
By any stretch of the imagination, educator and author Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) led an extraordinary professional and personal life for her time--or any other. In American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton, Victoria Houseman, a historian and associate professor in the Department of History and Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, delves into Hamilton's experiences in all their complexity. Written with meticulous research and a deep appreciation for its subject, the biography skillfully uncovers the many realms of Hamilton's influence during her life--which spanned the first two-thirds of the 20th century--and the layers of her legacy.
Hamilton had an unyielding determination to pursue education and intellectual pursuits during a time when such aspirations were deemed unconventional for women--as was her 40-year relationship with her partner, Doris Fielding Reid. The biography provides an engaging narrative of Hamilton's influential role in the academic world, including as headmistress at Bryn Mawr School, and her later contributions in bringing classical history and literature to a wider audience through such acclaimed works as The Greek Way and Mythology. What sets this biography apart is Houseman's presentation of Hamilton not only as a scholar of antiquity, but also as a person who thought deeply about the contemporary world around her. The author also provides a thoughtful accounting of the reappraisal of Hamilton's work in both its positive and negative incarnations. American Classicist is a thought-provoking read about an incomparable figure. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.