Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution
Amanda Vaill
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY “Marvelous . . . An act not only of recovery, but of world building.” —The Atlantic “A thoroughly fascinating biography, filled with Vaill’s signature warmth, humor and insight.” —The New York Times Book Review “Elegantly written, intimately detailed and infused with feeling, a gripping account of these two remarkable women, their elite family and their tumultuous era.” —The Wall Street Journal “One of our great biographers takes the sisters out of Hamilton’s supporting cast and puts them front and center.” —Town & Country 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. If it hadn’t been for the Revolutionary War, things might have been very different for the two women Alexander Hamilton came to describe as his “dear brunettes.” Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler, daughters of colonial Hudson Valley aristocracy, would have followed their family’s expectations, making dynastic marriages and supervising substantial households—but they didn’t.
Award History
1 wins · 3 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulitzer Prize in Biography or AutobiographyMajor | 2026 | Winner | Secondary source |
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize for BiographyMajor | 2025 | Finalist | Official source |
| Plutarch Award: Biography | 2026 | Finalist | Official source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Angelica Schuyler62%
- Elizabeth Schuyler62%
- Alexander Hamilton42%
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Hudson Valley55%
03 Suggested argument
Because the Revolutionary War disrupted expected paths, Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler did not follow dynastic marriage and household roles.
Model confidence 63%
04 Reading orientation
36 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 77%.