The Traitor’s Wife by Alison Pataki– 496 pages
Book Blurb:
A riveting historical novel about Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind America’s most infamous act of treason . . .
Everyone knows Benedict Arnold–the Revolutionary War general who betrayed America and fled to the British–as history’s most notorious turncoat. Many know Arnold’s co-conspirator, Major John Andre, who was apprehended with Arnold’s documents in his boots and hanged at the orders of General George Washington. But few know of the integral third character in the plot: a charming young woman who not only contributed to the betrayal but orchestrated it.
Socialite Peggy Shippen is half Benedict Arnold’s age when she seduces the war hero during his stint as military commander of Philadelphia. Blinded by his young bride’s beauty and wit, Arnold does not realize that she harbors a secret: loyalty to the British. Nor does he know that she hides a past romance with the handsome British spy John Andre. Peggy watches as her husband, crippled from battle wounds and in debt from years of service to the colonies, grows ever more disillusioned with his hero, Washington, and the American cause.
My Review: 4 stars
Historical Fiction readers, this one is for you. This is an easy to read tale of Benedict Arnold and his wife who was very much part of his loyalist defection. Always referred to as the turncoat, we learn much about him, but even more about the sly and conniving Peggy Shippen Arnold. She was a woman ahead of her time who used her beauty and sexuality to gain much of what she wanted. She was equally wicked and smart.
I love books from this time period, when America’s independence was fought for and secured. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like if there was a different outcome.
The author did a fine job of using a fictional lady’s maid to tell the story. She could narrate in both first and third person and became a trusted observer. This book read quickly and gave me just the right amount of both historical detail and fictional storytelling. I look forward to reading some of her other books.
Quotes I liked:
If you can’t break the rules, you might as well seduce the man who makes them.”
-“But when you’re in a position of power, your friends can become more dangerous than your enemies.”
-“Men are always very generous during the courtship, but they appreciate a wife who can manage a household on a budget.”
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