Mrs. Benedict Arnold - by Emma Parry (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A fresh, provocative portrait of the young woman behind the most notorious treason in American History.

Coming of age as the Revolutionary War rages, Peggy Shippen is a woman torn between two sides. While her prominent Loyalist family seems to remain stubbornly neutral, she yearns to enter the political fray. That's when she meets the dashing, rising star, British Captain John André, who becomes the first to truly recognize her intelligence. He welcomes her into an irreverent circle of friends and soon has her heart.

But when the war separates them, Peggy attracts the notice of an older military General, whose heroics for the Patriots has captured the world's imagination--Benedict Arnold. As she trades loyalist balls for patriot salons, she must carefully tread the line between the most prominent figures of early America and her own struggles against powerlessness. In an audacious scheme to ensure her family's survival and in hopes of a revolutionary reconciliation, Peggy ensnares Benedict in what would become the most famous treason in history.

Though the question remains, on which side is her heart?

Review Quotes

"Peggy Shippen pops off the pages of Parry's novel--the vividly imagined story of a Philadelphia high society 'it girl' whose coming-of-age mirrors the turmoil of a nation at war with itself. In a dangerous world where Revolutionary politics infiltrate every salon and social circle, Peggy walks the knife's edge between her friendship with a suave British officer and marriage to a famed American general twice her age, Benedict Arnold. Her passions and instincts for survival propel her into a conspiracy that could alter the course of American history. In this immersive novel of love, power, and peril--all the way to its heart-stopping conclusion--the formidable Peggy Shippen-Arnold finally gets her due." --Samantha Silva, author of Love and Fury and Mr. Dickens and His Carol

"Emma Parry brings the American Revolution to life in this keenly observed, astonishing debut about a brilliant, spirited young woman caught between two great loves and two great nations. Brimming with wit and historic detail, Parry expertly embroiders a tale of courtly romance and political intrigue onto a star-spangled sampler, vividly rendering our founding fathers and mothers, and delivering an irresistible heroine in Peggy. Probing into the true nature of loyalty, patriotism, and love, Mrs. Benedict Arnold is a lush, nuanced exploration of how one woman can tip the scales of history." --Emma Brodie, author of Songs in Ursa Major

About the Author

Emma Parry is a literary agent in New York. Born in England, she's now lived in America for half her life and championed hundreds of successful books. She first came across a reference to the "housewife who almost changed the course of the Revolutionary War" in Nathaniel Philbrick's book Valiant Ambition a decade ago and has researched and imagined Peggy's story in every off hour since. She spends her time between New York City and the house she built with her family in the Hudson Valley.