Divided loyalties

Emma Parry’s Mrs. Benedict Arnold (Zando, 320 pp.) retells the story of America’s most famous traitor through the eyes of his wife. Clever and idealistic Peggy Shippen belongs to a loyalist Philadelphia family whose ties to Britain are more social than ideological. As the War for Independence drags on, Peggy longs for peace.

Thanks to the influence of men like Joseph Reed, Philadelphia becomes sympathetic to the Patriot cause. Peggy rubs shoulders with heroes like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton and falls in love with and later marries Patriot Gen. Benedict Arnold.

Arnold is a war hero, but he has attracted the suspicion of Reed. As a court martial looms and Arnold’s debts swell, the general turns to drink. When a child comes along, Peggy concocts a plan to end the war and restore her husband’s dignity.

It’s an interesting story, but many details don’t seem consistent with the setting. Parry includes an openly gay character, and Peggy admits to suffering from anxiety. It seems unlikely that either condition would be discussed at the time. There’s a small amount of strong language, and a scene involving premarital sex is awkwardly descriptive.

I expected Arnold’s inevitable betrayal to feel disappointing, but I was even more disappointed by how a whining Peggy takes little responsibility for her complicity. Like Eve in the Garden, she offers a tantalizing suggestion to Arnold but eventually refuses to shoulder the blame.

For a story with a similar setting but more attention to historical detail and a more satisfying narrative, I recommend Laura Frantz’s The Belle of Chatham (Revell, 384 pp.).

The town of Chatham teems with Continental Army soldiers making camp in nearby Lowantica Valley. Close to home, Maj. James Bohannon invites fellow officers Capt. Casper Sperry and Gen. Rhys Harlow to spend the winter with him and his two sisters.

Coralie Bohannon, slim, plain, and a bit stuck-up, doesn’t appreciate sharing her home with strange Patriots. She’s got a secret loyalist beau in New York. Her sister Maebel is more sympathetic to the Patriot cause and acts as a gracious host. Maebel quickly falls for the quiet and dashingly handsome Gen. Harlow.

When she nearly dies after catching smallpox, Harlow reveals the depth of his feelings. That’s not the only surprise: Maebel suspects that Coralie is a loyalist spy. But, having very little proof, she says nothing. Even after Maebel and Rhys marry, they continue to keep their own secrets, endangering both their union and the Patriot cause.

Aside from a passionate kissing scene in a linen closet and another on the eve of a honeymoon, the romance between Rhys and Maebel is endearing and chaste—if sometimes a tad melodramatic. I enjoyed the story, but I especially appreciated the novel’s refreshing emphasis on honesty between spouses.