Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma Parry
Philadelphia in the 1770s. Peggy Shippen longs for the war she’s living through to end. Though not always appreciated at home, she finds her curiosity is welcomed by a lively and influential circle of friends, including a glamorous rising star in the British army, Captain John André.
When the war separates them, Peggy is devastated—both by his absence and the horrors of ongoing conflict—before finding consolation in a man whose heroics for the Patriots have captured the world’s imagination: General Benedict Arnold.
As she trades Loyalist balls for Patriot salons, entertaining the most prominent figures of early America, and navigating the country’s lethal political currents, she conceives of an audacious scheme to achieve peace and her family’s survival, unleashing what would become the most famous act of treason in history.
When uncertainty and bloodshed are the only constants, Mrs. Benedict Arnold asks, how far will one woman go for safety?
Review: Thank you to Zando for a gifted finished copy of this book!
This was an interesting fictional imagining of the life of Peggy Shippen, wife to the notorious traitor General Benedict Arnold. The novel opens in Philadelphia in the 1770s and we meet teenaged Peggy who longs for the war to end. Restless and stifled at home, Peggy finds herself swept up in an infatuation with rising British star, Captain John Andre. When the war pulls the two apart, Peggy finds solace in General Benedict Arnold. Switching sides to Patriot salons, she nurses a scheme that she believes will help lead to peace - but which requires treason of herself and her new husband.
I think there is great value in telling Peggy's story because she is a fascinating figure from the historical record and her husband still experiences significant notoriety all these generations later. I liked the scenes of Peggy swept up in teenage crush on John Andre, refusing to believe the reality that there was no future there. And I liked seeing how she responds and pivots after this disappointment. I also liked the way Peggy's marriage is portrayed, as this whirlwind romance but with reality of her husband's shortcomings becoming increasingly obvious with time.
This book had a slow start. It was slow to hook me, and I couldn't even really figure out where it was going at first. The author doesn't provide much historical or even character context for Peggy, her family, where we are in time within the country's history at the beginning and it felt a bit disorienting and like I had been thrown in.
My issue with this book is that Parry took significant liberties with historical fact. Having read a couple biographies of Peggy Shippen, there is no doubt her marriage with Benedict was complicated and new evidence indicates she may have been more involved in the traitorous schemes than was originally assumed. However, it is also important to note that she was a teenager, a woman, and significantly younger than her much more influential and connected husband. Building out the relationship and lingering feelings between Peggy and John Andre did help make the plot make more sense but the way Peggy is always harping on about how she wants peace and refuses to raise children without peace didn't really ring true or realistic to me as this great conviction that she would have fought for. She comes across as self-involved and immature in this novel, not some great martyr desperate to arrange for peace.
Along those same lines, I just didn't like Peggy as portrayed in this book. Partly I think this is because we don't get her complete story. I wish the book had continued on further in her life. In real life, Peggy was eventually a plucky widow had to fight to support her family. I would have loved to see the evolution of her character from this naive, impetuous, foolish youth to this older and scrappier version of her.
Stars: 3
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