Pride and Pleasure

The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution

De: Amanda Vaill

Narrado por: Michael David Axtell, Sarah Borges

America’s Founding Era reconsidered through the lives of two women as formidable as, and in some respects stronger than, the men they loved, married, and mothered.

Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler, born to wealth and privilege in New York’s Hudson Valley during the latter half of the eighteenth century, were raised to make good marriages and supervise substantial households. Instead they became embroiled in the turmoil of America's insurrection against Great Britain—and rebelled themselves, in ways as different as each was from the other, against the destiny mapped out for them.

Glamorous Angelica, who sought fulfillment through attachments to powerful men, eloped at twenty with a war profiteer and led a luxurious life, first in Paris, then in London, charming Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the Prince of Wales. Eliza, one year her junior, too candid for flirtation and uninterested in influence or intrigue, married a penniless illegitimate outsider, Alexander Hamilton, and devoted herself to his career. But after his appointment as America’s first Treasury Secretary, she was challenged by the controversies in which he became involved, not the least of which was the attraction that grew between him and her adored sister.

When tragedy followed, everything changed for both women: one deprived of her animating spirit, the other improbably gaining a new, self-determined life. “You would not have suffered if you had married into a family less near the sun,” wrote Angelica to Eliza, “but then [you would have missed] the pride, the pleasure, the nameless satisfactions.”

Drawing on deep archival research, including never-published records and letters, Amanda Vaill interweaves this family drama with its historical context, creating a narrative with the sweep and intimacy of a nineteenth-century novel. Full of battles and dinner parties, murky politics and transparent frocks, fierce loyalty and betrayals both public and personal, Pride and Pleasure brings two extraordinary American heroines to life.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

This book rounded out much of the history of Hamilton.

The author's thorough and detailed use of historical records added to all of the other works capturing the amazing life of one of our country's founders, Alexander Hamilton. And, it presented the incredible life of Eliza and how important her life was in contributing to her husband, to the future generations of her family, and to this country.

Amazing Effort

Amazing account of Eliza and Angelica Schuyler! I have listened to a biography of Eliza previously but did not know a great deal about Angelica. She was certainly a fascinating character. I liked how there were two narrators with the female reader focusing on the letters written and received by the sisters. The female reader

Poor choice of Title and Voices to Tell the Story

Well researched and written book. Poor title and cover choice. The narrators were also poor choices. I can not hardly listen. They have done no research on their characters. They do not know the people at all, what they were going through the things they accomplished. I can't hardly listen to the book. There are other audiobooks during this time period with other narrators and you can't wait to open that book again in your car and listen.Not this book these voices are are all wrong. As is the title. I am so sad.

Amazing detail of history. Very enlightening.

The research that went into writing this book is amazing. The ability to bring it to life and hold our attention is a gift of talent and dedication from which everyone can enjoy and benefit.

What a family!

This was a fascinating book to read but one aspect of the narration disturbed me greatly, almost to the point of returning it and reading the book to myself. There are 2 narrators, one male, one female, and as long as they simply read the book, all was well. But when the female started talking in a voice that was accented or more in character to represent a foreign voice or an emotional tone (like anger), it quickly grew annoying. I found myself anticipating her going into this “acting” voice and tensing up whenever the narrators changed from male to female.