any case, I was aware that Miranda took some creative liberties with Angelica’s story in Hamliton, so when Molly Beer’s biography showed up on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to smash the request button.

Angelica’s Marriage

One of the things I’ve been thinking about since finishing Beer’s biography was Angelica’s marriage. I knew that the Hamilton song “Satisfied” was misleading on a number of fronts. Angelica was already married at the time she met Hamilton; her pursuing him as a potential spouse wouldn’t have been possible at the time.

What I didn’t realize was all the details surrounding Angelica’s husband, John Barker Church. Church was born in England, got himself into a lot of debt, and fled to the US colonies where he initially went by the last name Carter. During his time in the US, he met Angelica, they fell in love, and eloped because her parents didn’t approve. Church eventually made a fortune, and the couple went to England after the revolution. At this point, Church was able to pay off his debts and everything seems to have been forgiven.

That’s certainly a juicy story. Or at least, I thought so. What I wondered was what Angelica knew of her husband’s financial situation and when she knew it. If Beer covered this, I missed it.

The Thing With Historical Fiction

I’ve written about my complicated feelings with historical fiction and how reading science fiction helped me finally appreciate the value of reading historical fiction. I think Beer’s biography is one situation in which my enjoyment of historical fiction (in the musical Hamilton) colored my experience of nonfiction.

I came across a review for Beer’s biography that talks about how it can feel superficial at times. While Angelica is certainly well researched, it was obviously written with a very different audience in mind than the musical Hamilton. Beer doesn’t dwell on elements of Angelica’s life for dramatic effect, for example. It can feel like it’s missing some of the melodrama of the musical. I agree with this, to an extent.

In Conclusion

I think that Angelica is for people who are looking for a factual account of Angelica Schuyler Church’s life. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something that dwells on the dramatic elements of her life, Beer’s biography might not be for you.

Angelica is an incredibly detailed and captivating biography of Angelica Schuyler/Carter/Church. The amount of research that went into writing this book is astounding. I can't put into words how much I loved reading this. The social aspect of her life is one that's always fascinated me, especially as a woman who came from such a front-facing family during the American Revolution.
As a lover of the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it was fun to piece together which parts of Angelica's life would have been happening during which musical number.
Women's history is so incredibly undertold and I hope to see more women in history profiled like Beer did with Angelica Schuyler. Though this time period isn't my area of research, I could absolutely see myself reading this again. I also liked that the author did not shy away from acknowledging the Schuyler/Church/Hamilton families' active participation in slavery and the owning of enslaved people. This is something that needs to be spoken about much more widely, especially in regard to the "founding families" of the United States.

This is how you write an informative, accessible and fun biography. I really enjoyed this book!

"Angelica" by Molly Beer is not only the story of Angelica Schuyler Church, the Schuyler sisters (I admit I can't help but sing that) and, of course, Alexander Hamilton. This book introduces the readers to the American revolution through the eyes of women. Women who wouldn't have the right to vote in the US till the 1920s (if my memory serves right), but (to the surprise of no one) they played major roles in the establishment of the United States of America from day one as well as helped influence and manage the diplomatic relationships of the budding country with the rest of the Europe, especially England and France.

The author did a fantastic job balancing what could've been a very dense book filled with dates and names with more personal and intimate moments of the titular Angelica. It gives much context to the lives of women living in US, England and France at the time as well as draw comparisons between their societies. This not only helped the book be very accessible but, also, painted a much fuller portrait of her. By the end of the book, I felt like I genuinely got to know her. Not just through her own words, letters and major life events, but also through the eyes of the many people around her.

This was a wonderful read that I recommend for anyone interested in US and Europe history, as well as, of course, women history.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My opinions are my own and are freely given.

This was an amazing non-fiction book about someone I knew little about (one of these days I will actually sit down and watch Hamilton). When the author was discussing what marriage was like for women, I just can't believe there are people that want that to come back. Men, sure. But women? They have no idea what it really means. Brainwashing really is a thing.

Recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great non-fiction book, especially one interested in learning about Angelica Schuyler Church.

Love Hamilton and this is such a great historical background and such. Great addition to rob chernows book!

I would to thank Net Galley and W.W. Norton for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I am a fan of historical books and I was excited to read this one. It is a well researched and well written book about Angelica Schuyler Church. While many today may only think of her as Alexander Hamilton's sister in law ( I confess I did sing "Angelica, Eliza and Peggy to my self each I picked up the book), she was so much more. She was indeed a reader of Thomas Paine, she wanted more for women in the colonies and then states, she was charming , opinionated and well read. She was a force to be reckoned with throughout her life. She was also a wife, and a mother, a daughter and a sister, in times that could be called turbulent , at best. She traveled and lived in France and England.She knew many important and influential people, and was one herself. If you want to know more about this fascinating woman, I encourage you to read this book.

This is a story of Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law during the American Revolution times. It is a very interesting read with great history. This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review. This review is mine.

Deeply well written and absorbing bio of a woman I’ve been fascinated with since Hamilton the musical. I’m so glad the Schuyler sisters are getting more attention and having their stories told. This is obviously non fiction but engrossed me like an epic novel.