Today I'm pleased to welcome author Allison Pataki to the blog to give us a closer look at one of history's most famous traitors, Benedict Arnold, as part of the promotional tour for her new release, The Traitor's Wife. She's also generously offering up a Kindle Paperwhite, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the giveaway details as well as the full list of participating blogs. Welcome to Supernatural Snark Allison!
CHARACTER PORTRAIT
Who was Benedict Arnold and how did he turn from ardent patriot
to shamed traitor?
There’s so much more to the life of Benedict Arnold than just the fateful decision he made to betray the American Revolution. I hope that readers of
The Traitor’s Wife will come away from the book with a deeper understanding of who this infamous man was, and how myriad factors – including his marriage, his military career, and his personal demons – helped mold him into history’s most notorious turncoat.
Benedict Arnold’s story began in the colony of Connecticut, where he was a successful businessman and one of the earliest and most outspoken patriots advocating separation from the British. In 1775, Arnold led a force to capture Fort Ticonderoga and its supply of British cannons in what marks the first outright victory of the American Revolution. But even as early as that, though Arnold’s military prowess and courage were applauded, he became embroiled in internecine rivalries and feuds.
Though both Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen had led the joint mission to Fort Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen and his beloved Green Mountain Boys received the credit. Some of Allen’s men, drunk after the victory, reportedly held a pistol to Arnold’s chest when Arnold demanded that they stop looting and drinking.
During the Battle of Quebec, when Arnold was first shot in the left leg, he held out with just his rag-tag team of men for the winter of 1775-76. It was a punishing mission, during which the men faced below freezing temperatures and the threat of starvation. Arnold paid and fed his men with his own fortune throughout the siege, writing on multiple occasions that he was fully prepared to die for the Revolution.
Arnold fought on Lake Champlain, preventing a British naval invasion, while his colleagues were in Philadelphia during the summer of 1776, signing their names to the immortal Declaration of Independence. Arnold fought the British alone in Norwalk, Connecticut, where his horse was shot out from under him.
The one battle where Arnold finally earned the recognition that was his due was the Battle of Saratoga, the undisputed turning point of the war. Arnold’s tactical genius allowed the Continental Army to repel the British attack. Then, defying the orders of his commander, Arnold led the crushing counterattack to defeat the British. It was during this battle that Arnold was shot a second time in his left leg.
In spite of his skill in battle, Arnold seemed to have no skill in making friends. He was passed over for promotions constantly; he was never reimbursed by the Continental Congress for the thousands of dollars he had spent; and he was never again able to walk without pain. He saw himself constantly belittled by his colleagues. Throughout the early years of war, though the American people adored him, it seemed that Arnold’s only ally in the army was General George Washington.
It was after all of these battles and feuds had occurred that Arnold assumed his role as military commander in Philadelphia. In that city, Arnold used his position of power to sell the confiscated goods from Philadelphia shops and merchants on the black market. This earned him a court martial, a censure from his former champion, George Washington, and more bad press.
By this time, Arnold felt embittered by the numerous slights and attacks being leveled by his own side. He was in pain and facing near financial ruin. And, he happened to have a beautiful new wife. Peggy Shippen Arnold was a Philadelphia belle half his age. A clever and charming young woman who happened to favor the British cause. When Peggy suggested that her beleaguered husband write to a “friend” of hers, a British spy by the name of Major John André, Arnold agreed. It was that correspondence that ultimately led to Arnold’s decision to betray the American cause and defect to the British.
It’s interesting to mull these circumstances over and ask how it might have gone differently for the fallen patriot. Was Arnold treated unfairly by his side, causing him to become irretrievably bitter? Or was Arnold a difficult personality who invited this enmity? Was he a man who could negotiate the dangers of a battlefield but had no ability to navigate human relationships? Did Peggy have the deciding influence in her husband’s decision, or had he already soured on the cause that had once been his life’s purpose? We can never truly know. But, unfortunately for Arnold, he got one big decision wrong. And that decision, to turn to the British, is how history remembers him.
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THE TRAITOR'S WIFE
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 infamous 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 André, 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 and cunning 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 André. 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 lover 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 Peggy’s maid, whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistress’s affairs even when it could cost her everything, The Traitor’s Wife brings these infamous figures to life, illuminating the sordid details and the love triangle that nearly destroyed the American fight for freedom.
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ALLISON PATAKI
ALLISON PATAKI grew up in upstate New York, in the same neighborhood where Benedict and Peggy Arnold once lived. Allison attended Yale University, where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in English. While at Yale, Allison received Distinction in the Major from the English department and served as a campus reporter and news anchor for the student-run campus television program, YTV News.
The daughter of former New York State Governor George E. Pataki, Allison was inspired to write The Traitor’s Wife: A Novel of Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America based on the rich Revolutionary War history of her hometown in New York State’s Hudson Highlands.
Allison spent several years writing for television and digital news outlets prior to transitioning to fiction. The Traitor’s Wife: A Novel of Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America is Allison’s first novel.
Allison lives in Chicago with her husband.
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GIVEAWAY
Be sure and check out all the tour stops for more guest posts, interviews, and chances to win!
