Review: The Traitor's Wife

[khamneithang]

The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki is an entrancing historical novel soaked in romance, lust, conspiracy, and loyalty bringing both its perfidious and faithful characters to life in ways only a debutant of Allison’s creativity and caliber could manage. It is also a story of one’s heart staying true to the bigger picture of life, nullifying the immediate in the ultimate pursuit of the greater good, and readers will have a difficult time putting the book on the shelf.

The novel is based on the life of General Benedict Arnold, who was a merchant when the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. He joined the army and distinguished himself. He was involved in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776, the Battle of Ridgefield, and the Battles of Saratoga in 1777. He was charged with corruption and other cases, but when Congress investigated it was found that he was spending much of his own money on the war effort. Exasperated and bitter, Arnold changed sides. His plot was exposed when British Major John André was captured carrying papers that exposed the strategy. Learning of André's capture, Arnold fled down the Hudson River to the British warship, HMS Vulture.

But the story is more about his scheming and manipulative wife, Margaret “Peggy” Shippen Arnold, told through the eyes of a fictional maid Clara Bell. Described as a fine-featured woman, her hair piled high atop her head, always wearing a quizzical smile on her face, Peggy was a devoted wife, loving mother, a popular socialite who influenced Benedict Arnold to turn against the cause for which he fought with courage and bravery. The book covers a period of over two years from May 1778 to September 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. While Clara and the other servants are pure embodiments of the spirit of the period, revolution, Peggy is portrayed as a conniving lady, who uses her charm to seduce British soldiers, and flirt without any inhibition.

The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki is the story of America’s heroes and traitors; moments of triumph and moments of near disaster; stories of love and stories of lust. It retraces the steps of one of history’s most scandalous would-be power couples, a majestic and sweeping retelling of a chapter in history that proves that real life is more interesting than fiction.