Ron Chernow, Hamilton’s most celebrated biographer, seems to take the position that Hamilton and Angelica had perhaps an emotional, if not physical affair. But like us, Chernow is befuddled by Eliza’s reaction to the open flirtation of her husband and sister. Eliza, who enjoyed a very close and loving bond with her sisters, seems never to have objected to—and quite possibly even encouraged—the flirtation. Is it possible that Eliza knew her husband was having an affair with her sister and didn’t mind? Or was it all just a very strange family joke?
We cannot know.
The only thing we can be sure of is that Eliza—like Hamilton’s biographers—would’ve had to contend with these same letters after his death and make emotional sense of them. Which is a process we dramatized for the purposes of this novel, with regards to both Angelica and a speculated relationship with John Laurens, the case for which is stronger than we presented in the story. （For example, we held back a jocular letter from Hamilton to Laurens that seemed to invite his friend to watch him take his bride’s virginity.）
Ultimately, we noticed a curious ten-year lull in the historical record when it came to Eliza Hamilton’s otherwise tireless efforts to see her husband’s legacy secured. Between the time of Angelica’s death in 1814 and Lafayette’s visit in 1824, there is a gap during which the family comes to learn that the Federalists are withholding Hamilton’s drafts of Washington’s Farewell Address from Eliza, and yet, she seems to do nothing about it. It’s only after Lafayette’s visit that Eliza returns to a frenzy of activity on behalf of her dead husband. We theorized that Eliza took these years to process any of the hurts and resentments she’d been suppressing as she reviewed Angelica and Hamilton’s correspondence.
This also served as a convenient fictional explanation for why one of Hamilton’s sons—William, the one born during the Reynolds scandal—abruptly withdrew from West Point, left his family, and wandered to the far end of what was then the country’s borders and beyond.
*
FINALLY, THERE ARE the stories and rumors that we left out of the book.
Some believe that Hamilton first met Eliza when he visited her father in Albany during the autumn of 1777. But scholars at Schuyler Mansion think it likely that Eliza was visiting the Livingstons at the time. Then there’s the more famous story—depicted in a painting—about Catherine Schuyler burning her crops in Saratoga so the British couldn’t get them. The story is both suspected to be apocryphal and did not center our heroine, so we left it out （though we did draft a chapter portraying this scene—one of many that hit the chopping block and that readers can obtain by subscribing to our newsletter）。 We’d have loved to show Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at her husband’s funeral, but Hamilton’s biographer insists she was not there.
We did not belabor the confusion surrounding the duels that took her husband and son. Whether Hamilton fired first, fired at Burr, threw away his shot, or fired as the result of an involuntary spasm or because of the hair triggers in the pistols remains an unsolved mystery. The same goes for the duel fought by Philip Hamilton. We didn’t feel that the debate over these details served the emotional needs of the story and many other books have been dedicated to answering the questions already.
In summary, there is no child, or nation, that is ever born without leaving scars. We have done our best to be forthright and fair about the injustices and hypocrisies of our Founding Fathers. We hope the balance struck is one that furthers understanding and creates more interest.
For a more detailed explanation of our sources, choices, and changes, visit MyDearHamilton.com.
Acknowledgments
FIRST, WE MUST thank our families and loved ones for endless patience with the whirlwind process of writing this novel. Secondly, our agent, Kevan Lyon, for her enthusiasm and advocacy. Thirdly, our team at HarperCollins, including Amanda Bergeron for inspiring and acquiring the book and Lucia Macro for editing it.
When it came to the research itself, we are indebted to the National Archives for their work to make the digitized letters of Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers available to all Americans at founders.archives.gov. Additionally, we made use of the papers at the New York Public Library and New-York Historical Society. We’re also enormously humbled by the generosity of the experts at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site in Albany, Ian Mumpton and Danielle Funiciello, who provided copies of letters and answered a thousand questions, large and small. Though any errors you may find in this manuscript are ours alone.