Features | Book Recs for Hamilton Fans

Features | Book Recs for Hamilton Fans

• Thursday, 18 February 2016

Okay, so I am firmly on the Hamilton band wagon. I haven't listened to anything else for weeks and I'm starting to wonder if that might be a problem. If that sounds familiar then this post might be for you but if you're kind of sick of hearing people talk about this show then you'll probably want to look away because today I am recommending books for the people who just can't get enough of it.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Obviously I couldn't make a list like this without including the book that started it all. If it's the founding father himself you're interested in then the most sensible place to start is probably the book that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to write his show in the first place. If 800 page historical biographies aren't really your thing though, don't worry. I have a few slightly different suggestions...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell takes place a little later in King George III's reign than Hamilton and tells the story of two English magicians during the Napoleonic Wars. So if you want to read a different twist on a similar time period then this is definitely worth a go. It is also literally 1,000 pages long, so I can only assume that Susanna Clarke also writes like she's running out of time.

Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

Okay so there is very little crossover in subject matter between Hamilton and Hold Me Closer but it's safe to assume that a lot of Hamilton fans are also fans of musical theatre in general and Hold Me Closer just happens to be a musical. It is also a biographical musical, although Tiny Cooper is, of course, a fictional character from David Levithan and John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson, not a founding father of the United States.

Lorali by Laura Dockrill

Lorali is a modern YA mermaid romance, so you might be wondering what on earth that has to do with Hamilton. The reason I'm including Lorali on this list is because it has such a lyrical, poetic style, especially in the chapters written from The Sea's point of view. Yes, there are chapters written from The Sea's point of view, and they read with a beautiful rhythm, not unlike the songs in Hamilton. See, there's a method to my madness.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Like Hamilton, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer mixes the 18th century with the 21st, although in a very different way. In Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer a 21st century American schoolgirl comes face to face with the ghost of Marie Antoinette, who is looking for revenge on those who betrayed her during the French Revolution. Okay, so it's not as historical as Hamilton, but if you want something else that looks at events from the 18th century through a 21st century lens, here it is.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and listen to Non-Stop 1,000 more times.