Collect The Traitor's Wife Formulated By Allison Pataki Issued As Textbook

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The Traitors Wife is the best kind of historical fiction the story feels true even though the reader knows that there isnt any way to verify how people felt, or what they said in every conversation.


You end up wanting this to be the real story, And maybe it is.

History is so often written from the perspective of the men who seem to be the prime movers and shakers, but, history is written by the victors.
For much of history, women were put on a pedestal and kept in their place, That place was not supposed to be in battle, in government or in writing the history books,

The Traitors Wife sees that key betrayal of the American Revolution from the point of view of the woman who caused it, and the woman who prevented it.


We all know the story of Benedict Arnold, and his betrayal of the Revolutionary cause, His name has become a byword for treachery, What makes The Traitors Wife such a fascinating story is that it isnt Arnolds storyits his wifes story,

Also that it is not the tale of her view of her husbands treasonits the story of how she encouraged and aided that treachery.
Historical records show that Peggy Shippen Arnold was part of the plot, but they dont tell us why,

This is a fascinating version of events, because it doesnt just put Peggy Arnold at the center, but it explains why she did it.
More than plausibly, and in a way that rivets the attention,

Peggy is seen through the eyes of her maid, Clara Bell, Clara may not have existed in real life, but she should have, She sees her mistress much more clearly than the men she manipulated,

Clara is the heroine of this tale, While the Arnolds and their conspirators forget that the maid is even in the room, Clara hears and sees everything, and risks her life to assist the Revolution.


So Clara is the person we follow, She starts out as a young woman awed by the splendor of the Shippen household after her impoverished childhood, She bears the brunt of Peggy Shippens cruelty, and quietly resists, until she can find a way to make her resistance count,

Escape Rating B: There are two women at the center of this story Peggy and Clara, They end up as counterpoint to one another Peggy is cruel and manipulative to the point of being almost a caricature, and Clara seems to be a bit too good to be true.


It is easy to cast this tale as the fall of Peggy into the depths which we feel she deserves, and the rise of Clara to independence, freedom and true love.
Poor Benedict Arnold ends up as the stock character of the foolish older husband manipulated by his beautiful and charismatic young wife,

Except for the introduction of Clara, that could be the true narrative, Thats what makes The Traitors Wife so compelling, It feels right. I have to admit that I really didn't know much about Benedict Arnold except that he betrayed America in the Revolution, . . and whether this was entirely historically accurate it still peaked my interest in finding out more about Arnold and his wife!!! Loved Clara and was so glad the story was told from her point if view.
. . no one sees and hears more than an 'invisible' person!!! I also really liked Peggy, . . she was a master manipulator and a really fun character to root against!!! I wonder how Old Benny would have fared if he'd never been smitten by 'Miss' Shippen.
. . guess we'll never know!!! Overall, a very entertaining read!!! I really enjoyed reading this book, Early American history is fascinating, Pataki did a wonderful job bringing Peggy Shippen to life, She was a wicked women, She had a strong hold on her husband, I did feel a little sorry for Benedict Arnold but ultimately his own greed and lack of character took him down a very bad road.
This is a fiction novel but many of the events in this book are true accounts, The story is told from the point of view of Peggy's maid, Clara, Her character was fun to follow, I appreciate that this was a "clean" book, I look forward to reading more historical fiction from Allison Pataki, This book is well researched, so if you enjoy historical fiction, you will probably find this an enjoyable read, It is written from the perspective of Peggy Arnolds servant, Clara, It develops a fresh perspective on Benedict Arnold and why he became a traitor in the American Revolution, largely because of the demands and manipulation of his wife.
”If you cant break the rules, you might as well seduce the man who makes them, ”

Synopsis: Never underestimate the power of a spoiled brat who doesnt get what she wants,

BiblioBabble
Peggy, Please Throw Away Your Shot and the Wine Bottle: Nothing like a glass of wine at breakfast to keep Peggy Shippen Arnold powered through the day.
The aforementioned spoiled brat in the synopsis, shes the daughter of a highly respected judge and future wife of Benedict Arnold though she would really rather bone John Andre.
Fanatically supportive of the Loyalist cause in the Revolutionary War, she marries Benedict Arnold as a means to an end in order to sway him to the Loyalist cause without him knowing it.
Peggy is actually much more than a spoiled brat because while her intentions for the Loyalist cause are rather horrible in their reasoning, shes actually quite a good strategist.
Shes completely on par with her husband and if she had the chance, she wouldve been a great military commander, For all her spoiled ways and selfish endeavors, shes deliciously conniving, Some readers may find her annoying, but the author made her fascinating to me,

Beware the Quiet Ones: Despite this novel being about Peggy Shippen, the author decided to tell her story from a fictional servants standpoint.
And despite being given a name more fitting to a milk cow than an actual person, Clara Bell yes, thats her God given name, plays a pivotal, albeit fictional role, in the exposition of Benedict Arnolds plan to betray the nation.
I dont know why people who have servants think that theyre invisible, but they arent, They actually kind of, ya know, hear everything you say, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, Clara probably had the most character development, with her starting as a meek, mild servant who probably couldnt say boo to a goose to finally standing up for herself to the whiny entity that is Peggy.
While I occasionally thought that Claras viewpoint was lacking and questioned whether or not it was necessarily needed, it did succeed in the authors purpose of giving us an unbiased perspective of Peggy.


Do You Wanna Build a Spy Ring: But just as Clara Bell was there to give us an unbiased viewpoint, I did feel that it took some things away from the novel.
Such as the inner workings of the spy ring plot that consisted of John Andre, Benedict, and Peggy, We get a lot of upstairs/downstairs scenes, but not enough actual plotting out spying scenes, from my perspective, John Andre is given far too few scenes, which is kind of shame considering how important a role he played in Peggys mind and heart.
The final act where they meet for the last time and the plot being foiled felt really rushed and pushed aside for more downstairs drama.
The buildup to the actual treachery was done excellently, The final product, not so much,

Love and Seduction Are In the Air: And you thought those Revolutionaries were such prudes, didnt you Theres so much lurve in the air its a wonder there was any fighting to be had.
Some of them were misplaced what the heck was that illfated, totally misplaced flirtation/romance with Clara and Andres helper, some of them misguided by illintentions Peggy probably didnt love Arnold for actually being him.
And some of them are just plain sweet Clara Bell and Caleb Little, if he ever managed to get the gerddarn stick of straw out of his mouth.
Perhaps the two romances that are given the most time are Peggy and Benedicts and Clara and Calebs, Clara and Calebs is a drawn out will they or wont they, please just tell him type of romance, but Calebs so damn likable that youll forgive Claras extremely feeble attempts to unjustify her feelings for him.


Men Never Cease to Amaze Me: In the sense that the Benedict Arnold in this book has been turned into a sniveling, groveling dish rag.
At least here in America, hes always been portrayed as this larger than life, charismatic man who just so happened to be a traitor.
But here, hes at the complete mercy of Peggy to the point where she almost breaks him down to nothing, It was startling to read, but may I confess that it was kind of nice to believe that, at least in this fictional sense, he got schooled.
YAS.

For anyone still going through serious Hamilton withdrawals, this book should help ease the pain, With taut characters and an interesting perspective into a wellknown yet seemingly archaic scandal, the story of the real traitor to the nation is told in a way that will have you flipping the pages long after told yourself youd read just one more chapter

And just as Peggy seduced the general who made the rules, she'll seduce you with her seemingly selfish but deliciously wicked ways.
I WANTED to like this book, because it was recommended by a person I like and admire but it was hard to get past the depiction of Benedict Arnold's wife as a patently cardboard villainess.
Peggy Shippen Arnold was imagined to outScarlet Scarlet O'Hara has any character ever been more mean, petty, and selfcentered than this Plus she likes sex and is immodest gasp.
Author Pataki paints her with a VERY broad brush, The actual facts of the tale of

Benedict Arnold's duplicity seem to measure up pretty well with the historical record, but I surely wished for more nuance and subtlety than I got here.
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I was more than a little excited when I first stumbled across Allison Pataki's The Traitor's Wife, Though familiar with the story of Benedict Arnold's betrayal, I'd never read a fictional account of it and couldn't believe my luck when Howard Books approved my request for an ARC four months before its Feb.
release date.

Looking back on that enthusiasm makes it hard admit, but I'm a reviewer and can't deny this debut wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it'd be.
Though I enjoyed Pataki's keen understanding of the historic subject matter, the book itself left me confused and bewildered,

Peggy Shippen is the obvious center of this piece which is why I was disappointed with the lack of clarity in her character.
There are a handful of moments in which she is as astute as Abigail Adams and as seductive as much speculated widow of Mount Holly, but these are largely overshadowed by episodes of spoiled selfindulgence and pathetically infantile outbursts.
Maybe it is just me, but the inconsistency in her manner, personality and personal motivations undermined the authenticity of Pataki's portrayal and often left me wondering if the author had a definitive idea of who this woman was and the role she played in the conspiracy.


I had similar difficulty with Clara, I don't think the audience is ever afforded a real understanding of Peggy's confidant and that made it hard to connect with her on an emotional level.
Perhaps I've been spoiled by maids such as Hannah in Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool or Barbara in Eva Stachniak's The Winter Palace, but I genuinely feel The Traitor's Wife would be a stronger piece if more effort had been put into developing Clara outside the Shippen and Arnold households.


Characterization issues plagued the supporting cast as well, but I think I've said enough on that particular subject and there is another aspect I want to touch on before wrapping up.
The atmosphere, dialogue and values depicted in these pages did not feel authentic to colonial American culture, I don't know if this was an intentional decision meant to benefit Pataki's readers or indicative of the author's inexperience as a writer of historic fiction, but either way I didn't expect to this piece to be quite so theatrical and fluffy.


I recognize I read an ARC edition of The Traitor's Wife and that the finished publication may differ dramatically, but I'm not entirely convinced four months of spit and polish will rectify all of my concerns and though I certainly appreciate the book as light historic fiction, I'm not sure I would recommend it to those looking for a deeply compelling narrative of the conspiracy that might have crushed the revolution and the ambitious dreams of America's founding fathers.

I was particularly interested in reading this book as I live in the Hudson Valley region of NY, where part of the story takes place.
And I've read some brilliant historical fiction unfortunately, this book did not measure up,
I found the cast of characters to be two dimensional and quite dull Peggy, on the other hand, was so colorful she strayed into the stereotypical.
Clara's colorless persona set the tone as first and third person narrator and nearly all of the plot unfolded through her eyes when they weren't downcast.
But for some of Peggy's scheming dialogue, the majority of it lacked luster and was full of missed opportunities to add life and breadth and depth to the characters portrayed here.

The historical facts I found intriguing and thought the cover was fabulous but there was a lot of unmet potential in between,
.