Author Talk and Book Signing

Join us on Sunday, September 27th at 2:00 PM as we welcome Molly Beer to read from, discuss, and answer questions about her latest book, “Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution.” Ms. Beer was raised in Angelica, NY, the Allegany County town named for and steeped in lore about Angelica Schuyler Church. Ms. Beer’s work as a writer and international teacher led her to Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and elsewhere. But her newest book is a homecoming, both to the U.S. and to her rural American hometown of Angelica, New York.

“A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton’s influential sister-in-law.” W. W. NORTON | 2025

“A fresh, arresting history of the American Revolution as people lived it: facing forward. Molly Beer recovers the suspense, perils, and dazzling possibilities of the era, and her lapidary prose and keen sense of character bring Angelica Schuyler Church, her family, and her world to vivid, unforgettable life, making a great global event into a family drama, and vice versa.” Jane Kamensky, President of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation

Few women of the American Revolution have come through 250 years of US history with such clarity and color as Angelica Schuyler Church. She was Alexander Hamilton’s “saucy” sister-in-law, and the heart of Thomas Jefferson’s “charming coterie” of artists and salonnières in Paris. Her transatlantic network of important friends spanned the political spectrum of her time and place, and her astute eye and brilliant letters kept them well informed.

A woman of great influence in a time of influential women (Catherine the Great and Marie-Antoinette were contemporaries), Angelica was at the red-hot center of American history at its birth: in Boston, when General Burgoyne surrendered to the revolutionaries; in Newport, receiving French troops under the command of her soon-to-be dear friend Marquis de Lafayette; in Yorktown, just after the decisive battle; in Paris and London, helping to determine the standing of the new nation on the world stage.

In this enthralling and revealing woman’s-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica’s story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation.

Tickets include a copy of the book, which Ms. Beer will autograph for you. Refreshments will be served.  Tickets are $45.00 per person. Seating is limited to the first 30 people. This event supports our ACDC Student Civic Engagement Award, an annual cash award made to a county high school student.

The event takes place at 2:00 p.m. at the Belvidere Cornerstone, a breathtaking jewel of Carpenter Gothic architecture, standing proudly since 1860 at 5781 County Route 20 in Belmont.   Reserve your tickets here:  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/author

Holly Beer, author of Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution