Beer relies heavily on letters written by Angelica, to Angelica, about Angelica. And while the letters are interesting, they shed only so much light on her story—and frankly, many of those letters come from the men in her life, not from her ... Beer often describes what Angelica 'likely' thought or did, given the limitations of the documents available to her. I wanted more—more of her words, more portraits of Angelica and the people in her life ... But for readers whose only knowledge of her comes from Hamilton, this biography may tell us as much as we’ll ever know about this notable woman.
Measured ... Of [Angelica's] husband, and of his wife’s feelings for him, it is difficult to get a clear read from Angelica ... Ms. Beer is no campaigner griping about grievances. She approaches her subject with even-tempered humanity.
Remind[s] us that the records of female efforts and achievements have been largely neglected by historians until very recent times ... Elliptical prose ... Excel[s] in vivid scene-setting ... A scattershot text with some gratuitous editorializing...odd digressions, and astonishing omissions ... Still, despite its flaws, Angelica is lively and readable.
