What do you think?
Rate this book
A Master Passion: Book One: Love and Liberty
THE MASTER PASSION is the story of a marriage – called by some a misalliance – of Alexander Hamilton, our First Secretary of the Treasury, and Betsy Schuyler. Although born poor and illegitimate, Hamilton courts the daughter of Major General Schuyler, an American princess.
Hamilton is one of a trinity of Founders who seem to have been created on purpose to invent our nation. Like all mission-driven men, he is preoccupied, often absent, and not the best provider. The trials of making ends meet and raising an ever growing troop of children are Betsy’s. This woman-behind-the-man is barely known, but through war, Indian attacks, multiple births, epidemics, infidelity, unending politics and dire tragedy, Betsy is the force which holds the family together.
Conflict is built into this marriage. It does not simply spring from Alexander’s childhood experience of bastardy, abuse and abandonment. To quote Alexander Pope, his favorite poet:
"...And hence one master passion in the breast,
Like Aaron’s serpent, swallows up the rest..."
Betsy’s passion is Alexander, but, sometimes, even more than this wife, Alexander loves America.
Hamilton is one of a trinity of Founders who seem to have been created on purpose to invent our nation. Like all mission-driven men, he is preoccupied, often absent, and not the best provider. The trials of making ends meet and raising an ever growing troop of children are Betsy’s. This woman-behind-the-man is barely known, but through war, Indian attacks, multiple births, epidemics, infidelity, unending politics and dire tragedy, Betsy is the force which holds the family together.
Conflict is built into this marriage. It does not simply spring from Alexander’s childhood experience of bastardy, abuse and abandonment. To quote Alexander Pope, his favorite poet:
"...And hence one master passion in the breast,
Like Aaron’s serpent, swallows up the rest..."
Betsy’s passion is Alexander, but, sometimes, even more than this wife, Alexander loves America.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
428 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 25, 2015
346 people want to read
About the author
Juliet Waldron
23 books33 followersJuliet Waldron was baptized in the Yellow Spring of a unique Ohio farm town. After some years in an upstate New York farmhouse with a resident ghost, she began to travel with her Auntie Mame mother, who flamboyantly adored history and grand opera.
Returning to the States, got married and raised sons, eventually working at jobs ranging from artist's model to power-suited Merrill Lynch “girl.” Then, she went off the deep end and began to write. She enjoys putting what she has learned about people, places and relationships into her stories. She has granddaughters she'd like to see more often, several cats, and just celebrated her 51th wedding anniversary with a guy who rides a Hayabusa and hasn't lost her off the back yet.
Returning to the States, got married and raised sons, eventually working at jobs ranging from artist's model to power-suited Merrill Lynch “girl.” Then, she went off the deep end and began to write. She enjoys putting what she has learned about people, places and relationships into her stories. She has granddaughters she'd like to see more often, several cats, and just celebrated her 51th wedding anniversary with a guy who rides a Hayabusa and hasn't lost her off the back yet.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 10, 2017
I had already read a fictional biopic on Richard III by this author (Roan Rose) and given my previous honestly negative experience I dreaded what she could write about the Hamiltons, especially with respect to Hamilton's notorius affair with Maria Reynolds.
Well, thankfully Alexander Hamilton wrote so much about himself already that this author was probably forced not to stray too much from the beaten track, even if I personally do not agree with the overall picture of the Hamiltons’ marriage as an overall frustrating experience on both parts.
On one hand we have an Alexander Hamilton who is depicted as an unrepented flirt all his life, who chases skirts and repeatedly betrays his wife to satisfy his flesh during the times he and his wife are separate (with Maria Reynolds being only the most embarassing and notorious case, one that only gets a few pages and that in my view is never satisfactorily discussed by Alexander and Eliza in the book), a man who never really repents and feels sorry for his infidelities and ultimately only finds peace with his God, but not really with his wife, by deciding to throw away his shot and spare Burr’s life at the risk of his own life and his family’s welfare.
On the other hand we have an Eliza Schuyler Hamilton who seems never to loosen up even after her marriage, whose constant virginal shyness clearly frustrates a man who seems to get her pregnant the few times he manages to coax her into love making while Maria ensnares him with her gymnastics, an Eliza who feels frustrated not only by her husband’s infidelities, but by her lack of selfesteem, especially in her relationship with a brilliant penworm and socialite husband, a woman who manages a household that is so efficient as it seems gloomy and sad for most of their marriage. Having most of the book based on her point of view did not exactly help having a pleasant feeling during the reading.
In this overall depiction, I failed to see where the mutual love that is anticipated on the cover was, where was the passion that made Eliza decide never to remarry and spend the remaining 50 years of her life without Hamilton trying to save his legacy with the only wish to join him in a better world. I do not think the surviving correspondence (and I am not speaking only of Hamilton’s letters to Eliza) and their actions support this picture. Flawed and arrogant as the man was, despicable as his one year affair with Maria was, abominable as his decision to wash his dirty linen in public thus humiliating his wife was, he seems to have loved his wife better and more passionately than I could perceive from this text, just like Eliza seems to have had more spine than to quietly have accepted her husband back in her bed after the disclosure of the affair without a genuine repentace for his infidelity and a great deal of groveling on his part, as seems to have been more than the case in real life.
The writing style is not bad and if you can turn a blind eye on some historical inaccuracies it is not a bad book, better and less disrespectful than "Roan Rose" was with the historical Richard III at least. However, if you are looking for a fiction novel on the Hamiltons, I think that a better research and understanding of what was in the lines of all the original documents we have by and about Alexander and Eliza Hamilton allowed author Elizabeth Cobbs to deliver a more plausible portrait of their marriage, better capturing the spirit of their love in “The Hamilton Affair” than this author could with this book.
Well, thankfully Alexander Hamilton wrote so much about himself already that this author was probably forced not to stray too much from the beaten track, even if I personally do not agree with the overall picture of the Hamiltons’ marriage as an overall frustrating experience on both parts.
On one hand we have an Alexander Hamilton who is depicted as an unrepented flirt all his life, who chases skirts and repeatedly betrays his wife to satisfy his flesh during the times he and his wife are separate (with Maria Reynolds being only the most embarassing and notorious case, one that only gets a few pages and that in my view is never satisfactorily discussed by Alexander and Eliza in the book), a man who never really repents and feels sorry for his infidelities and ultimately only finds peace with his God, but not really with his wife, by deciding to throw away his shot and spare Burr’s life at the risk of his own life and his family’s welfare.
On the other hand we have an Eliza Schuyler Hamilton who seems never to loosen up even after her marriage, whose constant virginal shyness clearly frustrates a man who seems to get her pregnant the few times he manages to coax her into love making while Maria ensnares him with her gymnastics, an Eliza who feels frustrated not only by her husband’s infidelities, but by her lack of selfesteem, especially in her relationship with a brilliant penworm and socialite husband, a woman who manages a household that is so efficient as it seems gloomy and sad for most of their marriage. Having most of the book based on her point of view did not exactly help having a pleasant feeling during the reading.
In this overall depiction, I failed to see where the mutual love that is anticipated on the cover was, where was the passion that made Eliza decide never to remarry and spend the remaining 50 years of her life without Hamilton trying to save his legacy with the only wish to join him in a better world. I do not think the surviving correspondence (and I am not speaking only of Hamilton’s letters to Eliza) and their actions support this picture. Flawed and arrogant as the man was, despicable as his one year affair with Maria was, abominable as his decision to wash his dirty linen in public thus humiliating his wife was, he seems to have loved his wife better and more passionately than I could perceive from this text, just like Eliza seems to have had more spine than to quietly have accepted her husband back in her bed after the disclosure of the affair without a genuine repentace for his infidelity and a great deal of groveling on his part, as seems to have been more than the case in real life.
The writing style is not bad and if you can turn a blind eye on some historical inaccuracies it is not a bad book, better and less disrespectful than "Roan Rose" was with the historical Richard III at least. However, if you are looking for a fiction novel on the Hamiltons, I think that a better research and understanding of what was in the lines of all the original documents we have by and about Alexander and Eliza Hamilton allowed author Elizabeth Cobbs to deliver a more plausible portrait of their marriage, better capturing the spirit of their love in “The Hamilton Affair” than this author could with this book.
July 2, 2015
Synopsis
A Master Passion is the story of our brilliant first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Betsy Schuyler. It begins with their Revolutionary War courtship. Although born poor and illegitimate, as an Aide de Camp to General George Washington, Hamilton dares to reach, boldly pursuing Betsy, daughter of a wealthy and prominent New York family.
After the war, Hamilton engages in nation building. Like all mission-driven men, he is preoccupied, often absent, and not the best provider. The trials of making ends meet and raising their ever-growing troop of children falls to Betsy, who accomplishes her task with grace and devotion.
Conflict is built into their marriage. It does not simply spring from Alexander's agonizing childhood experience of bastardy, abuse, and abandonment. To quote Alexander Pope, Hamilton's favorite poet:
And hence one Master Passion in the breast
like Aaron's serpent, swallows up all the rest..."
Betsy's passion is Alexander. Alexander's passion is America.
Though Hamilton's financial acumen and political courage is crucial to the formation and survival of our nation, his star sets quickly. Disillusioned, political power broken, his adored eldest son killed in a duel, Hamilton goes to his own famous duel with Aaron Burr in the spirit of those noble Romans he so steadfastly admires, preferring death to dishonor.
The Master Passion places the battles of Alexander Hamilton, the lonely idealist, within a family saga rich in period detail. The great edifice for which he laid the groundwork--America--has become, exactly as he planned, the richest and freest country on earth.
A Master Passion is the story of our brilliant first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Betsy Schuyler. It begins with their Revolutionary War courtship. Although born poor and illegitimate, as an Aide de Camp to General George Washington, Hamilton dares to reach, boldly pursuing Betsy, daughter of a wealthy and prominent New York family.
After the war, Hamilton engages in nation building. Like all mission-driven men, he is preoccupied, often absent, and not the best provider. The trials of making ends meet and raising their ever-growing troop of children falls to Betsy, who accomplishes her task with grace and devotion.
Conflict is built into their marriage. It does not simply spring from Alexander's agonizing childhood experience of bastardy, abuse, and abandonment. To quote Alexander Pope, Hamilton's favorite poet:
And hence one Master Passion in the breast
like Aaron's serpent, swallows up all the rest..."
Betsy's passion is Alexander. Alexander's passion is America.
Though Hamilton's financial acumen and political courage is crucial to the formation and survival of our nation, his star sets quickly. Disillusioned, political power broken, his adored eldest son killed in a duel, Hamilton goes to his own famous duel with Aaron Burr in the spirit of those noble Romans he so steadfastly admires, preferring death to dishonor.
The Master Passion places the battles of Alexander Hamilton, the lonely idealist, within a family saga rich in period detail. The great edifice for which he laid the groundwork--America--has become, exactly as he planned, the richest and freest country on earth.
January 8, 2017
After developing an obsession with the musical Hamilton, I wanted to learn more about Eliza/Betsy Hamilton. My search led me to this book, which citing an impressive amount of research. So, it turns out the musical took a lot of liberties, but that's to be expected. This book was very interesting and told a story balanced between Hamilton and his somewhat long-suffering wife. If you are interested in Hamilton and not quite ready for the Chernow tomb, this might be a good read for you.
August 3, 2016
I really wanted this one to work, but it just didn't. I agree with the reviewer who said it alternated between a historical romance novel and a dry biography. The characters never really came to life for me. And it's not helped by poor proof-reading. I slogged through it, but never really felt like it engaged for me. I never was drawn to pick it up.
June 4, 2016
Great historical fiction! I was a little worried when I started this book, not sure if it was my taste, but I was soon engaged and found it difficult to put down. I highly recommend this historical novel. Thanks to Goodreads for the opportunity to read and review this book.
March 12, 2016
This was a pretty good book. Some parts read like a romance novel and some parts read like a very dry historical biography. Overall I enjoyed it even if I had to force myself to slog thru some paces.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews