A thoroughly fascinating biography, filled with Vaill’s signature warmth, humor and insight ... If the book lags at times, it is when describing the battles between men, on and off the field. But then, it’s a testament to the force of the Schuyler sisters’ personalities that they dwarf both the Revolutionary War and the political disputes that followed. Angelica emerges as especially sparkling.
Cogent ... An experienced biographer and historian with three previous books to her credit, Vaill flags her well-informed speculations throughout Pride and Pleasure by posing them as questions.
Vaill builds on some of the most compelling writing about women in early America, which has peered into the households of famous men, drawing on ample records to cast light in otherwise shadowy corners ... Vaill’s bold choice to narrate the family’s experience in the present tense, as they lived it, while rendering the broader course of human events in the simple past, keeps us close to the action. Indeed, it redefines what counts as action ... A combination of lusty letters and Vaill’s writerly gifts gives Eliza’s courtship with Hamilton dramatic momentum.
