A riveting historical novel about Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind Americaâs most infamous act of treason...
Everyone knows Benedict Arnoldâthe Revolutionary War general who betrayed America and fled to the Britishâas historyâs most notorious turncoat. Many know Arnoldâs co-conspirator, Major John AndrĂŠ, who was apprehended with Arnoldâs 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 Arnoldâs age when she seduces the war hero during his stint as military commander of Philadelphia. Blinded by his young brideâs 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 AndrĂŠ. 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. Together with her former love and her disaffected husband, Peggy hatches the plot to deliver West Point to the British and, in exchange, win fame and fortune for herself and Arnold.
Told from the perspective of Peggyâs maid, whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistressâs affairs even when it could cost her everything, The Traitorâs Wife brings these infamous figures to life, illuminating the sordid details and the love triangle that nearly destroyed the American fight for freedom.