THE PATRIOTS

The late novelist and popular historian revisits the Revolutionary era.

Groom (1943-2020) has fashioned another broad historical chronicle for a general readership, presenting parallel biographies of the three Founding Fathers who were integral to the creation of the American republican government—when no one could be sure it was going to take. As he has demonstrated in his many books of history and fiction, the author is a natural storyteller, choosing relevant engrossing details about each character amid the myriad historical detail. His account of Alexander Hamilton's early life story, which opens the book, proves most compelling. Unlike John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were favored sons from wealthy, well-regarded families, Hamilton was born "out of wedlock" in the Caribbean, and his mother died when he and his brother were teenagers, leaving them “for all intents and purposes…orphans.” Groom shows how Hamilton’s intelligence and alacrity—not to mention some luck—gained him powerful protectors and mentors early on. After arrival in the U.S., he received a first-class education and apprenticed with Gen. George Washington, and his fierce sense of honor, writes the author, “became a major feature of his character.” By Groom’s account, Adams comes across as the least personally appealing of the three despite his intellectual abilities. However, his sense of loyalty to country and family emerges beautifully in selections from voluminous letters to his beloved wife, Abigail. Jefferson's story will be the most familiar to readers, and Groom adds little to the record. But the author effectively demonstrates how their battles with one another drove them forward and honed their political ideologies—yet never derailed them from their determination to forge the American nation when the prospects did not look promising.

A useful selection for libraries because it imparts a solid civics lesson within an engaging historical narrative.