Sunday, November 15, 2015

Master Passion review

Alexander Hamilton is one of our founding fathers and yet we seem to know so little about him.  First Secretary of Treasury, twenty dollar bill, and something about a dual.  In " A Master Passion:  The story of Alexander and Elizabeth Hamilton" by Juliet Waldron our curiosities are peeked and our eyes are opened.  Hamilton is not your traditional forefather.  He was the illegitimate son on a brilliant yet unfortunate prostitute in the West Indies.  After being abandoned by his father, orphaned, set to work at the age of 10 and sexually abused by his employer, Hamilton became the original American Dream story.  He came to the colonies for an education and a chance for a better life.  In the search for that life he married Elizabeth, the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner.  Waldron's novel, though I don't know how much is true, follows the Hamiltons in their quest to begin a new country.  The story not only lets you look at how the country was built from a working man's point of view, but lets you look into the Hamilton's marriage.  So close a look, that the reader may feel a little guilty for eavesdropping, the author is so good at giving a realistic image.  Though this book is long, it is also very good.  I received this book from Passages to the Past: HFVBT for a tour. 

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